Category: Foster Parenting

  • Reusing the Toilet Paper: The Mess We Make When We Assume Prior Knowledge

    Several months ago, our family took a trip to St. Louis. We stayed in a magical historic home in a small town on the outskirts of the city. All of us were excited to explore the nooks and crannies of the old house, but our two foster boys (ages 8 and 10) were totally floored…

  • Children Only Have One Childhood, So Don’t Give Them The Grown-Up Jobs

    The day we bought our house in Missouri, I was the worst version of myself. Half of my family was still packing up our big, beautiful, wonderful house in Arkansas. The house where we had loved so many “bonus kids.” The house where we made a magical garden and built a beehive and hosted pizza…

  • A Daddy for Buddy

    One of the best things about teaching elementary music is forming relationships with every kid at school. In Arkadelphia, it also meant that any foster child in pre-k through 1st grade who was placed in our home would go to school with me and be my music student. “Champ” visited Perritt for the first time…

  • Mrs. Winter’s Angel

    A dear friend once asked me if I cried over the sad stories our foster kids carried with them. Answer: not usually. I prioritized providing the necessary structure and nurture these kids needed in their first days with us. Stopping to cry would have interrupted that process. But this one got me.   A little…