We're now an APPROVED FOSTER FAMILY for Berks County Children & Youth Services.
I was both surprised and excited to see two emails in my inbox today from our caseworkers, letting us know this news.
So many of you have asked how this process is going for us and have let us know you're praying for us, and we thank you! The Lord continues to fill us with a "peace that passes all understanding," and for that, we are grateful and excited to open our home and our hearts in this way.
Almost daily, our daughter Mya lets me know of her excitement, too. Just today while driving in the car, she said, "Mommy, I have so much love for our baby. So much love for our baby and for you and for Daddy." The Lord is so closely walking alongside her little heart, as well.
And on one other random side note, we were just blessed with a free infant car seat. A sweet friend (...shout out to Katie D!...) shared on Facebook several weeks ago about a grant that a local police officer received which allowed him to giveaway brand new car seats. I took a chance yesterday and called the police department, and they had an INFANT car seat still available. It's already been safely installed into our car by the police officer, so we're officially ready-to-go! (And it sounds like he'll be getting more car seats in a variety of sizes soon through an additional grant, so contact me for more details if you or someone you know may benefit from this wonderful blessing.)
So for now, we just wait. Expectantly. :)
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Something NEW is on the Horizon for Our Family!
The events of our summer months have evolved into a change for our family. I've tossed around how to go about sharing this news, but this seems to be the best way I can think of doing it --
We are happy to announce that we are officially becoming a foster care family!
The decision hasn't come quickly. We've given it countless hours of thought. We've talked it over with our families and dear friends. We've educated ourselves about what this will mean for our family. And we're super excited!
When this idea was first presented to us by an extended family member, we hesitated. And wanted to take things slowly. The change seemed scary. And to be honest, it still does, at times. But as we made the decision to move forward and began the process of becoming an approved foster care family, the necessary steps have unraveled as needed and at just the right time. We were able to complete a stack of paperwork quickly...including having our clearances returned to us promptly. We were able to attend all four required trainings in four consecutive weeks (we had nothing else on our calendar the evenings of each training which was a semi-miracle in-and-of itself). Our home's well water tests all came back good. And our caseworker visited our home. Our official home study should be completed and approved within the next week. We have just the right amount of non-perishable foods and a bottled water supply to last us for 3-days in the event of a natural disaster. I now have a "no smoking" sign on my refrigerator and an emergency evacuation plan in place.
And this has all happened literally within just the last six weeks.
It feels like a bit of a whirlwind. And yet, it feels right. We continue to take steps...in faith...and the Lord continues to open doors. Our trust is resting in the Lord right now. This feels so similar to our adoption journey for our daughter a couple of years ago...but it also feels quite different. I'm reminding myself that different isn't always a bad thing. And in this case, different is going to be a very good thing for us.
Being a foster care family is going to be challenging. It's going to require faith, patience, wisdom, grace, and trust. It may require tough decisions and raw emotions. And I imagine that it will involve tears...possibly lots of tears...but I know that the Lord is with us each step of the way. And for as long as the Lord continues to open doors for us, we will continue to take steps in faith.
There will be times that I won't be able to share details about the foster care journey on here out of respect for the situation and because of confidentiality. But we cherish your thoughts and prayers as we step out in faith to see how the Lord will use us. Thank you, in advance, for walking alongside our family through this new venture.
We are happy to announce that we are officially becoming a foster care family!
The decision hasn't come quickly. We've given it countless hours of thought. We've talked it over with our families and dear friends. We've educated ourselves about what this will mean for our family. And we're super excited!
When this idea was first presented to us by an extended family member, we hesitated. And wanted to take things slowly. The change seemed scary. And to be honest, it still does, at times. But as we made the decision to move forward and began the process of becoming an approved foster care family, the necessary steps have unraveled as needed and at just the right time. We were able to complete a stack of paperwork quickly...including having our clearances returned to us promptly. We were able to attend all four required trainings in four consecutive weeks (we had nothing else on our calendar the evenings of each training which was a semi-miracle in-and-of itself). Our home's well water tests all came back good. And our caseworker visited our home. Our official home study should be completed and approved within the next week. We have just the right amount of non-perishable foods and a bottled water supply to last us for 3-days in the event of a natural disaster. I now have a "no smoking" sign on my refrigerator and an emergency evacuation plan in place.
And this has all happened literally within just the last six weeks.
It feels like a bit of a whirlwind. And yet, it feels right. We continue to take steps...in faith...and the Lord continues to open doors. Our trust is resting in the Lord right now. This feels so similar to our adoption journey for our daughter a couple of years ago...but it also feels quite different. I'm reminding myself that different isn't always a bad thing. And in this case, different is going to be a very good thing for us.
Being a foster care family is going to be challenging. It's going to require faith, patience, wisdom, grace, and trust. It may require tough decisions and raw emotions. And I imagine that it will involve tears...possibly lots of tears...but I know that the Lord is with us each step of the way. And for as long as the Lord continues to open doors for us, we will continue to take steps in faith.
There will be times that I won't be able to share details about the foster care journey on here out of respect for the situation and because of confidentiality. But we cherish your thoughts and prayers as we step out in faith to see how the Lord will use us. Thank you, in advance, for walking alongside our family through this new venture.
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