Its not always easy but it will always be worth it...

The days have been long and sometimes the nights too but having little girl here for the past two months has brought us such all so much joy....I am sure everyone who decides to become a foster parent has some fear before they get their first placement I mean who wouldn't...You don't know this childs, his/her background, what kind of trauma they have gone through, medical problems etc. But you know that god has chosen you yes you to be a light for this child and to teach them and show them what true love really is....we have been making so much progress with little girl but we still have those days where it feels like its been 2 steps forward and four backwards...It's like falling off a bike you don't just put the bike back in the garage and never ride it again nope you get back on it and try again...So when you have those days of struggles with a bad attitude or the child is regressing when you thought you were making progress just try something new until you find what works!! I have also been doing some reading to better help understand what this child has been through....it's hard when they are young and don't communicate well how to help them and to get them to tell you what is wrong and how you can make it better....sometimes its just a good Hug and a smile.....:)

So the journey begins.....

So January 26th, 2017 we received a phone call asking if we would take a 1&2 year old sibling group we talked about it and both felt very confident saying yes...so we waited almost all day to hear back from our agency to then find out they had been placed with another family (I am finding out this happens quite often ) so we went on about waiting for that next phone call....the following week on February 1st, 2017 that phone call came again and it was for the same sibling group we of course said Yes again and met the social worker to pick them up....The first few days weren't too bad but then came the sleepless nights and more of abuse and neglect they had endured started taking more and more effort for me to keep up with....by day 7 I had spoke to our social worker and told her all I was going through with the both of them and I made the tough decision to move the younger half brother to another foster home so they could both get the one on one attention they needed and deserved.....so the following day they moved him and I was able to give little girl all of our undivided attention....we are now beginning month 3 with having her here and we have endured so much together already but nothing we would take back, we have formed a love, a bond with this sweet girl and are excited to show her what true love and a family are all about.....her half brother ended up going to his dad's...I am praying that little girl gets happiness too in her future.....

Just when you think a door has closed....

So a little over 15 years ago back when we had just the 3 girls God placed it on our hearts to become Foster parents and so we began the process of going to an information night through the city and began the classes.....during this we found out we were expecting a baby...and a special baby at that since I had just recently had my tubes reversed....We were so happy and decided to continue the journey....one evening while we were in class I started to not feel so well and by the time we got home that evening I had started to bleed...I became really worried thinking something was wrong with the pregnancy so the following day I called the doctor and went in for a visit....I was placed on bed rest and we were faced with a difficult decision to put the classes on hold....We delivered a healthy Baby boy and then over the next few years two more girls bringing our family total to 8.....Shon's military career kept him deployed quite often the years after leaving me at home with all the kiddos for many months at a time the last totaling 22 months with only a few weeks in between those deployments but life was good we had moved into a larger home and all kids had their own space....more years passed and our older girls began graduating High school and moving onto college and their adult lives....around this time last year I was browsing my favorite Yard Sale site called Offer Up...I usually would go to the site a few times a week since having Grandchildren it saved me a bunch of money to buy used items vs. new.....Well during a search I stumbled upon an advertisement for becoming a Foster Parent....I got an excited feeling in my stomach as I really wanted to pursue this journey again....I didn't quite know how shon would feel about the idea a lot had changed and shon had retired from the Navy and was currently working a position that had him traveling quite frequently....So the next day when we had a moment I approached him and we discussed it...Now this time would be different than last time as we found out this was with an agency not with the City so we set up a meeting to meet with the Foster Parent Coordinator....She was very sweet and so informative and she was able to give us the time we needed and ask all the questions we had....We began our classes, Background checks, fingerprinting and Homestudy just one short month later...We hit a few bumps along the way and it made us question if this was for sure what god wanted us to do but then I would see different scriptures and it would remind me that this journey even months or years later wouldn't be an easy one and we moved forward....We finalized everything in November and so began the waiting period, the "is my phone going to ring during church" "will the call come in the middle of the night" the unknown....Thanksgiving passed and so did Christmas I was a little disappointed we didn't have a foster for those holidays because I wanted to bring some joy to their life but I knew it was all in Gods timing......On February 1st we did receive our first placement more on that journey coming next all I do know is with a lot of patience and trusting in God he has walked with us and our family and we now get to spread our love to lots of wonderful children.....