2 of the sweetest kids

We were at my parents farm last Saturday to celebrate my dad's b'day. He had a friend from work and his 2 kids that camped in the back SW section of land overnight to collect firewood. His story was heartbreaking. He's in his early 30's and he has 5 kids. His wife was a meth addict and abandoned her children, and so now he's a single dad taking care of all of them and working a factory job. The 2 oldest, which were 7, and 6 came along. Their names are Billy Ray and Dixie Bell. They are such southern names, but the kids were the cutest things, so polite and friendly. The house they live in doesn't have a furnace to heat it, so their dad has to constantly cut firewood to burn in their stove to keep them warm. It was amazing seeing every day things through their eyes. They were so excited to have fresh fruit, and had never had string cheese before. Ice cream was a rare special treat, a long with special goodies. They were amazed by the book library my parents have and wondered if they must be rich. Dixie asked to play the baby grand piano, because she'd never seen one so fancy. I told her to go for it, but she was to afraid to touch it. They just craved attention. So we played board games together, and Grace and Dixie played dolls, and Braden and Billy played legos and tinkertoys. Watching the kids play together really warmed my heart.

It made me cry thinking of these sweet kids growing up without their mom who had abandoned them. It made me want to give them everything they needed and more. The little things my kids take forgranted that they would be thrilled to have. Extra clothes, toys, food. It brought me back to thinking about Seavie and I possibly doing foster care, or adopting a brother/sister sibling pair. To be able to share love and affection and a home for children who don't have those things.

We have talked about the topic, but need to discuss it further. The biggest hold up is our vehicles, which are paid for, but can only really seat 4 people. So then we'd have to get things paid off, and only then be able to buy a new (used) car. All of these things that would go quicker if I was able to go back to work. Which is only 1 1/2 yrs away!!! Can you tell I'm excited?

My heart aches for these sweet kids we met this weekend. The kids have been praying for them and their siblings. They both have a heart for helping others in need. I've talked to them about it, and they both have said they'd be excited to share their room with someone. We'll see what God has in store for our family!