Goodbye Sweet Strawberry

I had the neatest experience in court this week where I ended up sitting next to Strawberry's grandma while we were waiting for our hearing.  I had no idea this was even a possibility and didn't even know she'd be there.  But God in His goodness gave me the opportunity to visit with her a couple of hours before our hearing.  It made me feel much better about turning her over to her family.

We were able to have a lot of time with Strawberry this week.  It was our vacation week and everybody was home the whole time.  Looking back, I see how perfect the timing was since we wouldn't have much time with her.

She came with a backpack of diapers and 3 outfits.  But over the 13 days she was with us, she accumulated quite a bit of stuff.  It was sad to pack her up and say goodbye.   We prayed over her and held her and gave her a million kisses.  I wrote a letter to her grandma telling her about her feeding schedule/naps/preferences over the last 2 weeks and tucked it in her bag.  

I'm glad we got to experience this facet of foster care.  We took care of her and smothered her with love until her family could make a plan to take care of her.  That's exactly how it's supposed to work. 

A friend of mine sells Thirty One bags and organized a fund raiser called Totes Vs. Trash Bags 

for foster kids.  The generous folks in my town purchased over 41 (at last count) totes this month.

That meant I got to send her off with something pretty and sweet instead of packing her things in plastic sacks.  LOVE!!