We started foster care with a 1 year old, 3 year old and a 4 year old. I have an associates degree in social work from BYU-Idaho. Basically that means nothing, but I do have a desire to help care for kids. I did an internship in Chicago and worked with inner-city youth and an internship at a youth detention. I really like to help. So, a friend in my neighborhood asked to borrow my one-year-old to see if she could handle one more at dinner time. She was starting up shelter care. So we just jump right in and take the classes with her. We didn't have an intention of adopting. We just wanted to help kids. Shelter was nice because we didn't have to see them go home to their same old yucky homes. We got to take them until they could find a grandma or grandpa or figure out what foster family/adopt was right. That was nice. Over the years, many kids came through our home. Some days, as the Christmas Box House came to pick up 3, they would drop off 3. There were many we could have adopted or wanted to adopt, but it wasn't the time or it didn't work out. We also added 3 biological kids. After 6ish years, the state decided to stop with the shelter homes and just do foster/adopt. Before that happened, I quit shelter to just move to foster because of some incidences with a person at the shelter. She lied and wouldn't let me keep a baby I had. Here is a post with the cute baby.
http://johnmelissaandfamily.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-post.html
But, that is all in the past. Then we did foster for 4 more years (10 years)and got tired of loving kids and giving them back, so we decided that we would do 1 more placement. We were going on a family vacation and had a busy July so I put my name on the foster list early so I didn't have to come home and wait. I was going to take 1 child, but there are so many that take 1 or 2 that I said I would take 3 to help keep a family together. I was laying in bed unable to sleep and I thought If there was a foster tree and I cold pick any placement off I want to, what would it be? I chose twin newborn girls and their 2 year old sister. 2 days later, I got a phone call. . . for twin boys and their 2 year old sister. Oh my crap. I was shocked. It was almost exactly what I had wanted. I called John, he was game. Then I called Kim. I was just worried about my trip and my busy month. She told me I was stupid for even questioning it. I had always wanted twins. How could I say no? And she said she will help me get through July. Respite took them when we went on vacation and Kim took them when I couldn't haul them with my family. After months of court cases and sporadic visits. Bam. We adopted our little Elizabeth, Jonah and Joshua.
I could write a longer, more detailed version, but I don't want to put you to sleep. So, there you go. 10 years in a flash.
