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This message was originally posted by Live2shop.

I thought it would be fun for everyone to talk about their kids. I am new here and have seen many people post about some of their kids, but thought it might be fun to hear about them all...

How many bio children?

How many foster children?

What are their ages?

Boys or girls?

What ages do you serve in foster care?

How long have you been doing it ?

Feel free to talk about things I forgot to ask.


I have been a relative placement for 18 months and a foster parent for a little over 1 year. We have taken the foster adopt classes and are in the process of adopting two children. We serve ages 0-18. I started out with 0-10 and shortly changed to 0-18 because we had some wonderful teenagers come through.

I have three bio children-
Kyndal Rae, 14, girl
Chaela Irie, 12, girl
Kirsten Lea, 10, girl
Rashiah, 5 (adopting within weeks), girl
Brandon, 3 (adopting withing weeks), boy-oh-boy!

Now tell me about you...

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This message was originally posted by Holly1067.

Lonni,
Thank you for sharing I am soon to be foster mom with no birth or adopted children of my own. I hope to get on some day soon and tell of the great kids that have come into my life.

Holly

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This message was originally posted by Live2shop.

Great, I can't wait to hear about all your experiences with your new little ones, or big ones. Maybe you can tell us about your children by marriage?

Having these children in my home is an experience like no other. I am able to give them attention, love, and material things that some of them have never had. Who ever said it's better to give than receive? What I get in return far outweighs what I have given them. With all the bumps in the road you might have, when you wash their dirty little faces and have that great big smile looking up at you, will just melt your heart. Or having them snuggle in your lap during family movie night.

When someone mentions how great a person I am or how big a heart I have for doing fostercare (which is a pet peave of mine), I simply reply, "No, I'm selfish, I do it for what they give back to me." I wonder how other people get the same reward or satisfaction in their lives that can measure to what the children give back to us?

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This message was originally posted by Nix Zoo.

1..How many bio children? 2. We sadly lost our triplet son Lane, but were happy to bring home our surviving son & daughter, Dakota & Cheyanne (5.5yrs). I want more kids, but I am still afraid to go back through IVF again! LOL We would like to adopt a sib group.

2..How many foster children? 2

3..What are their ages? siblings 11yrs & 10yrs

4..Boys or girls? 2 of each

5..What ages do you serve in foster care? We put on our paperwork 0-6yrs. We have extended that to all ages. Our license states 0-18. As I watch my BGF (best girlfriend) take in teens, I am leaning that way! Our agency has told me they don't have any teens for our home right now. Since our children are young, we would like to NOT take teens with a violent or abusive nature, perpetrators...etc. I know there are great teens who just need a safe & happy place. We have spoken with the agency about teen moms & pregnant teens also. Good things come to those who wait, right?
The agency was just out on Friday, we spoke again about ages & what we felt we would be best suited for. Myself, I really like the young kids. But our goal is to keep higher order sibling groups together, their ages really don't matter anymore.

6..How long have you been doing it ? We were licensed last summer.

I posted a welcome to our newbies, about 3 weeks ago, on the forum.

Lonni, I LOVE your kids' names!!!
~N~

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This message was originally posted by hope4kids.

I have been a single foster mom for three years. I have no biological children. I never thought I would adopt, but I adopted the first child placed in my home. Nidra is 4 years old. We just celebrated her birthday. I only take children younger than Nidra, b/c of a bad situation we had with a little girl a year older who really put her at risk. Originally I only wanted one child under 2 who was not a drug exposed newborn. The agency told me I would be waiting a while, but I had my first placement within 4 days of getting my license!

I never thought I would take more than one child, but 5 mo after being licensed, I went to a foster parent mtg. At the end of the mtg, they held up a little girl who was almost 3 and in need of an emergency placement. I took her for the weekend and kept her for 10 months. Now I have a ten month old foster baby girl named Tay-Tay. She will be hear at a minimum of 6 more months it looks like. I have had her since she was 5 wks old. Shye has been in care since birth. Nearly everything would have to change in her home environment for her to go back home.

I am licensed for three. After we get through with this hospital stay this week and I know what is going on with the baby, I am open to accepting newborns awaiting adoption.

Cathy

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This message was originally posted by HarleyP.

Hi I am Penny my husband is Dane.
We have been in foster care since
July. We were approved on a Thrusday.
and we brought home brothers on
Friday.

I have 3 Bio girls
Tiffany 17yrs.old
Brittany 15yrs.old
Sara 8yrs old.
Sara has Spina bifida she is in a wheelchair
and she rules the house.

The brothers we have are 2and 5 yrs old
and red headed blue eyes beautiful boys.
It is so different having boys in the house.
This site has really helped me out and told
me how to prepare for boys.

We only ask for one to begin with but when
the brothers needed a home together we
could not turn them down. We have had
many calls for other children but I wanted
them younger than Sara because I do not
want them to aggressive for her. We did
take in a 3yr old little girl for one week while
the foster family went on vacation. We loved
it we might be getting her back in the future
because that foster family is adopting but we
do not know for sure.

The bio kids have adjusted really well they
help in any way they can. I have a full time
job out of the home and my husband owns
his own busniess so we are a pretty busy
bunch. We are excited about the future
but it is sad when they call for placement
and we do not have room I worry about the
child. But I guess that is normal. I haven't had
to go through a court date yet but it is coming
up in Oct. The overnight visits start this weekend.
He could not rearrange his plans so he can only have
one night from Friday at 5:00 till Sat.morning at 11:00.
He has not seen them in 2 weeks because he
missed the weekly visit. It is so sad and the
kids don't understand.

Well I have talked to much.
Penny (Harley)

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This message was originally posted by Live2shop.

You can never talk to much! You should read some of my posts. I imagine peoples eyes tire before they are finished. i love talking about all my children and love to read about yours.

Keep the stories coming!!!!!

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This message was originally posted by michelleepooh.

Hi Everyone! Michelle here. DH is Kenneth. We have 4 adopted children.
Hillary age 11 1/2
Katie age 9 1/2
Skyler age almost 3
Laine age 2

We have no foster placements at this time. We usually take infants but are open to different ages. I've had to say no to the last 5-6 placements because my 9 yr old has bp disorder and some special needs. My husband also has HOCM ( a heart condition ) and has had surgery in the last 6 months so we are easing back into the foster care situation. We have been fostering 7 1/2 yrs and love it!

Look forward to chatting with you all!

michelle

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This message was originally posted by Nix Zoo.

Wishing your happy hubby wellness~~~~~~~~~~~~~vibes :-)
~N~

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This message was originally posted by Gwen.

This is Gwen,
Bio children... Karyn she is almost 9 (8 and 3/4 as she reminds me always). Beautiful inside and out!! Born with a smile.
Josh is 7. He is a heart stealer. Born with a spirit of creativity and imagination. Instant showstopper!
I have been fostering for almost 5 years.
I currently have two foster girls who have trully became my own(please don't tell my heart they are foster children). One is 14. She has been here 2 and 1/2 years. She has turned out to be a beautiful young lady who loves us like we are her family.
The other is 15. She is always eager to please and happy to help. she has been with us for almost 2 years.
Both foster children have moms (they will not return to) they still visit.
I am not yet 30 but somehow I have two girls going into grade 9 (how did that happen when I wasn't looking)
I could have a house full of children (and often I do) I am willing to live the life God has currently laid before me!!!
Hope to here from the rest of you!!!
Gwen

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This message was originally posted by Live2shop.

My oldest bio daughter is just going into 9th grade (which is high school here), and I'm only 33. I look at them and realize how much time has gone by and it makes me sad. I see them turning into young women and that scares me to death. For Christmas they each made me a scrapbook of themselves. Quirky comments and all. From birth to the current. I loved it and will always treasure that they took the time and imagination to do something so creative. But now, I have a scrapbook of each of them growing up, and their own comments about their childhood. I love it!

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This message was originally posted by samueljr4577.

Lonni great idea to ask these questions:



How many bio children?
0

How many foster children?
Currently 2
Recently 1
on the way 1

What are their ages?
Currently
Kasey 11
Marcus 9

Reccently
Vincent 7

On the way
Omar 11

Boys or girls?
Boys


What ages do you serve in foster care?
5-12

How long have you been doing it ?
6 months

I am a single foster dad and only 25 years old.

I love being my kid's dad.

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This message was originally posted by pktull.

My wife Ronda & I have been fostering since 1997 in Texas and we have had a total of 11 children come through our home since we started.

How many bio children? 0

How many foster children? Currently 2

What are their ages? We have a brother and sister. The brother is 3 and the sister is 2.

What ages do you serve in foster care? The latest children we have had have been 3 and under.

For the past couple of years I have served as the president of the Region 6 Council of Foster Parent Associations, Inc. located in Houston, Texas. R6CFPA serves the 13 counties surrounding and including Harris County in which Houston is a part. I have been advocating for foster parents and their rights for about the same amount of time.

There is a time in some of the foster parents' lives when they step into advocating for foster parents. We realize that foster parents need advocating just as much as the children. I see myself going national here in the next couple of months because this is a very big need in a lot of areas in our country.

If you need help, please don't hesitate to give me a call or let me know what your issue is. And by all means, if you have somebody qualified in your area to help you out, use them. If you don't know, ask others to see if there is a Foster Parent Advocate.

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This message was originally posted by Gwen.

Add to my list....a foster boy 3 months. He came a few weeks ago. I do specialized care so infants are rare and special!!!!!!
How do you guys learn to say goodbye when the time comes.
Anyhow, it is now busier with one more child to smile over!!!!!!
Gwen

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This message was originally posted by Nix Zoo.

Woo-Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was so sad to know my house would once again be SO quiet after school started (on Thursday of last week). Well, 2 DAYS before school started, I got a CALL from our agency!! They had a 3 day old, 5lb 14oz, baby boy, & wanted to know if I would like to care for him...HELLO!...ya didn't have to ask me twice! I raced up to the hospital to pick him up. They knew how excited I was & laughingly told me to not get a ticket on the way. LOL
Baby boy "J" is SO perfect. He had a WIC appt on Tuesday & is already 6lbs 8oz!
Boy it has been a LONG time since I have had such a tiny newborn. He was still 2lbs bigger than my kids at birth! LOL

Welcome our Zoo-Baby "J"!!

Gwen, I LOVED the time I spent with our last Treatment son, he came to us at a little over 13lbs, almost 2 yrs old & could not speak, sit up, hold a bottle, crawl, walk....you get the picture. When he left, we were so proud of the progress he had made! It was not hard to 'let go' of him, it was difficult bc of the WAY they were sent back. I just hope & pray he is well & still progressing.
~N~