Foster Classes Here We Come!

Our intial foster application!!! July 2016

Although we have anticipated this time in our life for so long, it has been very bittersweet. We found out at the end of July that Crystal's mom's cancer has spread to her spine. Crystal spent about 3 weeks with her mom. Unfortunately, the new school year approached and the foster classes started, so Crystal had to return back to NC. While knowing that the cancer has spread not only to her spine, but also to her brain, and organs have begun to shut down, it has been in our hearts to stay focused on the goal of starting our family, even though we mourn the loss of Crystal's mother in the process (She is currently in hospice). There is a right time for everything and hopefully this goal of purchasing our forever home and starting our family will help pull us through this dark, hard, difficult time.

We are almost through with our foster classes. We are on class 10 tomorrow. Which means we have 3 official classes, our graduating ceremony, and then our final CPR/First Aid class left. We should wrap it up on the 17th of October. 

The classes have been enlightening, eye-opening, informative, fun, and scary all at the same time. We have learned more about child trauma and abuse than we would want to know. We have learned how to discipline and deal with loss/grieving/emotions of these little children. We have also learned the importance of connecting to the child's original family in order to build trust with the child. Our eyes have been opened to the extreme need of foster parents and adoptive parents and how difficult it can be to get children a home.

We have made a lot of progress thus far. We have been fingerprinted, gotten our rap sheet from the courthouse, turned in copies of our life (rabies, dog vaccinations, insurances, birth certificates, diplomas and transcripts, medical history, car registration and licenses, etc.). We have also filled out our LENGTHY profile paperwork that goes in depth asking questions about our entire individual lives and our lives together now. 

Still left to do:
***Write a letter to the birth parent and a letter to the foster child
1. Buy stroller and car seats (infant and toddler)
2. Physicals and TB shots in January
3. Buy a home (Jan-Mar 2017)
4. Have a foster/adoption shower!
5. Fire Inspection (upon closing of the house) - Which means we need to child proof!
6. 3 Home study visits
7. 1 month to get license processed 
8. Get placed with a sweet baby! Create a LifeBook!
9. Work on room number 2! Continue parenting and child classes (must do 10 hrs each year to keep your license!)

In the meantime, we have written an informative letter about fostering (What it is for us, what it is like for the child, what we will need, and what is not allowed) that will go into our shower invites. Hopefully this will help others who are unfamiliar with fostering and/or adoption understand the difference between a regular family/child vs. a foster family/child. 

Also, we have welcomed our nephew Rocco into the family! We just can't get enough of him!

And, I finally got a "mom" do! No more long hair and messy tangles for me!