First Placement Update - November 2014 to the Present

** A quick catch up on all the precious happenings in our home over the last few months. **


     A Friday in early November, I woke up thinking it was a good day to lay in bed all morning and relax doing small projects, to check as many things off my to do list as possible. But then the phone rang, it was our licensing worker wondering how many kids we'd be willing to take. Double checking, just in case, she said. There was a slight possibility some placements would be made that day. The words lice and skin lesions were casually mentioned, and, even though I was told not to expect anything, I flew into a flurry as soon as I hung up the phone. I started by calling DH and Mom, to tell them the possibility existed for the day's events to change at a moment's notice. Then, I ran through the kids' room and the house gathering all the super plush comforters, stuffed animals, extra clothes, soft-surfaced toys and tossing it all into the guest room, garage, and attic. I grabbed some clothes out of the totes in the attic, in sizes I thought might come into our home. I washed, folded, and stacked them neatly in outfits in the bassinet in the master bedroom.

     I ran around frantically up until the moment I left the house to meet another foster mom for lunch. Lunch was fabulous. We discussed the joys, affirmations, frustrations, and doubts we'd been facing in our foster journeys since we finished our MAPP training class back in April. Even though DH and I had only been officially licensed a week, I was so exhausted from waiting through the 7 months of delays that I was beginning to think we wouldn't have a placement until well into 2015. We long ago put the future of our family in the Lord's hands, and just asked Him to make it abundantly clear what paths we were to take along the way. As we sat at lunch, I prayed that the Lord would calm my impatient heart, and bless and equip my fellow foster mom and bless her family with all they would need for their next adventure. As we were in the parking lot, saying our goodbyes, my phone rang. It was a placement worker asking if DH & I were willing to take a sibling group of 3 (a boy, 3, and two girls, 5 & 6). The placement supervisor asked when I could come pick them up, ideally in the next two hours. I was literally in the parking lot across the street from the DSS building, and told her I'd be there in about 2 minutes. She began expediting the paperwork, while I had my little happy dance moment and hopped in the car. Less than 15 minutes later, I was on my way home with three kids.

     We learned quickly that we have to be jaded about how we listen and react to everything. The kids had never had a bed before, and definitely never had their own. They lie and fake illnesses to get attention, and tell a bit too much of the truth when they tell everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) why they are staying with us. They attacked snacks and dinner like cavemen, gagging and choking themselves on the sheer volume of food they were double-fisting into their mouths, and would then attack each other trying to get more. We had to go to the store immediately to get supplies, as they came only with the clothes on their backs (and several sizes too small at that). Clothes, Pull-ups (not one was potty trained), hair brushes/combs, lice treatment, rash creams, extra Neosporin, cough medicine, allergy medicine, etc. I spent 6 hours (9pm-3am) pulling and combing lice out of one of the girl's matted hair, as she cried and screamed endlessly out of exhaustion. I would have given almost anything at that moment to be able to shave her head and put her to bed. Every time I started to think I could break for the night, wash sheets and start back over in the morning, she would begin scratching her head so hard she would tear open, bleeding scratches into her scalp. So, we sat there, fighting sleep with tears running down our faces until we couldn't get anymore of the lice out. We did a second washing and went to bed, praying for the best.

     I barely got an hour or two of sleep, but the kids slept for a good 16 hours before waking up for dinner, then, cried themselves to sleep until they woke for lunch the next day. By Monday, we were uncovering signs of abuse, separation anxieties, neuroses, hoarding tendencies, medical needs, and some major attitude/bossing/entitlement issues.
     FAST FORWARD several weeks, a lot of unconditional love, patience, regular weekly schedules/daily routines, and a whole lot of prayer later, and we have wonderful kids that are adjusting well, despite all obstacles. We are convinced we got an amazing sibling group, and are so thankful the Lord has blessed us with such a wonderful first placement. We still have 2-7 doctor's appointments a week, weekly parental visitations, and need to do extensive allergy testing, developmental evaluations, and begin taking the kids to therapy, but we have already come so far that our huge to do list is a sigh of relief compared to what it looked like two months ago.

     We were so blessed to take the kids out of state with us for Christmas at my mom's house. They truly thrived with all the individual attention, and came out of their shells as they bonded with our family. It was only the second time, the first being Thanksgiving with an extended family crowd, that they had run into a house and made themselves at home instantly. Normally, they would cling to our legs and sit on our laps refusing to interact with others, until we ask them to go participate and promise we won't leave the room, but, at "Nana's" house, there were enough people that the kids had their choice of who they wanted attention from. We no longer have nightly tears for their bio-family, though we do have tears on visitation days. We do, however, have daily tears for our family that we "left behind" out of state.

     Our kindergartner brought home a picture last week of our family, and I cried my eyes out. It was so rewarding to hear her say the words "I love you," when they were directed at me, after months of her telling me daily, if not every 20 minutes or hourly, that she hated me and I'm not her mom. My heart broke for the kids, as they had the first parental no-show for visitation this week. It's so hard to see the kids go from having parents that are always there on time or early, to having one of their parents drop the ball so suddenly. The kids sat perfectly still for 2 1/2 hours waiting for their parent to show. I was able to calm them down, but they are still disappointed. I'm so thankful that they trust us enough now to know that when I told them I'll see what I can do to set up another visit, I'll follow through.

     Our big prayer requests currently are that: the Lord will grant us the blessing of being able to get a family vehicle large enough to fit our whole family, we'll be able to witness to both the kids and the bio-family, that we can get the medical diagnoses the kids need to get better physically and caught up developmentally/educationally, and that their parents consistently work their plans and show up for visitations as scheduled.

Happy Birthday!

Sick day- Dinosaur Train and puppy snuggles make everything better.

We made Christmas cookies, and I wish I had taken more photos.

We had some absolutely priceless shapes and decorating.

* It is so hard to get unidentifiable pictures these days. They love having their pictures taken, and I guess I'm not sneaky enough. Haha!

We're Semi-Official!

      Tuesday was the last day of Red's first semester, so she had the day off school. Most of the morning was filled with her taking over DH's chair and watching Duck Dynasty, while I hand-picked and combed large, red, curly, hairballs out of our carpets throughout the house. I was positive that I put this fun task on the sticky note list of chores I gave her for the day, along with putting away her laundry (that I had already washed and folded). So, I'm not exactly sure how I ended up the one crawling around on my hands and knees, with a small trash bag full of human hair. One thing is for sure, she's getting me broken in for when the kids arrive. Haha! The rest of the day we went shopping and got her some new volleyball kneepads, cardigans, and dressy, leather boots. We had lunch at Sonic so she could get several foot long hotdogs (what can I say, the girl LOVES 'em), a slushy, and play on the playground. It was so nice to spend time out of the house, even though it was chilly. Soon the days will be too cold for outings like that.

It might be cheating if your feet don't leave the ground.

      Yesterday (Thursday), around 3 pm, I found out we are officially a licensed foster family. Words really cannot describe how elated we are. Yeah, I don't really have much to say about that. I just don't have the words for how amazing it was to finally know everything was set and ready. I called DH at work (he didn't answer, so I texted him so he'd get the message ASAP), called my mom (she didn't answer, so after a couple tries, I left her a voicemail), texted my best friends, and called GDaddy (he answered!!! yippee!). Then, I posted to Facebook. We are officially licensed, but I still feel like we aren't completely official until we have some little feet running in the house.

      Today, I got up early and got everyone out the door for school and work. Then it was time for me to get ready for the day. Mom called right as I was brushing my teeth and finishing up my to do list. It may have even been a record making phone call too, under an hour. I cleaned Red's rat nest out of the back of the car. Literally, a nest of her clothes, sports equipment and trash that she falls asleep in every time we drive more than 10 minutes. I got the car seats installed, one in each stage, just in case.

 I should have left the car seats in after the god kids left,
beige is just so boring in comparison to the car seat colors
 (the infant seat has yellow piping on the other side, love it!).

I was surprised how hard it was to leave the area. We always travel to meet GDaddy for dinner when he's in our state visiting family, but I had a rock in my stomach tonight. I was convinced that leaving a 30 mile radius of DSS was a bad idea, and we would get a call when we are an hour and a half away from home. Luckily, I know an awesome foster mommy who was able to share some of her waiting experience with me. She validated my concern, but also told me it was okay to go. I'm glad she was able to lend me some peace. It was so good to go and visit with family. In the car on the way home from the restaurant, GDaddy was asking me all about when and how the call would come. Then my phone rang. The whole car fell silent waiting to hear if it was "the call." The number wasn't saved in my phone, but had the first several digits of the DSS building, so I answered. There was no one on the other end. Thinking it was a bad connection, I hung up and called them back, AND GUESS WHAT..... it was a telemarketer. Good thing they had an out of service number message because I would have lost it (out loud) if there had been a unfortunate person to hear my rant about telemarketers calling cell phones.

      All in all, a wonderful evening, and a great dry run for "the call." Whenever it comes, we're ready for it!

My verse of the week:  Isaiah 43:1-7New International Version (NIV)

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
    Cush^[a] and Seba in your stead.
⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
    and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

What You Should Expect When We're Expecting, and/or Receiving, Foster Children

1 Peter 1:2

** WARNING ** - This is going to be a long post.....

This is all the basic ins and outs of how our family being a foster family will affect the lives of everyone around us. It may or may not be things you already know or would necessarily think about, but they are important things to know as everyone adjusts to our new family dynamic.


1) Our Placement Expectations
      It is our state's policy to license you for the most they possibly can, when you are willing to do so. This is in the case you are needed for a back up, emergency, or respite care placements. Our state caps households at 5 children, meaning we can place up to four, because Red already lives with us. Likewise, our state requires us to be a certain number of years older than our placements, so our age group is capped at 14.
      What we will be licensed for, and the placements we expect to accept, are two very different matters. We imagine that we may have placements of up to three children, newborn to 5 years old. We are happy to accept older children, when they are part of a sibling group placement or as emergency and respite placements, but we are trying to preserve an age gap where we can so that no children joining our family are too close in age or older than Red (since she is an aunt, not a sibling). We have chosen to cap ourselves at three children for one simple reason, currently, that is the number of available seat belts in our cars. One day, we'll break down and get a minivan, but, for now, it's not the first project on our list. Ultimately, we know and trust that the Lord will open doors when we least expect them, and His plans are so much better than our own. The perfect placements are out there for us, and we are learning to trust in His timing.

2) What to Call the Children
     Call them by their names and refer to them as our children. Our goal is to incorporate them into our family, not make a distinction or separation between them and us. For every intent and purpose, they are our children, unless they are away visiting their parents or removed from our home. However, even then, they will always be important members of our family. Sometimes circumstances will demand otherwise, but, whenever possible and legally correct to do so, we will claim them as our own, and we ask that you not refer to them using the foster label when they (and we) are around to hear it.

3) What They Call Us
      They will call us whatever they feel is right, within reason. We will be introducing ourselves by our names when we meet them (well, technically, my name and DH's nickname), and things will evolve from there as they become more adjusted and acquainted with our home and family. Over time, they may call us some version of Mom or Dad, but we will never ask them to do so. If they come to this decision, it will be on their own. Please be aware of what they call us, so you know who they are talking about. This is important because if they do call us Mom or Dad, but they did not do that the last time you saw them, it would not be good for you to try and explain that they have been removed from their birth parents' home, when they are really asking where we are or what we are doing.

4) What They Call You
      They will probably call you some variation of what we call you. If they do come up with a nickname for you, as long as it is appropriate, please do not correct them. Children usually give names based on some connection they make between who you are, how you are connected to us, and your role in their life. If you absolutely hate the name, please have a conversation with us about it. We will try to get to the bottom of why you have been given this name, and we will work with them to call you by something more preferable. In the mean time, we'll wait and see what they come up with. It's a learning experience for everyone.

5) The Parents
      This is a tricky topic. Please never assume you know or understand the circumstances surrounding the children being temporarily removed from their birth families. The social workers, therapists, DH, and I are probably the only people who should ever talk to the kids about their bio-parents. And, yes, special training on how to approach this subject was involved. If the topic comes up when you are speaking to the kids, the best response is a quick change of subject, an "I don't know," or a "You can ask [enter our latest name/title here]."
      Fostering is designed to be temporary. There is a lot we will never know about each child's life before they enter the system and (depending on how well we co-parent with the family) after they are reunited with their families. Our goal is NEVER to make a child feel like there is something wrong with their parents, but rather to reinforce and encourage the positive.

6) Confidentiality
      Basically, we have a confidentiality agreement with the state that clarifies we can not give out information on the children, unless it is on a necessary/need-to-know basis. So we understand that you are curious, but we really can't (and won't) be sharing what we do know. Likewise, we can not post their names and pictures all over social media. I'm sure you've seen blogs with pictures of kids with marked out faces. (I'm really not a fan of that.) Haven't figured out what I'll do yet, but I'll try to share, even if it is just pictures of the backs of their heads. The blog will have a blog nickname for each child, chances are they will not be called that name in real life. However, if you know us, we are sure you will be able to figure out who is who.
     Confidentiality is a funny thing because, as the foster family, we have to try to preserve ours, while having our entire lives on display. Literally! Our application to the state actually said that when I get stressed I take hot baths, after everyone's asleep, to unwind, and, when DH carries tension in his shoulders I massage them to help him relax. (I actually blushed, several times, reading our copy of what was sent to the state. I don't remember ever sharing those things, but there they are in black and white. At least we "[exhibit] many strengths." That makes it worth it.) Basically, our life is an open door to the state, our licensing and placement social workers, each child's social worker, each child's guardian ad litem (GAL worker, also known as CASA workers in some states), transportation workers, county fire marshals, judges, therapists, etc. However, we have control over the amount of information shared with the families.
      Usually, birth families only know our first names, until they have been to planning meetings, court, etc., and a visitation schedule has been set. From there, we can ask to be advised as to whether the family is a safety concern or not. After that, it's up to us. We have to decide how much interaction we have, have much personal information we share, and how much contact we encourage (within the boundaries set by court order). Yes, we have the unique experience of co-parenting with my mom for Red, so we feel pretty comfortable with the idea. My goal is to have something to hand the parents at every visitation, whether it's a craft the kids made, photos, or a progress letter. We want to establish a relationship with the parents because we don't want to ever "lose" the kids. We want to be able to stay in contact long after they have gone home, especially for the children who will be old enough to remember us.

7) Holidays, Special Events, Travel
      We have to give notice when we travel with the kids, and receive travel documentation. If we take them out of state, we must do so with the permission of either the parents or a judge, especially if visitations need to be rescheduled. My point with this is that our flexibility is shrinking. We have to have advanced notice to prepare for EVERYTHING! We may be late to things, not be able to make it at all, end up spending holidays with birth families instead of our own family, or may not make family vacation or reunions. Life as we know it is about to change, and we will do the best we can, but please be understanding when something comes up. Things are not always within our control.

8) Purchases and Gift-giving
      We don't expect you to buy things for the kids. If you are going to be passing things out to other kids at an event and do not plan on having something for our kids, please just let us know so we can have something prepared for them. Please also note that any gifts given to the kids becomes theirs, and will go home with them. They usually understand sharing and borrowing, so just watch the wording. Telling them you have a special toy you know they'll love to play with may be accidentally understood as receiving a gift, especially for the younger children.

9) Placement Duration
      We will most likely not know for sure or ahead of time. Children may come to us with a few days notice or a few minutes notice, and at any time day or night. Likewise, we know they'll be with us as long as they need to, but we will not always know specifically how long that will be. We will know about court dates ahead of time. We will know roughly what is on the agenda for the hearing, but courtrooms are volatile and there are an infinite number of circumstances, rulings, laws, etc. that could vastly change an expected outcome. Basically, we will not know until we know, and the social workers will only keep us as informed as we need to be. We are not the SWs, so chances are we will not know the specifics. Our immediate attention is on the children in our care. We will probably approach it one day or one week at a time, just trying to enjoy the time we have with them.

10) Laying a Foundation for the Future
       We aren't just fostering children, we are fostering families and sharing the love of Christ. Even when a child is removed from our home, they are forever a part of our family. The relationship and bond we form with both the children and their parents, during the time their little loved ones are in the foster care system, will often dictate our ability to stay connected and/or involved in the children's lives in the future. It may be hard to understand sometimes, and, yes, our hearts will break a little every time a child leaves our home, but our ultimate goal is to share our life, love, faith, and help families, whenever possible. Oh, and, yes, I will be one of the crazies with pictures of kids all over my house, constant streams of birthday cards being mailed out, and probably always have a bit of a funky smell as I walk around covered in stains and snot. Haha!


In Summary,
      There is a lot we will (or won't) know and/or tell you in the future, as specific needs and court orders change from placement to placement, but for now this is a general guide of what to expect as we receive foster placements. Thank you for supporting our efforts. We understand that our decision to foster will also affect you and your families. Some people do not understand, or even fear, what we are doing, and have chosen to walk out of our lives (we aren't even officially licensed, yet). We don't love them any less for this decision, but it does give us an even greater appreciation for those who have stayed, supported, or even stepped up in our lives. There are no words to express our gratitude and love for you!

Update: October 17, 2014

      Well, I've been a bit delinquent in posting recently. Things have been a little crazy to say the least. I've been out of town for several weeks now. I am coming to a close on 3 weeks in Switzerland on Saturday, which is also the day we fly back to the states. DH and Red are at home holding down the fort and watching the dogs. Red's volleyball team is 4-2, and I've been out of town for everything but the very first game. It's 1 am here, but only 7 pm EST, so technically I guess it's an October 16th update for everyone back home. I just wanted to let everyone know that my out of state background checks came in two Fridays ago. It took our licensing SW a few days to get everything together and passed on to her supervisor, so our application was officially submitted to the state last Friday. There are only a small group of people at the state level to review the applications, so we have been told it could take anywhere from one weeks to two months for our case to be reviewed and either approved or denied.
     
      Please keep us in your prayers as we wait, and also hold the other foster parents from our county, especially the families we were licensed with, in your prayers too as they are settling into new routines, planning on moving, trying to adopt their placements, still waiting on placements, etc. We are so blessed to know so many other wonderful Christian families serving our community, and we will certainly miss those that we are loosing to transfers/moving. We pray that the Lord's will be done as the court decides what happens next in all of our journeys.