For all of the stark differences of these towns, there is one reality that binds them together. Both towns need these child protection offices. Both towns have broken families, struggling parents, hurting children.
When I Missed Out On Being a Part of Something Big
It will teach you and your children about the power of every person’s seemingly insignificant, independently insufficient efforts. And it will envision you for doing your part in this too-huge-task of finding a home for every child.
This Time Last Year - The Littles Who Came & Went #instagramseries
When these kids leave our homes, they don’t leave our hearts. That while we may not be able to care for them or even walk up and say hello, we can always pray for them. I can love this little girl--and all the others who quickly came and went-- in that way forever.
The Most Important Subject: Books That Will Dazzle Your Children With Jesus
Far above everything else my child will learn, comes the most important study: the study of God’s Word. Because more than being intelligent or successful or well-rounded, I want my children to be absolutely, mind, body, and soul dazzled by Jesus.
“What to Expect” When You're...Picking Up a Foster Baby From the Hospital
Here's my "how to", a list of all the things I’ve learned while picking up foster babies from the hospital. Things I wish I would’ve known, things I did right, and (more often) things I did wrong.
I Need Answers. How Do You Do This Foster Care Thing?
Foster mom, how do you balance the impossible tension of loving a child like they’re your own, when they’re not? I thought about it. How do you do it? And then I realized: The love is in your heart. The what ifs and questions and worries are in your mind.
I Said No To Adopting My Foster Son, Because I’m Just a Foster Mom
I wish you could meet my precious boy. You would understand why I love him so. He is gorgeous and sweet and so easy to love. And I do love him. But when his social worker asked me to adopt him, I said no. The thought of saying good-bye to him breaks my heart, the idea of him not being in our family hurts deeply, but still, I said no.
To Everyone Who’s Judged Me...You’re Absolutely Right
Every day, I get the most deeply encouraging, undeserved, life-breathing words from readers. But. There are some. Some who like to challenge and question and sanctimom me. And I bite my tongue, because, well, they’re absolutely right.
I Have Two Infants, Two Toddlers, & Two Young Kids, and I Sleep Nine Hours Every Night
I have a five-month-old, an eight-month-old, a two-year-old, a three-year-old, a five-year-old, and an eight-year-old. Six little kids makes for a combined six to infinity number of possible sleep interruptions, but I slept uninterrupted last night and every night for as far back as I can remember.
Considering Foster Care or Adoption? Read These Words From a Former Foster Child #writeourheartout - Sabrina
You are giving a child the chance to live a better life. A chance that they deserve. You are giving them the love and care that they so desperately need. You are making a lifelong, lasting difference in the life of another human being.
Being a Foster Child Taught Me Love #writeyourheartout - Sabrina's Story
I never understood why “foster care” and “adoption” had this eerie and peculiar reputation behind them, when those two things are responsible for the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.
Respite Care: Why a Foster Parent Would "Leave" a Foster Child & Why You Should Take a Child Who's Been "Left"
There may be times that a foster family may be in need of respite care for one reason or another. And before I jump into my argument for why foster parents should open their homes to respite placements, I want to shed some light on why families may need them in the first place.
Licensed & Waiting: Tips For Getting Foster Care Placements
Looking back now I realize it was only three months that I waited for my first placement, but at the time it felt like an eternity. Take the overall lack of phone ringing I had expected, add in a few potential placements falling through, and I was in full will-it-ever-happen-distress mode. Every story of a child languishing without a family was like a dagger in my heart. “I”m here. I’m waiting. Give me a child to love!”
"What to Expect" The First Week of a New Foster Placement
As I’ve been posting about the first week with our newest placement, I’ve had many new or soon-to-be foster parents reach out with thanks and questions. It's reminded me of just how clueless I was at the beginning. Maybe you, new foster mama, are feeling clueless yourself.
Siblings Shouldn't Be Separate
On Thursday of last week I brought one little girl home from the hospital. One twin. One half of a set. These girls who shared their mother’s womb for nearly seven months, shared a hospital room for nearly four, and shared every moment of their little lives together, were separated.
A Vet's Foster Care Journey: Jerry's Story for the US Children's Bureau
One time, a small seven year old girl quietly approached me as I sat in a dark living room after work. “Jerry, can I tell you something?” she asked. “When I first met you I was very, very scared because you are very, very big…"
From 1 to 50: Karen's Story for the US Children's Bureau
My husband and I started the process of becoming foster parents. At the beginning, we wanted only one young child. To date, we’ve had 50 children in our home. We went from a three bedroom home to a six bedroom home, allowing us to have the room for more children to love.
From Stranger to Daughter: A Story For the US Children's Bureau
You clung to me with tear-filled eyes like your life depended on it, like some stranger would come and take you away from me, too. And my heart clung to you just the same, continually aware of the risk of loving you, continually aware that you may leave...
Christmas is About Foster Care & Adoption
Christmas is the story of God bringing Help to the helpless, Hope to the hopeless, a Father to the fatherless. Sound familiar?
Foster Care is Contagious
Simply knowing about “foster children” isn’t very compelling. But getting to know a foster child, one specific child, can change us. When we know their stories and speak their names and see their faces and hold their hands, they enter our hearts.