Becoming Foster Parents

After seven years of trying to have a baby, Dave and I decided to stop the insanity (doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results). We narrowed down our options to in vitro fertilization or foster parenting. We have never felt drawn to private adoption. So, we set a deadline for ourselves and prayed to know what to do by that date. Out of the blue, I got an email inviting me to a foster parent panel a few days before our deadline. When we attended the panel, it was incredible. I was trembling, my heart was racing, and I was and on the verge of tears. I felt so strongly that this was the path for us. Dave also received confirmation from the Holy Spirit, so we started the training right away. 

For years, Dave and I had discussed foster parenting but had always felt like it was something we would do after having biological children. We felt that the Lord was pushing us to pursue fertility treatments, so we did. Looking back, now we realize that it just wasn't the right time for us to be foster parents yet. 

Before we started the foster parent training, Dave and I thought we'd like to foster children up to age 6, the age of the children we would have had, had we been able to get pregnant when we initially started trying. Once we were in the training and learned about the huge need of homes for older children, we decided to raise our age limit to 10. Dave was open to any age, but I wasn't ready for teenagers yet. We became licensed for two children ages 0-10. We anxiously waited for three weeks after we were licensed before we got our first phone call.