Well it has been a while since my last blog….a lot has changed in the Farmer House.
On 01/06/10 Sean and I got our first foster child placement. It was a 6yr old and an 8 yr old. It didn’t take Sean and I very long to decide that we would give this one a try. What could it hurt. On 01/07/10 our fears and anticipations were high. The children were going to be at our house at 5pm. We couldn’t hardly work that day. We were so anxious. We came home that evening to 2 beautiful children. In the back of my mind I had the evening planned…to say the least it didn’t go that way. My greatest fear going into this honestly was dealing with head lice and of course on our first placement both children come to our house with it. We made it through the evening with great friends helping wash hair, comb through it and helping us in any way they could. Thank God for all of you. (Cindy, Michelle, Jessica, Kim, Heather & Eddie were live savors during the lice crisis)
We woke the next morning to some very different emotions from the kids and knew maybe we were in for our first problems. After dr’s appointments and discussions it was determined that the 6 yr old would not stay with us right now. We did keep the 8 year old.
She has been a huge blessing to both Sean and I as well as our families. Her smile lights up a room. She is just one of the most beautiful little girls you would ever meet. (I think I am probably a little partial) We are looking forward to her finishing her 2nd grade school here in California. She starts gymnastics on Monday night. We also are going to enroll her in midget softball this summer. We want to give her the most normal life as any 8 yr old can have. We want to give her every opportunity to do things while she is with us.
Becoming a foster parent is one of the most important commitments I have made, along with saying "I do" to my husband. There have been times when I wanted to run screaming from the house because of unreturned caseworker calls or a bad temper tantrum. But when I hold my foster child and see the her smile into my eyes, or watch her grow, the hardships dissolve and I thank God for the blessings of this child.
Yes, I know it is going to be difficult to say good-bye when she moves on, but knowing in my heart that the journey with her took both of us to a higher place will overshadow our loss. It's like saying good-bye to an old friend--the sadness will diminish when I remember how she has touched our lives.
For anyone ever considering becoming a foster parent I would recommend this:
Despite all the training and preparation, there is no way to predict what life will be like with your foster child. The only guarantee is that you are giving this child an opportunity to be loved, trusted, and guided into adulthood.
