We've been reading up all week and praying about the possibility of opening up our home to an infant or toddler. This is exciting, but also very frightening - mostly for financial reasons. I know God will provide (or will provoke us to drastically change our budget and spending habits), but it's a little overwhelming to think about going from our current lifestyle to an extremely tight budget basically overnight. Bring on the ramen and Campbell's soup. :) This would also mean figuring out daycare, formula, oh yeah - and how to take care of a little tiny baby. That's kind of a big deal.
We've heard a couple comments already such as, "Don't you have really tough jobs?" and "Wow-isn't that going to be kind of hard with your schedules?" We know that we have the ability to be more intentional about building a family than other people might be, but however God brings family members together, the family is still more important than work. YES. Our priorities will need to change. Our hours will need to change. How I spend my time at work and at home will need to change. BUT... just because we get to "plan" for our family, that shouldn't mean that we don't have the right to put our family above work. I don't know if that makes a lot of sense, but it's something Bry and I have both been convicted about lately.
Status: Seriously re-working our budget and praying about the age of a child we'd be able to take care of
8/29/13
8/26/13
Step Two...
Step Two: Find an agency to work with...possibly complete!
I was very encouraged today when I spoke to someone from a foster agency that meets A LOT of the criteria we're looking for...
I was very encouraged today when I spoke to someone from a foster agency that meets A LOT of the criteria we're looking for...
- Near our house
- Christian agency
- Interested in making intentional matches- not just putting kids in our house because we have room
This agency is about 5 minutes from us! This is HUGE to me because the other two I've looked into are about an hour or so from our house. This would make it very difficult to get to 6-9 PM classes. This agency is also very committed to loving God and loving people through foster care.
It may be a coincidence, but I think this was God working today...when I spoke to the woman on the phone, she said they are offering all 7 classes next month. And somehow, we only have a potential scheduling conflict with ONE of the classes.
Bry and I had a "Paperwork Party" at Pei Wei tonight. :) We filled out a lot of the forms we'll need to bring with us next Tuesday evening at the agency's orientation meeting.
Status: Still praying, reading, and listening to the Lord's calling.....VERY excited about what I talked to this agency about today!
8/25/13
Happy Birthday, Bry!
My hubby is 31 years old young today!
We went to Cross Bend this morning, then had lunch with Matt, Jan, Josh, Chrys, and David at Dickey's where we opened presents and ate the mediocre cake I made for him. He wanted to continue his bday party at REI where he bought a lot of stuff for his mountain bike.
I continue to run across new blogs about fostering that reassure me that there are many people out there who are just like us...just two people doing life and taking one step at a time to follow God's will for our lives. This blog encouraged me this morning.
When Bry and I first started talking about the possibility of fostering, one of the first things God revealed to me was that I was adopted...
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God… the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. ” Romans 8:14-17
I am a child of God because he adopted me into his family. How amazing would it be to be able to show this kind of love and sacrifice to a few kiddos who need love and affection!
Status: Filled out two preliminary agency applications...Still praying...
We went to Cross Bend this morning, then had lunch with Matt, Jan, Josh, Chrys, and David at Dickey's where we opened presents and ate the mediocre cake I made for him. He wanted to continue his bday party at REI where he bought a lot of stuff for his mountain bike.
I continue to run across new blogs about fostering that reassure me that there are many people out there who are just like us...just two people doing life and taking one step at a time to follow God's will for our lives. This blog encouraged me this morning.
When Bry and I first started talking about the possibility of fostering, one of the first things God revealed to me was that I was adopted...
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God… the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. ” Romans 8:14-17
I am a child of God because he adopted me into his family. How amazing would it be to be able to show this kind of love and sacrifice to a few kiddos who need love and affection!
Status: Filled out two preliminary agency applications...Still praying...
8/24/13
Research and Open Hearts
We've both been reading and researching A LOT over the last few weeks. Mostly through the Department of Family and Protective Services website, but also through other foster blogs and articles. We're trying to find out as much as we can so we can understand the reality of foster parenting in the event that we decide to move forward with this decision.
Some of my favorite blogs so far have been:
- Foster Parents Anywhere
- Aspiring Foster Mama
- Foster Care Dad
- I Must be Trippin'
- Letting Go of Mie
- Adoption Forums - these have been very helpful so far.
- Foster Parenting - I hate the ads on this site, but the info is very helpful.
- I'll add to this list as I stumble upon more blogs that I like.
Now we're trying to decide which Foster Agency we'd like to work with near our home. We've looked into Covenant Kids, Arrow, and Buckner. We'll keep researching and meet with a few agencies in the next few weeks/months.
For now, this is all still very much up in the air and a lofty dream...
Bry and I have been praying for hearts that are truly open to fostering. With no strings attached. We don't want to foster just so we might be able to adopt. We don't want to do it because we think it's the "right thing to do" or because we have the space/money. We want to be sure that we're prepared to love a kid like crazy and then send them back to a less-than-ideal family situation and be thankful for the time they spent in our home. We're praying that we have servant hearts that are open to loving children who need a stable, happy home for a little while. If it's God's plan for our lives, we might be able to adopt a child someday along this path, but we don't want to start the journey with that being our main goal. This was heavily laid on my heart after reading this blog post.
We're also trying to decide the age range and emotional/behavioral issues we'd be willing to bring into our home. While I'd love to say that we're completely open to any and all children staying in our home, the reality is that we both have very demanding jobs and schedules and there will need to be constraints around the kind of children we're able to support. However, we know the Lord will bring the children into our home who need us at that time in their lives.
Many close friends and family members have already asked why we'd pursue this when we haven't tried every fertility treatment available to us. Rest assured :) - we will still continue to try to conceive naturally or with medical help, but after TTC for 26 months, we're coming to the realization that this might not happen for a looooooonnggg time (and possibly never); while we're still trying to have our own baby, we'd like to explore the possibility of loving other kiddos who are unloved and unwanted.
You only have to read one or two posts like this one to understand the heartache and pain we've been through and could go through if we pursue TTC with PCOS. We know the fostering/adopting journey will be a long and hard road, but so would trying for our own child. The Lord knows what we're able to handle and He has a plan for all of this. For our family. HE knows what we need when we need it!
For now, we just keep researching and reading, researching and reading...and of course, PRAYING. Like crazy.
Some of my favorite blogs so far have been:
- Foster Parents Anywhere
- Aspiring Foster Mama
- Foster Care Dad
- I Must be Trippin'
- Letting Go of Mie
- Adoption Forums - these have been very helpful so far.
- Foster Parenting - I hate the ads on this site, but the info is very helpful.
- I'll add to this list as I stumble upon more blogs that I like.
Now we're trying to decide which Foster Agency we'd like to work with near our home. We've looked into Covenant Kids, Arrow, and Buckner. We'll keep researching and meet with a few agencies in the next few weeks/months.
For now, this is all still very much up in the air and a lofty dream...
Bry and I have been praying for hearts that are truly open to fostering. With no strings attached. We don't want to foster just so we might be able to adopt. We don't want to do it because we think it's the "right thing to do" or because we have the space/money. We want to be sure that we're prepared to love a kid like crazy and then send them back to a less-than-ideal family situation and be thankful for the time they spent in our home. We're praying that we have servant hearts that are open to loving children who need a stable, happy home for a little while. If it's God's plan for our lives, we might be able to adopt a child someday along this path, but we don't want to start the journey with that being our main goal. This was heavily laid on my heart after reading this blog post.
We're also trying to decide the age range and emotional/behavioral issues we'd be willing to bring into our home. While I'd love to say that we're completely open to any and all children staying in our home, the reality is that we both have very demanding jobs and schedules and there will need to be constraints around the kind of children we're able to support. However, we know the Lord will bring the children into our home who need us at that time in their lives.
Many close friends and family members have already asked why we'd pursue this when we haven't tried every fertility treatment available to us. Rest assured :) - we will still continue to try to conceive naturally or with medical help, but after TTC for 26 months, we're coming to the realization that this might not happen for a looooooonnggg time (and possibly never); while we're still trying to have our own baby, we'd like to explore the possibility of loving other kiddos who are unloved and unwanted.
You only have to read one or two posts like this one to understand the heartache and pain we've been through and could go through if we pursue TTC with PCOS. We know the fostering/adopting journey will be a long and hard road, but so would trying for our own child. The Lord knows what we're able to handle and He has a plan for all of this. For our family. HE knows what we need when we need it!
For now, we just keep researching and reading, researching and reading...and of course, PRAYING. Like crazy.
Orientation Meeting 8.24.13
Step 1: Complete.
Bry and I attended our first orientation meeting this morning to learn more about the foster/adoption process. We were very encouraged by what we heard in the meeting (combined with the info we've researched ourselves.) We want to continue praying about whether or not this is the path God has for our lives at this stage.
We left the meeting and went straight to Central Market to take advantage of the samples they have scattered throughout the store. We talked about our hopes and dreams and what we've been praying about recently. We're excited to go on this journey together. We'll see where this takes us...
Bry and I attended our first orientation meeting this morning to learn more about the foster/adoption process. We were very encouraged by what we heard in the meeting (combined with the info we've researched ourselves.) We want to continue praying about whether or not this is the path God has for our lives at this stage.
We left the meeting and went straight to Central Market to take advantage of the samples they have scattered throughout the store. We talked about our hopes and dreams and what we've been praying about recently. We're excited to go on this journey together. We'll see where this takes us...
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