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Hope
It was a year ago today, we met you for the very first time. Your foster family brought you over to meet Daddy and I. We sent the other kiddos to the pool with Nan because we just wanted some one on one time and to allow ourselves the space to process that you could be our forever daughter. I was in love with you before I ever even met you, and Daddy knew you were special as soon as he laid eyes on you. I will never forget how incredibly alert you were. You didn’t miss a thing. Your amazing foster mom showed us how to work your special…
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The daughter I almost kicked out.
I can’t tell you the number of times we have been told “you are an Angel” or “I could never do that.” Please don’t ever put me or any other foster parent on any sort of pedestal. The reality is, we are just people. We make mistakes, we fall short, we are far from perfect. My husband and I were working on cleaning out the garage last week. There was a Rubbermaid box that we had moved from our old home to our new home and never got around to going through it. My husband started sorting through the items and was instantly stopped in his tracks. He held 8…
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Skipping Mother’s Day
Well it’s the night before Mother’s Day and if I could just sleep through tomorrow that would be wonderful. Not for reasons you are probably thinking. It’s not because I’m physically exhausted. It’s not because I’ve been homeschooling 8 children for last few months. It’s because of the pain that tomorrow will bring. I wish that we could just blink our eyes and this particular day would be behind us. Mother’s Day is such a painful reminder for so many. I am incredibly blessed to be a mama to some amazing kiddos. Every day feels like Mother’s Day to me. I often just wonder how I got to be so…
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Breaking the cycle
Breaking the cycle.Have you heard this phrase before? Have you ever sat and pondered what this actually means? In the foster care world we hear this a lot. Child abuse and neglect are often vicious cycles that tend to repeat themselves. We have children who are beaten and told they are worthless everyday of their life. This kind of trauma doesn’t exactly create level headed, confident teens and adults. Obviously, some abused children grow up and are determined not to let their past dictate their future. These individuals are few and far between. The amount of drive and desire this takes is truly admirable. Unfortunately, not everyone is that strong.…
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Things I wish every teacher knew.
The beginning of the school year is an exciting time for so many. Children are excited to see their old friends, meet their new teachers and make new friends. This is true for most children but when children have experienced trauma they tend to handle stressors differently than most. I know for my children, even though they are excited about the new school supplies and seeing their friends, their anxiety has been through the roof. They tend to act out, they are extra fidgety and are lacking self-control. They keep asking the same questions over and over. I am dreading the thought of new teachers, who don’t know their history,…
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Mama and Dada
Mama and Dada….These are two very special names. Some parents wait a very long time to have a little one finally call them Mommy and Daddy. These words represent the two people in this world that are suppose to love and care for you unconditionally. The two people whose goal in life should be to keep you safe. Now imagine you were 19 months old and not only did you have your birth mother and father but you also had not one, not two but three foster mother and fathers in a span of 6 months. Those two special names I mentioned earlier may start to lose their value. They…
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Guarded Hearts
Very shortly after our first placement arrived, we were head over heels. We picked up these two beautiful, blonde headed, blue eyed little girls. We were in charge of their well being. We fed them, clothed them, tucked them in at night. We had decided prior to accepting any placements that we would introduce ourselves as Alyse and Jeremy. So needless to say, we were shocked that immediately we were “mommy and daddy.” I had dreamt of being a mom since I was a little girl. In our hearts, they were ours. It was easy to forget the truth. Legally, they were not ours. They were in foster care. They had…
