The need to DO something...

Well today has been a better day. The kids seem to be feeling a bit better, though I have now caught whatever they had! But I can deal with it myself...the kids have a tougher time. So praise God that they are feeling better and Ben slept through the night ALL night in his own bed!

I have really enjoyed the kids today. Many days I cannot say that. I get so wrapped up in my own agenda that I forget that my most important job is those boys, shepherding their hearts and enjoying them every moment is more important than laundry, clean floors, and clean dishes...though often times I am fooled into thinking otherwise. We have had a fun day and actually gotten a little cleaning done. They love to spray the windows, fold clothes and run the sweeper so we cleaned a bit together so I still feel like something got done and they have had my undivided attention all day.

Now it is naptime and Ben is sleeping and Luke is having quiet time (which though he is done with naps I still insist on even if he just looks at books or does puzzles.)

As I sit here thinking, I can totally understand why people who go through painful experiences try to medicate the pain away whether it is by drinking, using legal or illegal drugs, shopping, or cleaning. I often find myself trying to keep busy enough that I don't FEEL the pain. The truth is though, nothing works. Eventually it sneaks up on you and it must be felt and dealt with. My goal here is to deal with all of this in a healthy way. I feel the need to DO something just as many of you have expressed your need to do something for us. Here is what I am working on now...

MARCH OF DIMES

For those of you who don't know we have a team for the "March For Babies" it was formerly Team Isaac and is now Team Isaac and Asher. The walk will be held in Erie on April 27 at the Peninsula. All money raised goes to helping babies. They help families with medical cost and it provides research funding. The March of Dimes does great work trying to eliminate prematurity and birth defects.

If you would like to help us in this endeavor there are a few ways you can help...you can join our team and walk...you don't even have to be in our city. You can find the March of Dimes March near you and still walk for our team from your city. If you are interested in joining our team please go to www.marchforbabies.org/boltefamily or click on the link to the right of this page. We are working on team tshirts this year so please sign up soon so we can get your tshirt ordered.

If you cannot walk with us you can still donate by clicking the link at the side of this page. We would apprecaite any help any of you could give in supporting this worthy cause in our children's names. It is very healing for us to be able to do good in their honor as they have done so much for us!

PERINATAL HOSPICE

My next project is working on getting a perinatal hospice program working in our area. Our state does not have a program like this and I am determined to make sure moms know that after poor prenatal diagnosis they do have options. Termination is not the only option! A perinatal hospice program would work with moms who have been given an unfavorable prenatal diagnosis giving them the resources they need to help them make the most of their time with their baby even if it is only during pregnancy. There were no resources like this for me and carrying a baby who is expected to die is very different than carrying a healthy baby. I want to help other families open their hearts to the gift of carrying these babies. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been if this had been my first pregnancy, and I had to sit through childbirth class with other happy moms expecting healthy babies. I want to make sure no mom has to do that.

I am just in the beginning of contacting the necessary people and have no idea how open they will be to this but many other cities around the country have programs like this, you can read about them at www.perinatalhospice.org. If you or anyone you know would like to help me get this going please let me know.

So today I ask that you pray for our work in these areas. Please pray that we can use our experience to help other families in similar situations, that God continues to use us as he sees fit. That is our main goal. Though a baby may not live long, they are still the gift God promises them to be. We just want everyone to realize that gift.