Organizing the Large Family Homeschool
1 month ago
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Some Progress :-)
We had a wonderful meeting with the social worker this morning. He did a complete 180 from when I spoke with him on the phone last week. We will get food stamps and Medicaid (although we didn't get our food stamp card today--that will be a few more days). We left feeling like the social worker was truly an ally and he was impressed that we were honest and forthcoming with the information he requested. He stated that we were definitely not the typical clients he sees in his office (and he meant this in a good way). Praise God for this provision and we are praying that we will be able to get our food stamp cards quickly.
Appointment at 11am this morning!
Please pray about this appointment. We would like to walk out of the DHS office with food stamps and Medicaid for the baby. This would greatly decrease my stress level. Also, that Jason would be able to handle the appointment well. The social worker asked if Jason could come and we are going to take him (hopefully the visual of this man struggling to make it into the office will make an impact on this social worker who didn't seem very sympathetic when I spoke with him last). The kids are staying with a sitter, so it will just be the two of us.
Jason is still having a hard time being off of paid meds and maintaining his level of activity. It seems to be either one or the other right now. We are praying that his pain will decrease to the level that he can start being more active without medication.
Yesterday, a friend washed some of my baby clothes/blankets which had been lying around waiting for me to get to them, and she cooked some of my meat for the freezer. Later, she came and cleaned my master bathroom and vacumned/dusted in the master bedroom. These were things I just wasn't finding time to get to in the midst of all of this.
I spent most of yesterday handling financial/business matters and making copies/sending faxes off for information we need on our various charity applications. It was very time consuming and frustrating, but quite a bit of it got done yesterday. Our church was kind enough to let me use their copier and fax machine, and my kids were able to play up there without me being worried about what they were doing ;-)
"Miney" goes back to the allergist next Monday to be rechecked for her food allergies. We are hoping that she is over them so that we can vary our diet somewhat and not be as concerned when other people bring us meals. She is excited to be going back (strange girl) and keeps asking me every day if she can have her "shot" (blood test) today.
ETA: We are also doing school 5 days a week, so that is keeping us busy too. "Meanie" is doing regular school now and he is doing quite well with the 3 R's. He likes Math the best (I think it helps that I bought him a Transformers Math workbook). "Eenie" is beginning AO Year 4 and is continuing to make progress with her reading. We are starting to add written narrations occasionally so that she can gain more confidence in her writing skills.
Jason is still having a hard time being off of paid meds and maintaining his level of activity. It seems to be either one or the other right now. We are praying that his pain will decrease to the level that he can start being more active without medication.
Yesterday, a friend washed some of my baby clothes/blankets which had been lying around waiting for me to get to them, and she cooked some of my meat for the freezer. Later, she came and cleaned my master bathroom and vacumned/dusted in the master bedroom. These were things I just wasn't finding time to get to in the midst of all of this.
I spent most of yesterday handling financial/business matters and making copies/sending faxes off for information we need on our various charity applications. It was very time consuming and frustrating, but quite a bit of it got done yesterday. Our church was kind enough to let me use their copier and fax machine, and my kids were able to play up there without me being worried about what they were doing ;-)
"Miney" goes back to the allergist next Monday to be rechecked for her food allergies. We are hoping that she is over them so that we can vary our diet somewhat and not be as concerned when other people bring us meals. She is excited to be going back (strange girl) and keeps asking me every day if she can have her "shot" (blood test) today.
ETA: We are also doing school 5 days a week, so that is keeping us busy too. "Meanie" is doing regular school now and he is doing quite well with the 3 R's. He likes Math the best (I think it helps that I bought him a Transformers Math workbook). "Eenie" is beginning AO Year 4 and is continuing to make progress with her reading. We are starting to add written narrations occasionally so that she can gain more confidence in her writing skills.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Special Delivery
Last night, I got a special delivery of meat from a friend. Today, another friend called and asked if she could give us more. I told her that I had to cook up the first batch before I could fit anymore in the freezer. Considering our circumstances, this is a nice problem to have :-)
Blessings!
Blessings!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Afternoon Update
Today, I have been encouraged by an inflow of offers to help our family. A friend put the story of our situation out on several homeschool email loops and I have been contacted with offers of help ranging from money to diapers to toiletry items. We also have our house payment covered now, and that was our largest bill. PTL!!
Jason went back to the surgeon today. His skin around his drain and around his incision were looking red, so the surgeon took both out since he feels that this will improve his healing. They glued the incision shut with glue and some sutures. He will return to the surgeon on Sept 22nd, and we will go from there.
Thank you for praying! I am encouraged to see how God is moving in our lives.
Jason went back to the surgeon today. His skin around his drain and around his incision were looking red, so the surgeon took both out since he feels that this will improve his healing. They glued the incision shut with glue and some sutures. He will return to the surgeon on Sept 22nd, and we will go from there.
Thank you for praying! I am encouraged to see how God is moving in our lives.
Update on the Jones Family
We have had a very busy and somewhat trying week. It started Monday night with discovering that the battery to my van was dead and had to be replaced :-0 Fortunately, we had received some cash gifts that covered the cost of this battery, but I definitely wish the $92 that we spent could have been used elsewhere. A neighbor of ours took Jason to Autozone to purchase the battery, and the neighbor also installed it for us. I'm glad we discovered it in the evening because I had a WIC appt on Tuesday morning, an OB appt yesterday, and I have to take Jason back to the surgeon this morning.
Our house payment was due on the 1st and our electric bill is due today--neither have been paid yet. I did get some commitments to pay my water and gas bills that are due next week, and for this I am truly grateful. We are continuing to make calls towards getting help with these bills, but so far we have not received any specific commitments on the house or electric.
As far as my OB appointment yesterday, I am dilated to a 3, 50% effaced and baby is engaged. I could go any time or I could wait. It is difficult to say. Because of the conflicting information we received about my eligibility for Medicaid, I have tentatively scheduled an induction for September 29th. I can cancel this later, if I wish, but this way it is at least on the schedule. That way we will only have to keep his company insurance paid on me through the end of this month, and after that, we can drop it on everyone but him. It is not really my wish to be induced, but at this point, it would be cheaper than trying to pay out a delivery and hospital charge on my own, if DHS continues to persist in their delays.
The surgeon is supposed to remove Jason's staples and drain when we see him this morning. I don't know if this will happen since he still seems to be bleeding from his incision (although the bleeding is much less than it was a few days ago). I will update later with what we find out.
As far as his job, I got a call from his boss last night. He said that the company has done something for Jason that he has never seen done before (God has definitely gone before us in this matter). They are putting Jason on something called a review of restrictions. Basically what this means is that, for the time being, he is not actually fired. They will be getting us to sign forms giving his company access to his medical information and they also will be asking the doctor to complete some reports regarding the liklihood of Jason returning to work and what restrictions he will need when/if he does return. At the end of this review, he could still be let go, but for now this process buys us a little more time. It does not give us any income, but at least we can keep our insurance at a cheaper rate as long as we can continue paying our portion. This would probably take a miracle, but we are hoping that this process takes long enough that I will have had the baby and maybe (this would be the even bigger miracle) Jason might even be well enough to return to work.
Our house payment was due on the 1st and our electric bill is due today--neither have been paid yet. I did get some commitments to pay my water and gas bills that are due next week, and for this I am truly grateful. We are continuing to make calls towards getting help with these bills, but so far we have not received any specific commitments on the house or electric.
As far as my OB appointment yesterday, I am dilated to a 3, 50% effaced and baby is engaged. I could go any time or I could wait. It is difficult to say. Because of the conflicting information we received about my eligibility for Medicaid, I have tentatively scheduled an induction for September 29th. I can cancel this later, if I wish, but this way it is at least on the schedule. That way we will only have to keep his company insurance paid on me through the end of this month, and after that, we can drop it on everyone but him. It is not really my wish to be induced, but at this point, it would be cheaper than trying to pay out a delivery and hospital charge on my own, if DHS continues to persist in their delays.
The surgeon is supposed to remove Jason's staples and drain when we see him this morning. I don't know if this will happen since he still seems to be bleeding from his incision (although the bleeding is much less than it was a few days ago). I will update later with what we find out.
As far as his job, I got a call from his boss last night. He said that the company has done something for Jason that he has never seen done before (God has definitely gone before us in this matter). They are putting Jason on something called a review of restrictions. Basically what this means is that, for the time being, he is not actually fired. They will be getting us to sign forms giving his company access to his medical information and they also will be asking the doctor to complete some reports regarding the liklihood of Jason returning to work and what restrictions he will need when/if he does return. At the end of this review, he could still be let go, but for now this process buys us a little more time. It does not give us any income, but at least we can keep our insurance at a cheaper rate as long as we can continue paying our portion. This would probably take a miracle, but we are hoping that this process takes long enough that I will have had the baby and maybe (this would be the even bigger miracle) Jason might even be well enough to return to work.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Things I Have Learned Today. . .FYI
In the past, I have looked at people who were standing on the street corners holding signs and trying to solicit donations as people who were trying to take advantage of goodness of others. For a long time, I have been led to believe that there are organizations out there who will help people with basic bills if they are truly in need. Therefore, I believed that those who really needed help could get it, if they would apply through organizations designed to help the needy. Thus, there was no true need to stand on the corner, holding signs and trying to get people to feel sorry for you.
Today I have learned differently. After almost a week of calling different organizations looking for help to pay utilities, mortgage, basic bills, I have met with dead end after dead end. Either I don't live in the right zip code, or I don't meet the criteria for that particular organization (i.e., I have discovered that if my husband and I were a highschool drop outs or drug addicts, there would be plenty of help available to us.). I have found a Catholic church that paid my water bill for the month of September, and I have finally received a phone call from DHS scheduling an appointment with me for next Tuesday at 11am. This is all that has happened as a result of hours worth of calls.
I have received conflicting information about whether or not I can get Medicaid to pay for my pregnancy if my husband loses his job. According to the social worker that I spoke with this morning, my husband had some income in August and, since I submitted my application Aug 27th, they are making their decisions off of this income. He told me that even though my income allows my children to be on Medicaid, that for me it is a different number and I am not eligible for August. I asked him if I should withdraw my application and apply again now that it is September and we have no income whatsoever, and I was told that now that the application date was in the computer, that was not possible. Thus, I am unsure if I will be able to walk out of the appointment next Tuesday with food stamps and/or Medicaid to pay for the baby. The social worker also spoke to me about the cash assistance offered through DHS. Since I have a bachelors degree, and they cannot aid me with job training, I am not eligible to receive these cash payments--in other words--if I was a highschool dropout or cocaine addict, they could give me money, but I cannot receive any because I am "overqualified".
I am starting to understand why people stand at the street corner now, and I guess if anything, God is using this situation to teach me a few things and give me compassion on those who do this. I wonder how well I would do standing on the street corner with a sign?!?! :-)
Today I have learned differently. After almost a week of calling different organizations looking for help to pay utilities, mortgage, basic bills, I have met with dead end after dead end. Either I don't live in the right zip code, or I don't meet the criteria for that particular organization (i.e., I have discovered that if my husband and I were a highschool drop outs or drug addicts, there would be plenty of help available to us.). I have found a Catholic church that paid my water bill for the month of September, and I have finally received a phone call from DHS scheduling an appointment with me for next Tuesday at 11am. This is all that has happened as a result of hours worth of calls.
I have received conflicting information about whether or not I can get Medicaid to pay for my pregnancy if my husband loses his job. According to the social worker that I spoke with this morning, my husband had some income in August and, since I submitted my application Aug 27th, they are making their decisions off of this income. He told me that even though my income allows my children to be on Medicaid, that for me it is a different number and I am not eligible for August. I asked him if I should withdraw my application and apply again now that it is September and we have no income whatsoever, and I was told that now that the application date was in the computer, that was not possible. Thus, I am unsure if I will be able to walk out of the appointment next Tuesday with food stamps and/or Medicaid to pay for the baby. The social worker also spoke to me about the cash assistance offered through DHS. Since I have a bachelors degree, and they cannot aid me with job training, I am not eligible to receive these cash payments--in other words--if I was a highschool dropout or cocaine addict, they could give me money, but I cannot receive any because I am "overqualified".
I am starting to understand why people stand at the street corner now, and I guess if anything, God is using this situation to teach me a few things and give me compassion on those who do this. I wonder how well I would do standing on the street corner with a sign?!?! :-)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
God's Provision
Normally, when I think of provision, I think of working. After all, work is a scriptural principle and one that I was raised to believe in. But income from working isn't the only way God chooses to provide for us. Although I would infinitely prefer to earn a living by working (somehow it seems more secure to me), God has chosen other ways of providing for our family in the recent days. While this might make me feel uneasy or insecure, it really shouldn't. God is taking us through this time and increasing my faith in the process.
The last few days, I have spent a lot of time chasing down financial resources to help our family through this difficult time (actually, maybe I am working :-b). I have figured out already, that there are people who are professionals at getting this type of help. They know what systems are available and exactly what to say to get the help they want immediately. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I have spent a lot of time talking to organizations who help people who live in specific zip codes (unfortunately, not mine) or organizations who have already run out of funding for the year. The economy is rough right now.
Wednesday, I submitted applications through the DHS office to get Medicaid for myself (in case I lose health insurance) and also food stamps. I was told that because we did have some income for August that they have 30 days to contact me for an appointment. As you can imagine, I was not thrilled with this answer. Baby is due in 35 days and may not wait that long, and at this point, Jason is only guaranteed a job through Sept 3rd.
However, God has chosen to encourage me through other methods of provision this week. We have received money from several different sources (even from people that we don't know!). We received a Payless gift card (so I could get shoes for my kids), a gas gift card, and a WalMart gift card. Last night, a friend came and brought groceries for our family. Our immediate needs are taken care of.
Specific areas you could pray about are:
1. That DHS will expedite my appointment for food stamps and Medicaid. Baby could come at any time and I really want to have these things taken care of ahead of time.
2. I know that there are organizations to help with utlilities and possibly house payment. Please pray that I can find the organizations with the funding to help a family in our zip code. So far, I haven't received any specific leads that are promising.
3. Continue to pray for Jason's healing. He has had some unusual bleeding since returning home and has started running a fever. The surgeon wants us to wait it out and see, but I am very concerned with these developments and wondering if he should be back at the hospital.
4. Pray for our children. They are very insecure in the midst of this (especially "Miney") and yet Mommy is very busy trying to chase down assistance and not fully available to them :-(
5. Pray for me to have physical strength and stamina. Normally, I would have everything taken care of for the baby at this point and have my house cleaned and organized where I could take it easy. This has not happened at this point, and some things really do need to be done so that I can fit another person into our small home. Unfortunately, between hospital stays, doctor visits and financial arrangements, I am finding very little time to work on these things.
God has been faithful to provide for our family, and I believe that he will continue to do so. Someday I will look back on these times and be able to share with others the incredible testimony of God's provision for our family during this time. Please pray that I will rest in Him.
The last few days, I have spent a lot of time chasing down financial resources to help our family through this difficult time (actually, maybe I am working :-b). I have figured out already, that there are people who are professionals at getting this type of help. They know what systems are available and exactly what to say to get the help they want immediately. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I have spent a lot of time talking to organizations who help people who live in specific zip codes (unfortunately, not mine) or organizations who have already run out of funding for the year. The economy is rough right now.
Wednesday, I submitted applications through the DHS office to get Medicaid for myself (in case I lose health insurance) and also food stamps. I was told that because we did have some income for August that they have 30 days to contact me for an appointment. As you can imagine, I was not thrilled with this answer. Baby is due in 35 days and may not wait that long, and at this point, Jason is only guaranteed a job through Sept 3rd.
However, God has chosen to encourage me through other methods of provision this week. We have received money from several different sources (even from people that we don't know!). We received a Payless gift card (so I could get shoes for my kids), a gas gift card, and a WalMart gift card. Last night, a friend came and brought groceries for our family. Our immediate needs are taken care of.
Specific areas you could pray about are:
1. That DHS will expedite my appointment for food stamps and Medicaid. Baby could come at any time and I really want to have these things taken care of ahead of time.
2. I know that there are organizations to help with utlilities and possibly house payment. Please pray that I can find the organizations with the funding to help a family in our zip code. So far, I haven't received any specific leads that are promising.
3. Continue to pray for Jason's healing. He has had some unusual bleeding since returning home and has started running a fever. The surgeon wants us to wait it out and see, but I am very concerned with these developments and wondering if he should be back at the hospital.
4. Pray for our children. They are very insecure in the midst of this (especially "Miney") and yet Mommy is very busy trying to chase down assistance and not fully available to them :-(
5. Pray for me to have physical strength and stamina. Normally, I would have everything taken care of for the baby at this point and have my house cleaned and organized where I could take it easy. This has not happened at this point, and some things really do need to be done so that I can fit another person into our small home. Unfortunately, between hospital stays, doctor visits and financial arrangements, I am finding very little time to work on these things.
God has been faithful to provide for our family, and I believe that he will continue to do so. Someday I will look back on these times and be able to share with others the incredible testimony of God's provision for our family during this time. Please pray that I will rest in Him.
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