Even before we were married, Scott and I were strong advocates for orphan care and prevention abroad, as well as adoption and foster care support domestically. We've given our time and resources to organizations and individuals who have been called into the world of adoption and foster care for a long time.
Over the years, we had conversations about whether or not we wanted to foster or adopt, and all of those conversations were part of a healthy progression toward figuring out what this would mean to our family. At one point, we felt like we weren't ready. Later, we felt like our kids weren't ready. Our decision to start the process to become foster parents came only after we felt a sense of peace that it was the right timing.
A Timeline of Major Events in Our Story:
September 2015: We decide to begin foster care training.
April 2016: We start our classes.
July 2016: We submit our licensing paperwork.
November 30, 2016: We receive our license.
December 6, 2016: Baby arrives at our house.
February 10, 2016: Sister joins our family.
January 15, 2019: Both girls’ mom and Sister’s dad surrender parental rights.
January 29, 2019: Baby’s father’s parental rights are terminated.
July 22, 2019: The judge officially signs the adoption paperwork.
I wrote a picture book based on our real life experiences. Sister was published by Phoenix Media & Books and is available for purchase now. And the best news? My book, Shine Until Tomorrow, a memoir detailing the good, bad, and beautiful parts of our story will be available for purchase in 2024!
A young girl experiences both the joy and grief of building a family through fostering and adoption.
Shine Until Tomorrow is my response to a question we all ask—how do we learn to navigate pain and suffering without losing hope? With a narrative backbone of our experience as a foster family in southern Illinois, the book asserts that the answer to that question is building community, leading with empathy, and pursuing creative solutions to complex problems.