Merry Christmas!

It is that time of year! I love Christmas...the lights, the feel, seeing family, everything. Well, everything except for all the crazy shoppers and the fact that they start Christmas on Halloween. But, anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! It is odd to think that next Christmas I might have a child to explore the joys of Christmas with. But, for this year, I enjoyed it with my four-legged kids. We made salt-dough Christmas ornaments this weekend!

Many people get an ornament each year that signifies something special from that time. So, my ornament, a heart made out of my fingerprints, signifies the fact that I was just fingerprinted for the sake of offering love and a safe home to a child in the new year. (Please ignore the fact that it looks pink - it really is red. Plus, the paint was still wet. All the ornaments actually look a lot better now that they have dried!)

Charlie was the best at doing his print, but I kind of messed it up after that. Here's Charlie's:

And, even though Freckles wasn't a big fan of this project, his turned out awesome! Go Freckles!

Hope you and your family, whether 2 legged or 4, have a very

Merry Christmas!



THE Foster Parenting Podcast

I’ve been intending on writing this blog since this summer. Obviously I never got around to it until now. I just wanted to share with you a little about a podcast I had found. It is, of course, about foster care and is something I would recommend to anyone interested in the foster care or fost-to-adopt process. It is hosted by T & W, a young Christian couple who live in California. They shared their story in such a very real, raw way that you couldn't help fall in love with them and their family. I think the fact that you could hear their voice and the emotion helps allow you to really connect with them. Sometimes there was tears, but there was also a whole lot of laughter.

T&W fostered for a while before eventually adopting sibling girls. The podcast mostly covers their journey of bringing the girls into their home, first as foster kids, and then all the way through to the finalization of their adoptions. (I guess I just ruined the end of their story for you, didn't I?! ha!) They did foster other children while having their girls, and so share stories from those & their previous fostering experiences as well.

I found this podcast in of all places, Pinterest! And, when I did come upon them they had already been posting for a couple of years and had recorded over 100 episodes. I chose to listen to 2 or 3 episodes that looked interesting (each is titled & has a summary) before deciding that I’d just start from the beginning. It took me just under two weeks to listen to what took them years to record. I actually felt a little guilty – as if I did their journey an injustice by traveling it’s entire course it just a couple of weeks. But, I realized that was kind of the point. They created it to share their journey with friends and family but also inspire and help those interested in starting their own journey. When they were going through the process they searched for a resource such as this without any luck. So, they created this podcast as a way to fill that need for other people.

Considering each episode was around 30 minutes, they have shared over 50 hours of what they have learned about foster care and adoption from their own personal experiences. They shared about seemingly everything. They shared tips about fostering agencies, bio family visitations, what it is like in the court room, how to get the appropriate help for your child at school (many Foster kids are behind in school), books & other resources, trials foster/adoptive children face, and just all the things that can happen in the crazy, everyday life of fostering. I learned SO much about the system and how it works (at least in California...every state differs in their rules & regulations).

So much information in fact that shortly after beginning to listen to their podcast I realized the need to actually take notes while doing so. I ended up with quite a long list of things to take away from what they had to share. A list of books to read (some of which I've already read now), ideas on how to parent or deal with certain foster-specific situations, quotes (that I don't think maybe they intended to be "quotes"), tips on making the child feel a part of the family, privacy, the loss felt when a foster child moves on, etc. SO, so, so much stuff I can't list it all here!

They also were just great inspiration and encouragement. They always had such faith in God no matter what happened during their journey. And, they managed to approach almost every situation with a bit of humor....at least later! They also let me off the hook for feeling guilty about not being able to provide certain things and what a strength it is to truly understand my limitations. I'm so glad I took notes, but also feel like listening to it all again could be beneficial...as I didn't take notes at the beginning.

They no longer record new podcasts regularly, as they have settled into life with their girls and no longer foster. Though, that may change as I think they suggested in their last post that they are considering fostering again. Either way, this foster parenting podcast is awesome and an amazing learning tool for anyone considering foster care/adoption. Or, just for anyone who knows someone (that means you!) who is fostering and would like to learn more about it.

You can find them at:

 The Foster Parenting Podcast 

or 

Foster Parenting Podcast on Facebook



Fingerprints

The next step is in the books...I was fingerprinted! They do it by live scan (no ink!) and send it straight to the FBI. Now I just mail my paperwork back to my agency so they can do what they need to do for my background check.

Here are a couple of shots for the memory book...

Live action of the live scan printing! (sorry its blurry...)

The live scan machine &... all done!

Step by Step

Making progress is good. And to me, being able to put real dates on the calendar is good progress in this journey. I spoke with my licensing agent this week and got some more details on being fingerprinted and my upcoming training. I now have exact dates of when this will be happening!

I will go to be fingerprinted on Monday. There are many dates and locations available for fingerprinting, but Monday’s times allow me to miss the least amount of work. So, Monday it is! I will just take my paperwork given to me by the agency and drop by and get printed. There will be no fee to me, as my agency pays for this process.

Now, training is a little further away than expected. During my in-home orientation she told me training would begin in January. This is true, but only of the week-night classes. As I have decided to do the Saturday classes, I have to wait until February. Both the week-night and Saturday sessions will end during the same week, they just start at different times. My first training class will be on Saturday, February 9th and will continue each Saturday through March 9^th.  

After March 9^th, assuming my background check and Home Study have been completed (which it should be), I will officially be licensed and open for placements. So, for those who keep asking, “When will you get a kid?” My best answer is sometime after March 9^th! So, yes, I could have a child placed with me as early as March. But giving an exact time is impossible as there are a variety of factors that play into placing a child.

The other big thing on my mind lately is that of child care. I have found resources to use, such as the YMCA after-school program, but I would really like to be able to offer my child a more one-on-one setting - at least part of the time. Please pray that someone will volunteer or that I will seek & find the right person for this job. In foster care you can't just hire anyone or drop off your child randomly at some one's house who is willing to care for them. Any individual that will care for the child must pass a background check first. They must be approved by the agency to care for the child. So, as you can imagine, that complicates things slightly.

Please pray that I find someone who:

1. Has experience with kids, and can understand the 'special needs' that may accompany a foster child.
2. Available from 3-6pm, M-F (or at least a few days) and maybe an hour in the morning (it all depends on the school schedules).
3. Willing to submit to and pass a background check.
4. Just an overall good match for me, my home, child, and pets.

 Thanks for all your prayers! Be on the look-out for another blog post soon. I have one I started to write, but never finished. Hopefully I can finally catch up on that one!