Introduction

So, I figured I should probably give a little introduction so you get an idea of who we are and why we have started this journey :) After all, that is kind of the point, right?

Ok, so my name is Jeni and I am a SAHM (Stay at home mom) to a 4yr old boy, Paul and a 2yr old girl, Temperance. My husbands name is Dan and he works in law enforcement. We have a cat named Stitch who resides in our garage to deter mice, and will be getting a sweet little puppy named Boss around the 1st week of January. (He's still needing mommy at this point). I have pretty much been a SAHM since my son was born, but did have a short stint working as a Developmental Therapist earlier this year and I sell AVON in my spare time (which isn't much these days!). I do AVON because it allows me to have my own schedule and my kids are always able to be with me if I want. You also can't beat the discounts hehehe I will be continuing the AVON on the side as much as I can to put money towards our Foster journey. So if you ever need anything, and would like to help us help these kids, you can shop my online store at Jeni's AVON Store .

So, onto our decision to Foster :) I have always had a place in my heart that wanted to adopt a child. Even before we had our son, my husband and I talked about it. We also wanted to experience having our own though, so those came first as they are the easiest hehe After the birth of my daughter I had a lot of complications due to retained placental fragments. The on call doctor at the time was in such a hurry to get on with her day that she pulled my placenta right out instead of letting my body do what it does best! I had 3 surgical procedures when my daughter was only 2 months old. Even after the surgeries, my body was not doing what it was supposed to, so I was put on high doses of Estrogen among other things. My body still has not recovered and I still have major issues :( About a year ago I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) The OB at the time didn't feel it had anything to do with my previous issues, but I think it's all just tooooo weird! Anyway, so for those of you who don't know, PCOS causes infertility. However, most women can go on to have successful pregnancies with medication. There are complications that can come with it and a 50% chance of miscarriage, but it is doable. So with that diagnosis and the desire to Adopt, it only made sense to check it out!

Earlier this year that place in my heart to adopt grew bigger and bigger. We didn't plan on having any other kids, after all, we had the perfect set! But I couldn't shake the desire to help a child in need. So began the process of looking into adoption. At first, adoption was all we were looking at, but as I researched the process and saw information on Fostering and Foster-Adopt (fostering to adopt) I started to feel Fostering was what we were meant to do. So I then began researching Foster Care too. When I learned that you could foster a child and have the option to adopt them should their parental rights be terminated, I felt Foster-Adopt was the perfect option. I will provide more details on the steps you need to take to Adopt, Foster or Foster-Adopt later, but for now I'll leave it at that :)

So here we are, waiting to finish the process and get our license. If all goes well, we will be done early next year and could have our first placement soon after. We initially decided we wanted to work with kids 0-6yrs old, but recently we've been really talking and praying about other age groups as well. There is a lot to consider, even more so when you have younger children in your home, so we'll really need to think about it and pray. We want to help as many kids as we can, but we have the responsibility of keeping our kids safe as well. More on that later ;)

Well, I think I'll stop here. My two kids are running wild through the house and wanting my attention :) Thanks for stopping by and feel free to comment and/or ask questions along the way! I've only just started, so rest assured that I will get into more details on the process. In the meantime, please consider donating this Holiday season to those who have no one to turn to. Check your local listings for Foster organizations for more information. If you are local you can contact SNAPS, Inc. They are currently needing Winter Pajama's for teens, school supplies, fleece throws, socks in teen sizes, undergarments in teen sizes, hygiene supplies and large duffel bags. Of course, you can donate in other ways as well :) You can check out their website at SNAPS, Inc. Thank you in advance for you generosity and support for these special kids!

Goodnight all!