Yay! We have finally reached our destination! We have officially become parents-- foster parents, of course!
Last Monday, we got a call from our resource worker and she wanted to know if we'd be interested in fostering a 4 week old infant boy. It took me all of one second to respond a resounding YES! So, it was done. Just a mere 5 hours later, a social worker brought him to our home. Immediately, I was in love! He was the cutest little baby ever! So "Drew" is now living with us.
Due to confidentiality restrictions, I can't tell you much about his story. But, he was born into foster care and due to unforeseen circumstances, he was not able to live with that particular family. His birth parents are young. Also due to those same confidentiality restrictions, I can't post any pictures of him. But take it from me- he's simply gorgeous! He's a tiny little baby-- only 9 pounds at 4 weeks old! He's still wearing newborn clothes. He has the biggest blue eyes that are wide with amazement.
rew" is teaching us all about being parents. He's an awesome little boy- he only cries when he's hungry or wet, or when we give him a bath. He wakes up only once or twice in a night to eat, then returns to his sweet dreams. We've learned more in the past 7 days that we ever imagined!
We don't know how long he'll be with us. Time will tell. But, we know we are being the best parents for him at this moment in his life. And no matter what the future holds, we know we'll have shaped his life in a positive manner with our love.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Waiting Game
The home visit on the 9th went very well. All of the exceptions that we had noted during the first visit were cleared. The interview portion was boring, but I think we aced all of the questions she had for us. So, now, we are just playing the waiting game.
Our worker told us she would type up her report during the few days following the visit. She called on Thursday for a couple of tidbits of information that she forgot to ask. I believe she probably gave the report to her supervisor for final approval on Friday or Monday. Now, we are just waiting on the certificate OR a phone call-- whichever comes first. A lot of the times, new foster parents will receive a phone call for a possible placement prior to receiving their certificate.
In the meantime, we've been decorating for Christmas. I had scheduled a week of vacation for this week, but due to the workload and upcoming deadline at work, it had to be postponed. Usually during this week, I put up our Christmas trees. So, we decided to start early. I have already completed three of our trees and will have one more completed by Wednesday. That only leaves our few smaller trees and the remainder of the decorations. Stephen is responsible for the outdoor decorations and has already started on them too! I'll post pictures soon.
Hopefully, we'll be getting the long awaited call soon. When we do, I'll be sure to post something-- I am sure it will be an adventure! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Our worker told us she would type up her report during the few days following the visit. She called on Thursday for a couple of tidbits of information that she forgot to ask. I believe she probably gave the report to her supervisor for final approval on Friday or Monday. Now, we are just waiting on the certificate OR a phone call-- whichever comes first. A lot of the times, new foster parents will receive a phone call for a possible placement prior to receiving their certificate.
In the meantime, we've been decorating for Christmas. I had scheduled a week of vacation for this week, but due to the workload and upcoming deadline at work, it had to be postponed. Usually during this week, I put up our Christmas trees. So, we decided to start early. I have already completed three of our trees and will have one more completed by Wednesday. That only leaves our few smaller trees and the remainder of the decorations. Stephen is responsible for the outdoor decorations and has already started on them too! I'll post pictures soon.
Hopefully, we'll be getting the long awaited call soon. When we do, I'll be sure to post something-- I am sure it will be an adventure! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Long time...No blog
It's been quite a while since I last posted. To catch everyone up quickly, we went to Gulf Shores on vacation, completed our foster parenting classes, got together for a couple of holiday gatherings, etc. You know...we've just been living our lives.
So, now I am posting to the blog...again. Like I said before, we completed our foster parenting classes. It was an interesting 9 weeks. We learned everything there is to know about kids-- just kidding!! I feel more confused now than ever before! We also had our first home visit with our resource worker. She cited a couple of items that we needed to do in our home and we've done those things. We've also had our physicals, completed our homework, became certified in CPR and first aid, and we've taken a water safety course. Our final step is having another home visit from our resource worker. It is scheduled for Monday.
Today, I feel like we are "nesting." I know this is usually for pregnant women, but I feel like that's what we're going through. We had to get both bedrooms ready for children. One is set up with a twin bed (we have boy and girl bedding that can be changed out quickly, depending on what we may get) and the other is set up as a nursery (we chose gender neutral bedding). I must say that I don't feel totally prepared, but I think we can handle anything that comes our way.
We don't know the timing of the whole thing yet. We should know more on Monday. But, I think we are getting close. I'll post more when I have more information. Please keep us in your prayers that everything goes well during our visit.
So, now I am posting to the blog...again. Like I said before, we completed our foster parenting classes. It was an interesting 9 weeks. We learned everything there is to know about kids-- just kidding!! I feel more confused now than ever before! We also had our first home visit with our resource worker. She cited a couple of items that we needed to do in our home and we've done those things. We've also had our physicals, completed our homework, became certified in CPR and first aid, and we've taken a water safety course. Our final step is having another home visit from our resource worker. It is scheduled for Monday.
Today, I feel like we are "nesting." I know this is usually for pregnant women, but I feel like that's what we're going through. We had to get both bedrooms ready for children. One is set up with a twin bed (we have boy and girl bedding that can be changed out quickly, depending on what we may get) and the other is set up as a nursery (we chose gender neutral bedding). I must say that I don't feel totally prepared, but I think we can handle anything that comes our way.
We don't know the timing of the whole thing yet. We should know more on Monday. But, I think we are getting close. I'll post more when I have more information. Please keep us in your prayers that everything goes well during our visit.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Foster Parenting 101
Our first class was Thursday night. It was interesting- to say the least. We have two instructors, KR- who is a social worker, and FJ- who has been a foster parent for many years. The two of them take turns going through the information. KR tells the way things are suppose to happen and FJ tells you a real world case scenario from experience. The class started with an "introduce yourself" exercise. I just hate those- I think people say the weirdest things. But we muddled through it. Due to some of the responses, I think the classes will be full of laughs and a lot of great people watching [well, for me at least :-)].
The biggest part of the class was the twelve statements of "Strengths and Needs" that we'll have to learn. For instance- the first is Know Your Family. This seems silly to just see it on paper, I mean, it's just me and Stephen-- I think we know our family already. We've been a family for almost 15 years! But we have to identify a strength and a need related to knowing our family. So, it may seem like a silly statement, but it makes you think, right? How well do YOU know YOUR family? Could you identify a strength and a need? It's more difficult than I thought.
The other portion of the class was identifying characteristics of a child's behavior that relate to the type of abuse or neglect they experienced. For instance, if a child was abandoned, they may exhibit clingy-type behavior when they come into your home. Some of it seems like common sense, but I feel like it was good information to know.
And we have HOMEWORK! But, it's not too difficult. We both have to answer questions regarding our strengths and needs. The other portion is getting the first part of the paperwork completed. We have to turn in an application and a financial statement this Thursday.
The biggest part of the class was the twelve statements of "Strengths and Needs" that we'll have to learn. For instance- the first is Know Your Family. This seems silly to just see it on paper, I mean, it's just me and Stephen-- I think we know our family already. We've been a family for almost 15 years! But we have to identify a strength and a need related to knowing our family. So, it may seem like a silly statement, but it makes you think, right? How well do YOU know YOUR family? Could you identify a strength and a need? It's more difficult than I thought.
The other portion of the class was identifying characteristics of a child's behavior that relate to the type of abuse or neglect they experienced. For instance, if a child was abandoned, they may exhibit clingy-type behavior when they come into your home. Some of it seems like common sense, but I feel like it was good information to know.
And we have HOMEWORK! But, it's not too difficult. We both have to answer questions regarding our strengths and needs. The other portion is getting the first part of the paperwork completed. We have to turn in an application and a financial statement this Thursday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)