Straight from our Home: Fostering Update #2

As of this week we’re officially six weeks deep into foster care classes. That’s six sessions, three hours per each one at the Watauga County DSS. 

Writing that down feels wild after months of waiting to even BEGIN classes. Now we’re pros at eating dinner on the go or prepping and packing it for a picnic set up during class.

Each week has been a little harder than the previous as we’ve learned more about the realities of fostering children who have endured one of the most traumatic events of their lives: being separated from their families, from what they know, and from what they have to live with complete strangers.

During our fifth week of training we did an exercise where we were given 10 sticky notes and told to write down the 10 people or items we would take with us if we given minutes to leave our home.

1. Gabe
2. Lacy
3. Our emergency folder with important documents
4. Bible
5. Kindle
6. Laptop
7. My box of photos from my parents
8. Favorite sweater
9. Pillow
10. Eye mask for sleeping

From there we were told to narrow it down to five items, then to three, and finally, to two.

Now, hear me loud and clear, we did this as a couple so *technically* we had 20 items and individuals on our separate lists and Gabe’s final two included our dog Lacy and me, which is why my final two were him and my Kindle.

Imagine being a child in the foster care system. Your whole life condensed to a handful of items and mere seconds to grab them before being taken to an unfamiliar home.

That exercise was a punch to the gut and the reality of what children in the foster care system are going through.

What would your ten items be? Your three? Your final two?

These are the kind of conversations we’re having in our weekly classes, along with being given the tools to support the children who come into our home to the best of our ability.

There’s a sense of “I’ve got this, I can do this!” and, at the same time, of “Sweet Lord, what are we getting into? What will we face?”

And in those moments of, “Sweet Lord, what are we getting into? What will we face?” we’ve felt so grateful to be connected with others who have gone before us and are now welcoming us into their homes to share their stories. This has been a huge encouragement for us and, honestly, a saving grace as we navigate these new waters.

I asked Gabe how he’s feeling at this point in the process and for him it’s feeling more and more real that in a couple of months (if not weeks), we’ll be welcoming children into our home. He’s also feeling really equipped by our classes, which we’ve both agreed every potential parent should take a version of before welcoming a child into their home.

So what’s next in the process?

Our 36-page family profile has been submitted, we have our first home visit next week, and in two weeks a fire fire marshal is coming by the house to make sure it’s safe for kids. We also installed a home phone (who remembers those?) as required by the state.

Aside from our class, we’re planning our big trip to IKEA to purchase the beds (!!!!!!!!) and other furniture to transform my home office into a room for our foster children. We’ve also received a beautiful collection of books for our home library, which will remind me of the people who sent them every time I read them to any one of our foster children.

The greatest gift in all of this so far has been the support we’ve received and the reminders that this season is worth celebrating alongside our community. We feel especially grateful for those who are cheering us on and encouraging us to get excited about the changes taking place in our lives because it is exciting!

Six weeks down, four more to go.

I have a feeling I’m going to blink and suddenly my house will be filled with toys, books, and tears (from me because my house is full of children and also because I’m lacking sleep but deliriously happy).

Happy Friday, friends.