Setbacks

I know it's been a long time since I've posted...there has been nothing to update about for a while. We've played phone tag with our caseworker a bazillion times since our home visit. It's so hard to get her on the phone to ask questions or work out anything. Nothing bad against her...she's awesome and we love her but caseworkers are just SO busy and have such huge loads. We're still in the beginning of this journey so we definitely aren't on the front burner for anything. Which is ok, I'm glad her focus is on who/what matters, but it is so darn hard to be patient some days!

Like I said, we've played lots of phone tag. After our home visit, we needed to get one more reference sent out and we need to fill out one more form (a parenting questionnaire). She had said she'd send them both out that week but days went by and nothing came (our friends who were to be our last reference never got anything either). I believe things got passed off to the people to send them out but I don't think they ever got sent...even after my calling and asking a few times.

Last Tuesday I was finally able to schedule a time (March 2) for us to go in to the office to do the parenting form with our CW (apparently we have to do that with her, she can't just send it...? ). No biggie, we'd rather have an actual date set and we have some questions about some stuff anyway. I asked about background checks because I know we need them but nothing had been said about them yet. She asked if we had been fingerprinted and we hadn't (they have to schedule it for/with us since they pay for it). We were supposed to get a call about that in the next day or two but by Friday we hadn't so I called her again and actually got to talk to her the same day! :) The lady who does the requests and appointment scheduling wouldn't be able to do it until this week sometime SO I've got my phone beside me waiting for that call! Hasn't come yet though.

The big (disappointing) news from that phone call? They (not sure if they is just the agency or the whole state) have to switch to new forms on March 1st....which for us means that all of our references have to be sent out AGAIN with the new forms on/after March 1st (today). And then when all of those are back in, our CW can start (finish?) writing up our report...which then has to go through the whole approval process. *sigh* I was so upset when I heard this, I thanked her for her hard work and for dealing with us/me calling a lot (she is working so hard) and I got off the phone and cried. I'll admit I was very angry. Not at her but just at the whole situation and that we are at least still another month out from getting approved and licensed. Thankfully I have great friends and an awesome husband who let me vent but reminded me that God is in control of this and He has a perfect plan for us and any kiddos we're meant to have....but it still is frustrating.

We meet with our CW tomorrow to go over our parenting form. It will help us all determine the best kids (age, number, developmental & physicals needs, etc.)  suited for us and our home. We've talked about 3yrs and under from the beginning and that is really what I'd like to stick with but who knows?!

Prayer requests at this point would be for patience in this long process and that things will go quick and smooth from here on out. Also pray that we will be who we need to be for these kids when the calls start coming and that God will continue to shape us. Thanks friends!

New Comments

I added Disqus to this blog so any previous comments have been deleted :( Sad to not have them anymore but I like Disqus for comments better. :/

Our Homestudy Visit

Welp, yesterday was the big day! Our caseworker came for our home walk-through, interviews and to go over the safety check-list. We had time and she had time so we did the whole interview process yesterday (I think...?). We did our couple and our individual interviews. We filled out more (very intimate/personal) questionnaires and told her our life stories. She walked through our home and answered lots of questions I had about stuff. She is really laid back and cool so we were not nervous at all (except for the few minutes before she got here)! I'm glad we got someone who is comfortable to talk to and be around. I think she'll be great to work with.

From here we have some more forms and paperwork to fill out, get some copies of documents, etc. and then we enter another waiting time. She'll write up a review of our homestudy/us and her colleagues will read that and kinda "approve" us (they'll bring anything of concern/question to her and she'll clear things up with us), THEN it will go on to getting approved by the board or directors (not sure who actually does that) which will mean we'll be licensed...but that meeting only happens once a month and I'm not sure when. :/

We're hoping to have all of our stuff turned in by next Tuesday and then we'll just wait for their side to finish up to know whether we get licensed or not. I'm guessing it might be the end of this month or the beginning of next month when all that happens (I least I hope it's that soon!). THEN we wait for a placement for who knows how long! :) 

Thanks for all the love and prayers!

Date Night

We have a date!! We have a date!! We.Have.A.Date.
Ok so it's not really at night but still...WE FINALLY HAVE A DATE! :) A date for our caseworker to come to our home and start the home study process. Eeeek! I'm excited and nervous all over again! It's next Wednesday at 11am so if you could, please say some prayers for us as we start another part of this licensing process. Thanks.

I was beginning to feel very discouraged about this whole process. A call on November 17th to start this next step and then nothing for over five weeks...*sigh* I know Christmas must be such a busy time for them but we are so ready and that stall just wasn't fun. I'm sure that is one small stall in what will be tons throughout our foster care journey but like I said before, we're working on our patience still. :) I wasn't going to call again until next week (to make sure the holidays were out of the way!) but Benjamin decided he'd call today in case she was in the office and she wasn't (or at least didn't answer)...BUT she called him back and now we're set for next week. Yay!

I'm still working on getting the house ready and finished. Thankfully we have a copy of the home safety checklist so I can make sure all of that is in order. I'm working on some art for the foster room so I'll show you that soon. :) Hope your holidays were  merry and bright!

The Crib

After months of looking for a crib on craigslist and always finding them too late...we finally have a crib. :) It came with a mattress...but that mattress smells like cigarette smoke and leaves a gap all the way around the edge. I'm buying a brand new one today...to save effort and ensure we get a good one. So much for a deal, I could of bought this same crib new for the same price. Ah well, you live and learn.

Speaking of finally finding a crib...um, we have a crib in our house! It's a welcomed (and slightly panic-inducing) sight to see when I'm walking down the hall. :) We are so excited but (I'm guessing that) just like if I were pregnant...there are SO many unknowns, that sometimes it's awesome and sometimes scary. I'm a ball of nerves and excitement all wrapped up in one these days.

We heard from our caseworker back on like the 17th...and haven't been able to get a hold of her since then. I know caseworkers are extremely busy so right now we're just waiting for directions on what the next step is. We still have a ways to go before we get approved (or not) but I wish it would speed up! I'm ready to be in the waiting for a child part. From what I've read though, SLOW is a theme in foster care. So I suppose patience must be one of the many things we'll learn from this journey. 

ps-we have a crib. :)

Dresser Re-Do

I'm working, slowly but surely, on decorating and setting up our foster room. Thankfully, we have been able to leave that bedroom empty since moving here this summer so it at least doesn't need any cleaning out! I've been storing some things in the closet but mostly it's just baby and toddler items I picked up this summer at yard sales.
After shopping around (mostly on craigslist) for a long dresser to makeover and use for the room and never finding anything I liked, I decided to makeover a tall dresser and nightstand we already had...which also saved us money. :) 

I sanded everything slightly...and I mean slightly.

I used white Krylon Fusion for Plastic to spray paint everything.
(I needed 4 cans and it could have used one more coat but I was done!)

After the drawers dried, I used Rust-Oleum Ultra Touch in green apple. 
This brand covered MUCH better and went on smoother. 

I also painted the hardware with the white spray paint...but I forgot to take pictures. It seemed to work fine.
Obviously, I don't use any of these yet but the paint seems like it will stay on well so I didn't cover it with any type of sealer/coat. This project was SO easy. I'm dying to find something else to spray paint now! I LOVED how they turned out!

FAQ - Our Foster Parenting Journey...so far

*originally posted on my personal blog*

Hey friends,
I wanted to take some time to answer a few of the questions we've been asked so far about our decision to become foster parents. If you  missed it, I announced it on my blog HERE. We are truly blessed with amazing friends and family who have all been so supportive and excited for us. Thank you! I know a lot of times foster care and foster children are looked at in a bad light but thankfully, we haven't had to deal with that kind of response from anyone. Now let's get down to business...

Foster Child(ren) Room
a work in progress

Q- Are you going through the State or a private agency?
A- We decided to go with a private Christian agency mostly because they are able to offer more support then the State usually does...and we really want that! The agency we chose is very team oriented and I love the fact that we will be working with others (care workers, counselors, birth parents, etc.) to bring these families back together. The fact that there are people for me to call whenever I need them, that will be actually be there, is just awesome!

Q- What age kids will you have? How many kids will you have?
A- We *hope* to have children 0-3yrs. At least that's who we're preparing a room for. :) I know there is a huge need for foster parents for older children but right now we feel like this is the best age fit for us and where we feel called to minister. We do feel that in the future we'll be open to older children as well but not yet. Whether this is the age we actually get, we'll see! We will be open to sibling groups but of course with the age restrictions, that only allows for so many so there is no way to know how many we'll have. 

Q- How will be you able to give them back?!
A- I don't know! :) Many people talk about how they could never do foster care because they wouldn't be able to give the kids back. And that's OK because not everyone is called to foster care. We DO realize there will be a lot of pain and struggles that go along with having these children in our home...but we also know God will be there with us every step of the way and are already praying for God to prepare our hearts. All the children in this specific agency are voluntarily placed which usually results in these parents/guardians also being very committed to getting their lives in order so they can be reunited with their child(ren)...that is what we, and our team, are working towards...knowing that these kids have loving parents who are just facing some struggles has already made us feel more at peace.

Q- When do you finish training? What do you have to do to get ready?
A- We have already finished our training classes (the state of TN uses PATH- Parents As Tender Healers) and we had a medication administration class and last night we had CPR/First Aid training. We've submitted our application and after we come out clean on our background checks and finger printing we will have interviews (separate and together, not sure how many), we have to get physicals and TB tests, they have to talk to our references, we'll have a house visit for them to see our home and make sure it is foster kid friendly/ready. I am still working on setting up our kid room...SO fun! Depending on how long all of that takes (and if we get approved!) will determine when we actually get certified but we're hoping by the end of this year/beginning of next.

Q- When will you get your first kid?
A- After we get certified we'll be waiting for our first call saying they have a child/children waiting...hopefully we won't be waiting too long! Then we will head a little about them and we all determine if the child is a good fit.

Q- What if you have really bad kids?
A- Then we'll have really bad kids, a powerful God and a team who is supporting us and working with us and these children. :) Since these kids are voluntarily placed, they usually do not come with quite as much trauma/hardship as children who have been taken from a home for abuse or neglect. Of course, they will still be hurting and need lots of love and care but we have great resources and good training.

Alrighty, that's all the questions I remember. Feel free to ask any other ones you have in the comments or on FB (if you came from there). Hope you all have had a great Veterans Day! A BIG thank you to all those who have served and are serving (and to your families)!!!