New Adventures

I post so many things on this blog that it sometimes surprises me when I realize that there are things I've completely left out!  I don't usually do that on purpose, but if I don't have pictures of something, it often doesn't occur to me to blog about it. 

So!  One of the things that we've had in the works for a while now is finally getting really close to (maybe?) happening!

Back in October, before we'd even heard of COVID-19 or had any inkling that 2020 would turn out to be the hideous year it has devolved into (and to think-- I was just dreading another election year!  How naïve was I???), Craig and I had one of those family planning talks where we decided we really didn't think we wanted to have any more children (I only cried a little over that), but we felt that we still had more parenting that we could do.  And we wondered if maybe we didn't want to become foster parents?

That was honestly WEIRD because I have NEVER wanted to be a foster parent before.  I've always been very impressed with people who do it, but always in a, "Better you than me!" sort of way.  So to suddenly be drawn to this was a bit shocking.

But once it hit me, I was (as always) full speed ahead.  I reached out to a couple different friends of ours who are foster parents and then began speaking with the agencies they worked with.  I found an agency I felt comfortable with and we talked about beginning training.  But unfortunately, Craig NEVER had time to do it.  With his schedule of having to be present at sporting events at his school, blocking out one night a week when he could be present for three hours and then repeating this for NINE WEEKS seemed almost impossible.  (And, I also had choir every Monday night, so that was another thing keeping us busy.)  When the agency asked if we wanted to start training in January, we told them we had to wait until after basketball season ended.  And then Craig was made bishop and I wasn't sure how this could ever be possible.

And then... everything. shut. down.

Including foster training.

But-- like so many other things-- eventually they figured out how to do the training on Zoom.  And even then, with our Texas and Ohio trips and this most recent camping, it was STILL challenging to be available for three hours every Thursday evening!

But even if it was challenging, at least now it was possible.  And we did it!  We just completed our training last Thursday.  We've got *most* of our documents turned in.  We've done the bulk of our interviews.  We just have to have our home inspection (on Wednesday!) and then the committee meets later in the month to vote on whether or not to approve us.

And then...  Then we might just be becoming parents-- again!  How crazy is that???