Intro to Foster Care:

I truly feel this was our first "test" of really being a foster parent (well, any kind of parent for that matter!) We had a great time! Little D was a total sweetheart, slept 13 hours a night, loves white milk and bananas and now Candy Land! I have a new admiration for my friends with kids now, kids are always ON...the only OFF switch is sleep;) I am not going to lie, I was a little overwhelmed Saturday morning, but by Sunday I was much more comfortable. I also have to keep in mind that D is a little attention starved, so he was just getting his "fill". Can't blame him considering all that he's been through in the last 3 months...

I am really excite to see the different little persons that will come into our lives over the next few months!

Respite

We will be doing a respite for a 5 year old little boy this weekend!! Just got the call today, we are nervous and excited! I will finally have something interesting to post about:)

Sorry I haven't blogged in foorrrevvvverrr!!!!

Still trudging along with classes for Therapeutic foster care. We have not been called with any potential matches from our foster agency. Will be officially Therapeutic foster parents by end of March...hoping for placement AT LEAST by first of April.

The potential family/friend adoption placement of a little baby boy fell through:( The potential birth father (who is a family friend of B's) says he wants to parent once paternity test comes through. Gee this news was really hard to take. And this was only a taste of what is to come with foster care. I really had a moment (or more) when I told B "I don't know if I can do this!" This guy does NOT have his life together. He owns a pit bull (mix) and he doesn't even have a crib!!! (and you know I wasn't offering ours!)

Oh boy, what are we getting ourselves into????


* One piece of good news: Half marathon training is going great and starting to see weight loss!!

Things are begining to happen!

Just a quick update...on vacation in California now. Sounds like we picked a great week to go. Ohio is very cold and snowy right now..

This morning (hello, 5:00am pacific time!) Our agency called. About a placement. Already. It was for a 6 and 7 year old and possibly baby sister. Up for adoption...uggg....we were warned this would be hard. Just not ready and to be honest, they are a little older than we hoped...We were warned about the guilt we would feel, and all I have to say is they were right! I wish we could say yes. It just didn't feel "right".

The other thing is...and this has been weighing heavy on my heart, we have a friend of the family situation. My MIL's best friend's son (follow that?)is most likely the father of a baby boy born in late September that is still in a local hospital--born early and possibly + for drugs. The mother is having her parental rights removed due to drug addiction, and a paternity test for determining if he's the father is in the works. I have heard 3rd hand that the family wants us to adopt this little guy. I am beyond excited, by my hands are so tied...have to wait it out. The family knows how we feel and how much we would love to adopt. It really would be a great situation for the family. Grandparents and father can be active in his life. Anyway, big prayers going out to this babe "L".

We are making progress on our continued therapeutic foster classes. They are definitely very interesting and eye opening!

Licensed!

Just found out we are licensed as of November 5th! We will be signing up for the 60 additional classes to continue our Therapeutic license this week. 18 hours can be done w/home study so if my math is right that's 42 classroom hours remaining...with an average of 9 hours/week..minus vacation week and Christmas...I think we can be completed by the end of February (?).


With placement goal being...(((drum roll, please)))



March 2011!!!!!!


Gotta love having a goal:)


Big, HUGE thanks everyone for the comments and support. Means a lot to us!!!!!!!!!!!

This makes my heart smile!!!

"Adoptive families are shining examples of the care and concern that define our great Nation. To support adoption in our communities, my Administration is working with States to support families eager to provide for children in need of a place to call home. The landmark Affordable Care Act increases and improves the Adoption Tax Credit, enabling adoption to be more affordable and accessible. As part of the Adoption

Incentives program, States can also receive awards for increasing adoptions and the number of children adopted from foster care. AdoptUsKids, a project of the Department of Health and Human Services, offers technical support to States, territories, and tribes to recruit and retain foster and adoptive families; provides information and assistance to families considering adoption; and supports parents already on that journey. I encourage all Americans to visit AdoptUsKids.org or ChildWelfare.gov/Adoption for information and resources on adoption, including adoption from foster care."

Full article:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/01/presidential-proclamation-national-adoption-month

*Yes, I voted for him, and Yes I am glad--please keep your own political opinions on your own blog, not on my comments:) THANK YOU!*

Why us?

So once again, we have false hope and yet more delay...I am hoping by the fact that I'm updating my blog, TOMORROW we will have more news!

Okay, so a week ago last Friday we were told we will be licensed last Monday (10/25) YIPPEE!! And then....NOTHING! So last Wednesday (10/27) I called and I got"...ummm, yeah....I'll send out the info on classes in the mail right now" (these are classes to continue our therapeutic foster license) so I patiently waited...well it's yet another week later and STILL nothing and I don't even know if we have our foster license yet! I keep being called "anxious" when I talk to them so evidently I'm ticking them off(?)

ANYONE in Fostering have this??? I'm getting sick of the bureaucracy and we haven't even started yet!! We started our PRIDE classes in June and were told we would be licensed in 60 days if we work really hard getting our stuff in! We were VERY aggressive in getting in our info!!

Add to the fact that I've had large quantities of face*book friends make the lovely pregnancy announcements (including my cousin and B's cousin!)...I'm ready to throw in the towel and start researching domestic infant adoption...this is so hard for two reasons: 1) we've already spent $30,000 on fertility treatments and to add that again for each adoption is just crazy!! Sorry kids you can't go to Harvard, we spent that much trying to GET YOU...kidding... and 2) I have nightmares of a pregnant teen changing her mind at the last minute...literally, this is my WORST NIGHTMARE!!!

On to other news in my life...I've decided to put on my big girl panties and host Christmas this year...as an infertile, Christmas just sucks for me...no other way around it. Picturing little ones stockings hanging on the fire place, cookies out for Santa....etc...the whole shebang....just makes me tear up thinking about it!!! Will we EVER have that??? Anyway, Christmas is gonna be fun regardless this year (Dang it!) I am thinking "ugly Christmas sweater" theme...

Oh, also I signed B and I up for another Half Marathon in May!! Once again, this is so I can have short term goals...something I feel like I CAN CONTROL and have good feelings about (why yes, I am type A personality;)

AND we are going on vacation to Palm Springs, California in December:)
So I guess things are happening in my life, just not the one thing I want more than anything....