Our Foster Care Journey, Part V

Thank you for reading along this week!  As I said, its been a very personal process and your support and encouragement mean so much.  You are also the group I will be coming back to saying this is SO hard...please pray!  :)  Really...it means so much!

So onto the Q & A and the last post in this series.  :)


What age range are you licensed for?

Growing up, both my family and Shaun's family took in foster children.  Shaun's family did 0-8ish months and my family did 0-4 years.  I wanted the same thing...a fresh newborn to snuggle with, a baby to do all the firsts with, a two or three year-old to have little chats with....all the ages I've loved so far as a mom.  But...God's ways are not our ways and He actually placed a burden on both our hearts for older children, perhaps even teenagers.

The agency we are using provides theraputic foster homes for children ages 8-18.  Normally these kids have had severe abuse or neglect and they maybe have been tossed around from home to home.

What an incredible thought that we could be the last stop for a child before they enter the world on their own.  What a responsibilty to become someone's forever family even without adoption.

Are you open to adoption?

We have made it clear with the agency that we are not going into this looking to adopt.  However, we will not close that door in case God has different ideas.

Don't you already have enough going on?

Yes, we do!  We certainly weren't bored or looking for something else to add to our lives.  That is why every morning during my staff meeting with God I will be reminding Him that this was His idea while asking for an extra portion of love, grace, patience, etc.

I can sit here and tell you right now I...we...cannot do this in our own strength.  On paper, our shortcomings and weaknesses would seem enough to disqualify us...but God.  I'm just as curious as you to see what He intends with this.  :)

Where will the child sleep?

We are required to provide the children with their own bedroom.  This will be a little tricky because, although our house is large, we only have three bedrooms set up...one for us, one that the girls share and one for Aiden/guests.

Most likely we will move the TV room downstairs into the pool room

and convert the TV room into a bedroom.  I lobbied to get the TV permanently removed from our house but it was a no-go.

Obviously we'll have some work to do when we get our first call....and some bedroom furniture to find!  We probably should be more practically prepared, but honestly its been so long it still feels like its never going to happen.

How will the child refer to us?

That is for us to decide.  Depending on the age, I think we'll offer a few suggestions and let them choose.  Probably Auntie Lisa and Uncle Shaun.  Momma Lisa?  Papa Shaun?  I don't know...I think its really going to depend on the child.  I'm open to suggestions!

What happens next?

Well, we have everything in....no small feat!  We are awaiting the fingerprint results, which we did back in November.  And then...we wait for our perfect match!

Well, this is the final post in this series, but most likely not the last you will hear about foster care here.

Happy Friday!!