Yesterday we took our daughter to meet her birth mother for the first time in her (almost) 15 years of life. We were all nervous, anxious, and excited. But I had no idea I would be moved to tears.
When parenting children from hard places, or children who have been wounded emotionally, it’s often hard to communicate with them. This is frustrating for us as parents, but there is a solution.
Holidays are wonderful family times, but holidays can also be are hard – especially for families with kids from “hard places.” The pressure of special events, increased anxiety, and disruption of schedules due to school vacations, can sometimes bring about true crisis.
In spite of a world that vastly misunderstands foster care, or it’s profound impact on the lives of vulnerable children, the movement is changing lives and reshaping the future landscape of humanity. Jason Weber is one person who is leading this charge. He is the national director of foster care initiatives for CAFO (Christian Alliance For Orphans), and a recently published children’s book author. His recent book, Farmer Herman and the Flooding Barn is a fantastic true story of the impact many people can make when they come together and work for the common good. On today’s episode, Jason and I
Sometimes the life we dreamed of having when we first started out on the parenting journey doesn’t turn out the way we envisioned it. In the midst of this, there’s an opportunity to discover a different beautiful.
Chances are you’ve either been asked, or have heard, some doozies in your time on the adoptive journey. You know what I’m talking about. The crazy-innapropriate questions or references to your children. There’s one comment, however, that has pushed me to the edge!
It’s a reality that most foster parents will face on the journey- an accusation, report, or full-blown investigation from the department of child services. While it’s scary, there are a few key ways to navigate these tricky waters. We’ve been through this a few times and it’s always uncomfortable and downright sickening. In fact, some would say terrifying. But, believe it or not, it’s not the end of the world. You can, and will, survive if you follow some key steps, show respect to the investigators, and handle yourself well. We outline all of this in today’s episode…
It took us a while to get there, but after years of parenting children from traumatic places, we finally had our eyes opened up. It became a game-changer for us, and our parenting.
Over the years, we’ve been asked how our children feel about being a part of a multi-racial family, and how they’ve adjusted. Our conversation always points back to the importance of your community.
If you’ve spent any time on the journey of foster care or adoption you know it’s amazing and beautiful, but also exhausting and isolating at times. The best way to navigate the ups and downs is through a support system. But how do you find one? We’ve been through more highs and lows on this journey than we could recount. Sometimes it’s filled us so full we feel like our hearts are going to burst open. Other times, it’s taken the life out of us and left us defeated and searching. The only way we’ve made it for more than 15
