Do you remember the first day back to school after Christmas Vacation? Remember how people got up and proudly displayed their Christmas presents that Santa Claus had given to them for being such good kids? Were you one of those lucky kids? I was. My sisters were. But, every year, many children are not visited by Santa Claus. Its not necessarily because they weren't good kids. Oftimes, they were the best kids in town. Then, why, didn't the big red jolly man stop by?
Many times it's because the parents' money didn't reach far enough. Sometimes, the parents have addictions with drugs, alcohol, etc. Too many times, the parents are simply just too selfish to see to it that their children receive gifts.
In 1989, God guided us to become foster parents for the State of Kansas. He actually led an SRS social worker to knock on our door to see if we would be interested. Stan and I never saw it coming. We had been praying for babies for several years but so far, none had been delivered at our house. I told the social worker "no". Stan told her "yes". She asked me why I was not interested. I told her that it was because I couldn't handle the pain of when the kids went back into their homes. (Guess I'm just too selfish, huh?) She then told me that she had a pair of brothers who would ultimately be going up for adoption. She wanted us to adopt them.
To make a long story short, we agreed to become the foster parents. I'm very happy that we did! And, yes, we adopted one of the boys! After that, many more boys and girls moved in and out of our home until we decided not to renew our license in 1995 when my father was dying.
One thing that most of those kids had in common, was the fact that Santa Claus usually made no stops at their houses on Christmas Eve. That is something that makes me bawl whenever I think about it.
Today, our countrymen are enduring the toughest of financial times in decades. For many more children than normal, no Christmas gifts will appear under the family Christmas tree. For many families, no hardy meal will be available to celebrate our saviour's birth.
No, I cannot save Christmas for everyone but I can do my part to help in every way to help as many people as possible but I am going to need some help. Are you able and willing? I'm not necessarily asking for money donations. If you happen to have clean toys in good repair, that would be great! Stuffed animals and dollies are always needed. Not long ago, I was watching OPRAH while she was interviewing Barbra Streisand. As it turns out, they were both from very poor families. Oprah, confessed that for years, her "baby" was actually a water bottle wrapped with a baby blanket. Barbra said that she didn't even have a water bottle. Fortunately, they have worked hard and have become very successful. Now, they are making a difference for many people who have had it rough.
If you are willing to help me with this in any way, please leave your comment after this post or send me an email at slblaus@gmail.com. Maybe you're not in a position where you can donate money or items, if that is the case and your family needs some help this Christmas season, PLEASE let me know!!! If you happen to know of people who could benefit from a helping hand, please give me that information also. I will need to know the following information if possible:
1. the name of the family
2. their address if you know it
3. how many kids they have
4. an approximate age for each one
Christmas is for giving.
VLE-B
the turley family, elizabeth,david,cynthia,arthur and christina turley.312 south 3rd street. leoti kansas 67861.they have 3 kids. 1 son age 17 and 2 daughters age 14 and 18.elizabeth is 46 been having health problems and david is 54 also now out of work. elizabeth was working but her boss is unable to pay her back wages he owes so now she has to go look for another job.they will be going to garden city this week to file for help as is tearing elizabeth up, because she feels helpless. she is a great woman. has help many people not as for anything in return. all her kids are great, never in trouble helps out people and all try to work when not in school.david was working to he lost his job three weeks ago now his health is going down hill. please say a prayer and help this family thanks a good friend here!!
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