How to pull a tooth, gently.

When I was a just starting out a s a dad, I didn't know the various methods for pulling teeth. The only one I knew was tying a string to a door knob, which sounded terribly risky. Now I know a better way.


Items needed for this project:

1. A dry washcloth.
2. A kid with a loose tooth.

Watch the video to learn a gentle method for pulling teeth.

God bless,
Dadofmykids
Sent from my iPhone

Day 33 of #40Days - Once a Brasfield...

We weren't looking to adopt another child.  We were busy with five kids already when we were invited to an adoption fair.  As experienced adoptive parents, perhaps we could offer encouragement to others.  Hoping that we could help, we accepted the invitation.

The adoption fair was a cookout or picnic event where adoptable foster kids and prospective adoptive parents were brought together in a casual atmosphere.  It was very well attended with maybe a couple hundred people.

There were all kinds of kids there, many hoping to to be matched with a forever family.  Several kids we encountered sounded like sales people telling us about themselves.  It was obvious they wanted to be selected.  It is kind of sad to remember them.

We were introduced to some adoption hopefuls too.  These were adults who were interested in adoption and perhaps unsure if it was for them.  They asked us about our experience, often intrigued with how we came to adopt such young children.  It seems that most people want to adopt a baby.  The older children are often left out because younger children are preferred.

With no intention to meet any children for ourselves, both Jill and I found ourselves drawn to a teenage boy with an energetic outgoing personality.  He didn't try to sell us on himself.  Suddenly, we found ourselves curious about him.  His name was Johnny.

We asked our case worker about Johnny and got as much info as we could.  Then, after praying about it, we expressed interest in meeting him.  We were interested in the possibility of adopting Johnny.

Eventually, this led to overnight visits where Johnny came to our home and met our kids.  We had him over a few weekends and took him camping.  It seemed like a fit, so we started talking adoption.

Johnny agreed to the adoption.  Everything looked like it was a "go".  The weekend came and I went to pick up Johnny at his foster home.  On the way to our house, I told Johnny, "Once a Brasfield, always a Brasfield."  That means when we didn't want to go into this with the idea that we were some kind of extended foster home.  I told him we didn't mind if he re-connected with his birth family after he turned eighteen, but he would be a part of our family for life.  The talk was intentional.

After that talk, Johnny revealed that he was not interested in such a life-long commitment.  He planned to re-unite with his birth family and didn't want to be adopted.

Through this, we learned that each child has their own needs.  Communication, especially with teenage foster kids, is very important.

There are many avenues to pursue adoption.  Our adoptions were all through the Tn Dept of Children's Services.  Jill and I wish that all foster kids could find a forever family.  If you are interested in adoption but don't know where to start, then look here:  www.adoptuskids.org.

The young man, Nathan, pictured above, is one of the many foster kids who want to be adopted.

Feel free to contact us, too.  We love to help.

God bless,
Dadofmykids

This is post # 33 of Forty Days.  Learn more here.

Heater is working! Thanks to all for your tips. Here's what happened...

This morning, I posted this because our furnace wouldn't work.  It was kinda cold upstairs. 

When I got to work, I Googled "furnace won't come on" or something like that and studied several possibilities.  There was a video on YouTube about furnace repair.  It was boring and elementary; exactly what I needed.  In it, they showed the safety button. 

A few freinds mentioned the thermocouple, too.  After bracing myself to replace the thermocouple (or thermocoupler?), I came home and removed the access panel.  Looking it over with the flashlight, I saw the safety button.  Shazaam!!  I pushed it.  And, Holy Snapoly!!, the furnace fired up!  That's our button right there.

While doing this, I noticed how dirty the air filter was.  We have five separate filters on our two units combined.  So I replaced them all with new ones.  Maybe the safety button popped because the air couldn't circulate through the dirty filters, causing the furnace to overheat.  Idk.  Just a thought.


Thanks again to all my friends who called, texted, facebooked or spoke up, offering tips and assistance. 

Now, let's see if it will work through the night.

God bless you all,
Dadofmykids

Peanut Butter Shampoo

Asher got chewing gum stuck in his hair. And peanut butter actually works.

Here's how you can easily remove gum from your kid's (or your own) hair.

Put some peanut butter on the tip of a butter knife, about the size of your thumb nail. That way you will have enough, but not too much.

Put the peanut butter on the gum. Work it into the gum by rubbing it between your thumb and fingers. Keep working it till the hairs begin to loosen from the gum. Continue working it. Add a little more if needed. After the gum dissolves use a paper towel to pull the gum and peanut butter mix out.

Follow with a regular shampoo. It will smell like peanut butter scented shampoo. Then you'll understand why they don't sell it in stores along side the strawberry or coconut scented shampoo.

God bless,
Dadofmykids