I get asked all the time how or even why we started fostering children in need, and the answer is quite simple…
We literally got a call!
I’m not talking about God placing it on our hearts, though He definitely did that, but we actually got a call one day asking if we could take in a baby about to go into foster care, and we simply said “Yes.”
Because not only could we, but we felt we should.
Our Christmas hike that year included our foster daughter, at just five weeks old! Peep hat tiny pink hat!
There was definitely some build up to that moment. First, my husband and I struggled with infertility for years. In fact, prior to marriage we had frank discussions about what we wanted in life, and I wasn’t certain I could have children, so we talked about how open we both were to adoption. Plus our extended families were both so accepting of that being a way to add to a family, we knew they’d be supportive if life led that way.
Then we had an assessment opened through the department of child services for one of our biological sons, because our previous medical provider was disgruntled about our leaving their practice. So we had to show we had a legitimate medical reason for seeing a second opinion (which we did), and when the caseworker was closing the assessment, I remember asking her if this would ever impact our ability to foster in the future, and she said “Absolutely not. In fact, you guys would make great foster parents because you care so much & advocate for your children. And we always need good foster homes.”
We even watched Instant Family a few days before we got the call about our foster daughter… and I could tell Sam was not on board with the idea. Which was okay. I just had felt a strong call put in me to have a larger family, and due to my previous medically complicated pregnancies, I’d been strongly advised to not have more children by way of my own pregnancies. (You can read more about my pregnancy induced heart failure story here.) I didn’t know where more children would come in, but I just felt a baby was out there… in fact just weeks prior to Miss M being born, I told Sam I didn’t think our family was “done” yet.
Our crew fall of 2022, on our anniversary no less. No sitter, no problem. We made it a “kid date” and spent the day with them!
The final step for us was we knew the family our foster children were born into. We had actually been trying to help them, seeing their struggles and stepping in when we could. We had offered to help keep some of their children temporarily, if it would help. Apparently that got our names on paperwork with DCS and when the removal of the youngest happened, we got that call.
It didn’t matter if we were on the same page. It didn’t matter we completely knew nothing about the foster care system or what a long three plus years we would be in for… a baby needed a home.
And so we said yes.
My husband with Miss M the night she came home to stay with us. We knew each moment could prove to be the last she stayed here, so we treasured them
And three weeks in, we said yes to one of her older brothers.
And now we’ve said yes to adopting them both soon.
Because they needed a home. And we could be that for them.
And while it feels like a miracle, I look back and realize all this time, God was shaping our lives so we’d say YES.
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