First Social Worker Visit & Eventful Week with the Kids!

Well we had our initial visit from our social worker last night. I started out a little nervous, mostly because I was so excited and have been looking forward to at least talking to someone about Fostering instead of just reading about it online! She came here at 5pm and didn't leave until past 7! It was very informal and basically we just asked questions and she talked to us about anything and everything.

It was definitely encouraging and a more comprehensive view of what fostering will be like. Overall, we (Adam and I) felt more enthusiastic than ever to go forth with it - our main consideration is the fact that although the agency pays enough for Adam to take it on as his full-time job, that is ONLY when we actually have a child/children in our care. So if we didn't have a placement for 3 months - well, that's no pay for three months. So this means we are going to need to think of some sort of part-time or back-up employment which can be done in times of need. It might be that as soon as we are approved we get 2 children for the next three years. Ideal but we can't rely on hypothetical situations like that to support the family!

After our talk we decided that basically we are going to be open to up to two children (three in emergency) and ages 0-18. Whatever we say we want to get approved for is official - so for example if we said that we wanted one child 0-10, that is ONLY what we would be able to foster in the future. So the social worker said it was best to be open to different opportunities and then base our decision on the case at hand, if that is what we wanted.

We finished with her letting us know that she was going to type up all of her report (she took notes and our application form while she was here) and submit it to her supervisor on Thursday. She said they will then make a decision about whether or not they would continue with the assessment and be in touch - she said she would be recommending us!

All in all she was great to have here and I hope that she remains as our assessment social worker for the next step, assuming all goes well. She said she might be but it isn't for sure as of yet. So for now we wait for them to tell us what is next! The process from here will take roughly four months, with weekly visits from the social worker and things like medical examinations, criminal record checks, health and safety checks for our home, etc. We have a three-day training course to go on (as well as lots of other training courses) which we will find out more about shortly.

Meanwhile, I'll be looking after my two crazy kids who keep me so busy that some days I think "what are we DOING??" This week has been insane, Liliana got a bash on her head and has four teeth coming in. We are exhausted! Thankfully this is not the norm and I cannot WAIT for her teeth to come through so this can be over.

Today I'm off to take Reuben to preschool, help out a friend this morning and then need to make 24 muffins for our local church's holiday club (like VBS). Realistically, all I want to do is sleep. Or drink coffee. But mostly sleep.

Please keep your prayers coming regarding our decision to move forward with fostering. It is such an exciting time, and I just pray that we find a way to make the financial side of it work out - there are so many ways in which we feel this is the right time to do this and I feel like we need to do whatever it takes.

19 Months Later....Let's extend the love!

I don't really know why I stopped blogging. It was a lot of fun to record how my kids were doing, the ways in which they were growing,and the general amusement and frustrations of day to day life. I think the main reason was that I realized that having two kids, 17 months apart, leaves me little free time and that free time is spent trying to relax because I'm generally exhausted. And I started working when Liliana was 8 months old. That was hard. I was still breastfeeding (I did until she was 15 months) and she would scream for hours - I would get home from work at 10:30pm and she would be in her room screaming for me. She is SO clingy and attached to me. Now at 19 months she is branching out a little, sometimes even going into a room that I am not in. Very exciting. So here we are! I work part time as a Youth Worker for a church a half hour away. It's perfect because it means I can stay home with my kids all day every day, and on Sundays I do most of my job with the regular Thursday night youth club as well. I can't say that I'm sad to miss out on putting the kids to bed one night a week - it is a welcome relief. Reuben turned three last week. I have no idea how this happened and where the last three years have gone. He is the most amazing little boy - occasionally driving me crazy asking "why?" to EVERYTHING I say. He is so smart - which is good since he is starting school next year; two weeks after he turns four. This time next year I will be school shopping. I can not believe that. Liliana just turned 19 months. She is a hand full. She is hilarious, ridiculously cute with a head full of curls, and has no sense of danger. If I take my eyes off her, or if she has actually left the room that I am in - I have to go find her immiedietly because she is probably either trying to jump out a window or throw my iPod touch in the toilet. Or in the neighbors front yard. Or trying to balance somewhere dangerous. So, I am kept on my toes. She is napping now so I can rest. Life in general is hectic, yet sometimes boring. It is mostly boring when I choose to be bored because of how desperately I do not want to clean any more. I clean so much. I have made a lot of friends lately though so this has been awesome - I went out this morning and chatted to two different people - all of which I have become close with, just on the way to play at a friends' house down the road. It is so nice to feel part of a community. Our most recent endeavor is that we are looking into fostering children. We have been talking about it for a long time - before we had kids. And now, it seems like the right time. By the time the assessment is over, Liliana will be 2 and Reuben will be 6 months from starting school. We have a spare room, and many independant agencies in the UK pay enough so that you can make a career of fostering; so Adam would love to make this his career. He is the most skilled person I have ever met when it comes to children and young people, particularly those who are difficult or unsociable. He just has a way of looking past awkwardness, and seeing the good in people when others don't find it easy. I would love to watch him use these skills and gifts and feel fulfillment by it. So we have registered our interest and after waiting a week or so they called this morning to say they are coming over on Tuesday evening to talk to us about fostering. This initial visit is just going to give us more information about fostering, and basically what the next 6 months will look like. I am so excited but so nervous. What happens if we get all excited and set our home up for foster children but then they reject us for some reason? I keep reading "horror stories" of ridiculous reasons they say people can't foster. I hope they don't find a ridiculous reason for us. I feel so strongly that we could make a positive impact on children's lives and I can only pray that the agency can see this in us as well. We are going to tell them that we are open to up to two children, ages 0-10. It would be nice to say up to 7's but we don't want to limit our opportunity as much as that. Any older and I don't think it would be beneficial for our own children. It's our next big adventure and I ask that you would join us in prayer as we go forward. I will know more on Tuesday so will probably post again then. Until then, I need to be cleaning my house. Again.