All of these are partially true. But the biggest reason is, I haven’t known what to say, or how to say it. The English language doesn’t have enough words to express everything I’ve been doing, thinking and feeling since February, or how my life has changed.

On January 29, 2010, I got a younger sister. My family opened our home to a wonderful, beautiful young woman named Cheyanne. I wish I could share her story… but its hers to tell. Suffice it to say that if life were about straws, this girl got the short one.

Growing up, my older sister, Sandra, was the ideal older sister. We had our squabbles, like any sisters, but that’s not what I remember. What I remember is how she took me to the library, had sleepovers with me and celebrated my last day of school each year. At the time I didn’t appreciate her. But as I grew older I began to see what a difference she made in my life, and I was sad that I didn’t have a chance to do that for my younger sister.

So when my parents told me they were thinking about becoming foster parents, I was excited. And by excited I mean jumping up and down. I asked them if they were crazy. I asked them what took them so long.

Eight months later I can say that having a foster sister has been harder than I imaged. I never imagined I would get so worried and frustrated. I never imagined all the drama.

But I also never imagined how much I’d change for the better. And I definitely never imagined I would love her so much.

So, I decided to cut back and take only one class this semester. I’m working on my organizational skills and work habits and learning how to take better care of myself physically, mentally and spiritually. I guess you could say I’m growing up. It’s not easy, but its something that needed to happen and I know I’ll be a better, healthier person because of it. Watch out world, here I come!

One New Year’s Resolution or goal I made, besides the one I already described, was to do a better job of documenting my life. I do journal occasionally, but it is usually related to what I’m reading in the Bible, prayer requests, etc, and I don’t really do a lot about the day-to-day things. When the new year came I started thinking back on the past year and was shocked at how little I could remember! I remember highlights of course – the conference I went to in October, a concert in April, visiting a best friend in Texas in June, holidays and birthday celebrations, etc, but a lot of the day-to-day things, like conversations, evenings with my family or how doing such-and-such made me feel, have been forgotten. And that’s just one year. Multiply that by 50 or 60 years and it’s easy to see how many great memories and life lessons I could forget. This blog is one way to make sure that doesn’t happen. I hope to write at least one post a month. Friends, if you see me slacking, I give you permission to get on my case. I promise I won’t get mad at you!

Well, this post is getting long. I have a lot more I could write about, including my older sister’s pregnancy and the addition of a wonderful younger sister, who joined our family through foster care in January. But that would take a lot more time and probably a lot more pages, so I’ll leave it for my next post. I don’t have very much going on this week so I hope to write again in a few days.

Many years ago, when I was probably about 10 or 11, I remember watching fireworks from on top of a car. I don’t think it actually happened on the Fourth of July and I don’t know when it happened, but I guess the fireworks made me equate it with the Fourth. However, I think what made the event special was not the fireworks (though watching them from on top of a car was pretty cool!), but the fact that I was enjoying them with my cousins Rachel and Becky. I don’t remember the circumstances behind why we were together, but I do remember that we were all at a hotel together from some reason and watched the fireworks from the parking lot. It was a great view and all three of us really enjoyed them.

I don’t know why this particular memory has stuck with me, but it has. Now more than 10 years later, Rachel is married with two children and Becky is recently married and expecting her first child. At a time when we’re all growing up and starting our own lives, I guess its fun to remember back to simpler times.

Best quotes from the game:

“Oh, man! I guess I don’t have anything! But I almost have a flush; shouldn’t that count?”

“I have 2 pair, so you won. Oh, wait. I have a flush! I won!! Oh, man, why did I call it already?”

In other news, I want to make a quick shout out to my sister Sandra (or Sandy as I call her), who is 31 today! Happy Birthday, Sandy! You’re the best sister a girl could ask for!

We in Roanoke finally got our first good snow… yesterday. It threatened to snow many times throughout the past 3 months, but never did, even when cities as close as 30 minutes away were covered. But yesterday it finally came, and its gorgeous! Great packing snow too! Lots of snowmen around…

Actually, now that I think about it, a lot has happened since my last post! My sister and brother-in-law, who used to live in Ohio, now live with us. I also have my first real, paying job! I work for the Town of Vinton, supervising parties and events, and occasionally working in the office at the War Memorial. Its not very many hours, but its good experience and I work with great people.

Other than that, I’m now halfway through my second semester of Grad School. Only 2 more after this (maybe…). This week is officially Spring Break, but I still have homework. But I like it, so its okay. I’m learning a lot about different writing styles and techniques. This week I’m writing a memoir.

Well, I should go… 24 starts in 3 minutes. I try not to wait 7 months before I post again… for my sake and my readers sake… when I wait so long I forget what’s happened in my own life – never a good thing!

Before I left for Chicago, I was contemplating attending Graduate School and put in applications at Radford, where I got my bachelor’s from, and Regent University. At the time I was really intending to continue at Radford, but didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. In the end, after much prayer and consideration, I decided to attend Regent. Both schools had many pros and cons and it was a very hard decision. I love Radford. I know the campus, the teachers, and the people. Most of my best friends are there as well as a Church that I did not want to leave. But Regent’s program is online, which would allow me to stay at home and get a job. I felt that the program in Journalism would be a much better fit for me than English, which is what Radford offers. When I called to explain that I would not be able to finance school at Regent (its more than twice the cost of Radford), the ladies I was working with went out of their way to help me figure out what to do, including getting me a scholarship despite the fact that I didn’t meet the GPA requirement (close but not quite). So, in the end I chose Regent and just have to trust God that I made the right decision.

On Friday evening all of us on project played games outside the Adler Planetarium. It was a beautiful night and we all had a lot of fun. After a small group of us decided to go get ice cream. We met a man in need of food, so we took him in with us. Once inside, we also met 4 middle school boys. Due to a conflict with the owner, the man we brought in and the boys were all asked to leave the store, which they did. Most of us decided not to buy anything after that, but went outside to talk to the people who had been asked to leave. We ended up going back in to get them ice cream and food. To make a long story short, one of the boys accepted Christ!! We then took them to the grocery store across the street to buy them dinner and helped them pay for their bus fare home. We also invited them to come to The House, a Hip-Hop Worship Service, with us the next night (Saturday). They all said they wanted to come, so we agreed to meet at 5:00 to get them dinner beforehand. When we got to our dorm we were all so excited we did not want to sleep and had an amazing time of worship in our lounge.

Yesterday (Saturday), was a completely free day, which does happen much on project. I slept in for a long time and did not really do much in general. At 4:30 we let to meet the boys and 3 of the 4 showed up. They said the other boy was on his way, but we never found him. We took them to dinner and then made our way across town to The House. They had to leave early, but seemed to enjoy it. While we were waiting for our train, we were able to show Lamont, the boy who accepted Christ, how to use the Bible we gave him. I just hope he will read it and grow in his new faith. This weekend was such an amazing example of how God’s plans are often different and better than ours. We thought we were done for the day and went for ice cream just for fun, but God had other plans!

Our group with Lamont, Tremain, and Alan. I know I don’t look happy, but I was. It was just cold…

Rebecca showing Lamont how to use his new Bible

Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you well! I’m writing to update you on what is happening in my life. In 2006, I enrolled in college at Radford University, and now, two years later, I am graduating! During my time here at Radford, I have had the amazing opportunity to become involved in Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) here on campus. Last year, I was part of the band that led worship during the weekly meetings. Besides attending these meetings, I am also involved in a small group Bible study. Through Cru, my faith has grown and matured in ways I could have only imagined two years ago.

This summer I have the opportunity to participate in a summer missions project sponsored by Cru! I will be going with about 20 other students to Chicago, Illinois, where we will be ministering to the inner-city community. During this eight week project, I will learn how to effectively witness to those around me, whether it be through working at a homeless shelter, serving at a soup kitchen, or running a program for children at a community center. Small group Bible studies with my teammates with continue to strengthen my faith, and I will develop leadership skills and abilities I need in order to carry out the responsibilities I am given.

In order to participate in this project, I need to develop a team of ministry partners: a group of people like you who will help make this trip possible. I am raising both financial support and prayer support. I am in need of $3,500, which will cover room and board, transportation to and from Chicago, and all other ministry needs. Will you prayerfully consider joining my team by giving a gift of $25, $50, $100, or more? (Please make checks payable to Campus Crusade for Christ).

1 Peter 3:12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.” I am also asking you to consider committing to pray for me, our project, and what God might do this summer. I am asking specifically for 15 people to become my Prayer Partners. This is a group of people who will commit themselves to 15 minutes of praying everyday this summer for the project and for me. Please respond by filling out the enclosed card and returning it to me. If I haven’t heard from you within about two weeks, I’ll give you a call to see what you’ve decided and to answer any questions you might have. Thank you for considering joining my team to help reach people in inner-city Chicago for Christ.

Sincerely,
Danae