Dear Baby Girl

Dear Baby Girl,

When I look at you, I am filled with thankfulness.  You are a beauty.  I don't mean that you are pretty to look at (you are!) but your sweet smile shows me the love that you have for others and the joy in your heart.  It's not always easy being the youngest in the family and I admire how you push yourself to keep up with your older brothers and ask for help if you need it.  Those are great skills; determination and self-awareness.

Strength in the Journey

When people say "I don't think I could be a foster parent" I understand because I didn't think I could either. Years ago, after having our two sons, we were waiting to adopt locally and somehow found ourselves on a different path. We had another biological child, our daughter Nya, and then became foster parents. It came from the gentle prodding of a friend who encouraged us to love those in need in our own communities. Slowly, what we had thought our family would look like, and the timeline we hoped for, morphed into something else...something unknown and unexpected.