Why We’re Becoming Foster Parents

If we’re friends on social media then you have probably seen my posts about us becoming foster parents. Apologies in advance for all the posts, I am just SO EXCITED. As of today, we are done with all the training, paperwork, verification checklists and the appointments. Once they approve our home, we will be licensed!

I have received mixed reactions when I mention that we are on this journey. Most are great and some have been a little disappointing. So I did want to write a post just documenting my feelings and the WHY we have decided to pursue this. I have heard plenty of mixed opinions. However it seems like one of the most common reasons people foster is because they *didn’t* have a great childhood. In mine and Bennett’s experience, we are the opposite. We both had great childhoods and teenage years with loving parents, siblings, grandparents, friends and so much more. I want to be able to provide that kind of experience for every child who enters our home. Every child deserves love and family and consistency. And since we have the means to provide all of that, and more, to children in our care I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t do what I could.

Now to ease anyone’s mind who may think this was a impulsive decision on my part. Fostering and adoption is something that I have talked about doing ever since I was younger. I’m sure my parents and siblings remember me always mentioning how I would adopt when I was married and had my own family. It was something that I felt placed on my heart before I ever even knew Bennett. We talked about it a lot during our dating years. And trust I always made sure he was on the same page. I know how lucky I am to have a partner who is as committed to this as I am!

So that’s my why. There have been some questions asked to me about this whole process so I wanted to answer those below.

Answering Your Questions

1. Do you know the age range for the child you’ll foster?

Yes! We said we are willing to foster any children from newborns to age 10. Originally we were going to say no to sibling groups. However we realized we had to space to care for sibling groups of 2 if needed.

2. Do you prefer girl or boy?

No preference here! I know a little girl or little boy will bring us tons of happiness. So I am okay with whatever gender, age or ethnicity walks through our door.

3. Is Bennett all in?

Short answer: Absolutely. Long answer: If my husband wasn’t okay with this, we wouldn’t be doing it. I wouldn’t agree to caring for children, especially children who have experience trauma, if we weren’t on the same page. This is something we talked about through dating, engagement and then marriage.

4. Are your families supportive??

They seem to be! We have gotten a lot of mixed reactions from family and friends. Some are super excited and seem to be genuinely invested. Some have been positive but are kind of keeping their distance. And some are not even acknowledging that we’re doing this. But at the end of the day, we’re not on this journey for the approval of others and I know we have a large village in our corner and for that I am grateful 😊

5. Do you still want to have your own kids?

Yes! Someday. After my miscarriage last year, I was reminded that it is all God’s plan and not mine. So while it may seem “backwards” to foster before we have our own biological children, that’s the path God chose for us.

6. What can I do to help support you guys?

So glad you asked! Please see below.

How To Support Us

I admitted to my family earlier that half of me feels like such a phony getting baby stuff delivered to our house when we aren’t having a baby. But the other half is beyond excited to be filling my house with all the kid things to prepare us for any children that come through our front door. While I do not expect ANYONE to go out of their way to help us, I am blown away by how many people have. And I am beyond thankful for the support already. If you want to help us out by giving monetarily you can do so through Venmo. We also will be in need of Amazon and Walmart gift cards for those last minute runs when we get a call for a placement. If you would like to purchase something from our Amazon Wishlist, you can view that below.

All of the things on the list are items that we need but please don’t feel obligated to purchase it from amazon. If you have these items and are willing to donate, please let me know! With that being said, if you have any items (clothes ages newborn-10 any gender, toys, books, miscellaneous) please reach out to me! Not having kids of our own has obviously put us in a weird spot when we’re preparing for such a large age range and we are starting from nothing. Again, please dont feel obligated in any way the best way to support us is by praying for us as we continue this journey. We are both excited and cant wait to see what the future hold for our family!

If you have any questions for me, please leave them below and I will answer them in the next post. If you would like to follow us along on this journey, follow me on Instagram and TikTok where I will be posting about our experiences through this process. Until next time!