I'm Back on the Grid!

My first Blog post...  REAL blog post.  This is a lot of pressure.  I have read a few blog articles in my time on the internet and those people are good writers.  And it seems like they think a lot about what they are going to say.  Trying to make a statement, or share their unique perspective, or impart the knowledge they have acquired through study or travel.  If I put that much pressure on myself to make these posts life changing for all who take the time to read them... well, I would never type a word.
Because I am such a private person this is really hard for me.  I don't really feel like my life is anything to read about.  Or maybe I feel like I am bragging when I write about myself.  As I struggle to put aside my insecurities to let people into my life, I realize something.  I don't want to exploit these kids. 
Who are these foster kids?  Why are they in foster care?  What happened to them?
Where are their parents?  What did they do? 
These are all natural questions that we as curious people want to know the answers to.  But I'm not writing a gossip blog.  So you won't find any of those details here. 
And I want to be clear that I am not bragging about what amazing people we are for taking in foster kids.  In fact Jake and I both feel strange when people congratulate us like we have done something great.  Since it really was a very hard week, full of many emotions... MANY emotions.  And we don't feel we did that well at it. 
So why Kristi?  Why are you writing this blog against all your natural instincts?  Because I know that people want to know.  You want to know what it is like to take in kids that don't belong to you and treat them as your own.  And I know I will be getting a lot of questions from a lot of people.  And perhaps this blog will answer those common questions so I don't have to repeat myself over and over.  And maybe this blog will give an insight to the world of foster care.  I was surprised how many people, upon hearing that we are getting our foster license, have thought about being foster parents themselves.  I think anyone who has felt the overwhelming love and blessings of our Heavenly Father has dreams of helping and giving back.  I may get more into my reasons for wanting to give back in another post.  But anyways, we are doing it.  We are going to try to give back to our community and try to make our world just a little bit better. 
So here is goes:
I know many of you already know their names.  But to keep some of their privacy I will just use their first initial when I refer to them. 

 

It was a late night.  I think we got home around 10pm.  And of course they had no interest in going straight to bed.  We had to show them around the house so they knew where they were.  They had a special interest in the toy room.  And all kids love balloons!  Luckily we had a couple dozen around the house since we had just celebrated Valentine's Day.

A week later I got a call in the morning that I needed to drop off the girls at 3:30pm at  the DSHS office.  The girls are going to live with their Uncle and Aunt!  An emotional call.  But, after a short prayer, I had a lot of hope that this is the best thing for the girls.  So before Oscar went to school I had the kids pile on the bean bag and tried to get all 4 to look at me.  This is the best of what I got. 

 I know I skipped a lot of details of what happened during the week.  I was all kind of a blur now.  I was sick the whole week.  I haven't been that sick in a long time.  This is what I am referring to when I say, "I'm back on the grid!"  My brain and body were so run down and exhausted.  I am so grateful for everyone who helped me get through theweek.  Whether it was food, play dates for M toilet paper, clothes, toys, my live-in, sleep on the couch Mom, rides to school, and the emails of support.  It was all needed and appreciated! 
We are taking 2 weeks to get healthy and gear up for our next placement.  So next week we will see what happens!  I will share more details of our week with the girls later.  For now I think this first post is a wrap!  I apologize for any typos or writing errors.  For now I am signing off and crossing my fingers I didn't make any embarrassing typos or errors in my first ever blog post!