Straight from our Home: Would you pray for us as we become foster parents?

Infertility has been a part of our story for more than four years now.

Fertility appointments, surgery for endometriosis, numerous negative pregnancy tests, and lifestyle changes have been the norm for us since 2020. The complete opposite of what we thought starting a family would be like.

Going into 2024 we decided to pursue the next step, adoption, at the start of 2025. My body needed a break from treatments and, more importantly, our marriage needed the opportunity to get back on track following years of infertility and the emotional stress and disappointment it was putting on us.

2024 came and went and on January 1st (when I said “the start of 2025” I meant it) we got to researching adoption.

We knew the basics but didn’t have an understanding of the process, cost, or timeline, and the deeper we got into our research the more foster care kept popping up.

Did you know that there are nearly 11,000 youth in foster care in North Carolina alone?

The more we read about fostering, fostering-to-adopt, and the need for foster homes to support children – especially sibling pairs – the more we felt called to jump in and do what we could to support these children and their families.

So we’re here and taking the steps to do the thing! We officially submitted our applications to the county earlier this month and will begin the process to become licensed foster parents this spring.

Can I ask you to pray for us?

We recently had lunch with a friend who fostered and adopted her daughter and her biggest piece of advice was that we not go through this alone but that we allow the people who know and love us to support us. Gabe and I are both pretty independent people who love to support others and being on the other end will be a new challenge. Would you pray for us to get good at asking for help? Would you also pray for us as we step into this new chapter?

Can I also ask you to pray for the children who will come through our home?

Gabe and I know that this chapter isn’t going to be easy. We’re anticipating a lot of change in our personal lives. But our personal lives are nothing in comparison to the things the children who come through our home are, or will, be going through. Would you pray for reunification for these children? And for those where reunification is not an option, will you pray that we’ll be able to provide a forever home that offers these children the stability and love they need?

How can you tangibly help us?

From the girl who hardly ever asks for help, here’s the first step in moving past that.

Though we have an idea of the ages we’ll be fostering, we obviously won’t know what we actually need until the time comes to welcome our first placements. I’ll be creating an Amazon registry and will fill it up with things we need. If you’re interested in being added to that, would you let me know?

I’d also love to fill the room where our foster kids will sleep with an array of children’s books. If you have any that are gently used and in need of a new home, would you consider ours? I’ll be happy to provide our home address.

Do you have gently used clothes for ages newborn to 8 years old? When the need arises, could I reach out to you for clothing if needed?

And finally, if you’re a parent, what item(s) have been your saving grace? Could you let us know? We’re going into this with a lot of unknowns, but we’d like to plan where we can! And this includes must-have items like child-proofing items, toys that are indestructible (do those exist?), and everything in between.

We feel really excited to be stepping into this season and hopeful that God is going to use us in it. Mostly, we feel so encouraged by our community and surrounded by so much love and support. Thank you for that!

For now, here’s to new chapters!