Our First Foster Care Placement | Life Update
Vložit
- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- Today I'm opening up about our first foster care placement and giving a bit of a life update. Foster care and being a foster parent comes with many challenges, but there is also so much joy in our foster care journey. This experience has not come without struggle at times, but I'd be a foster mom all over again. I've realized the importance of foster care support through this process, and I always want to be honest about our foster care experience in the hopes that it will help a current or future foster parent out there.
For those new to my channel, my husband and I became foster parents in the summer of 2018. We are on a foster to adopt track so are licensed in both foster care and adoption. We feel no sense of immediacy or urgency to adopt but look forward to doing so when God opens that door. In the meantime, we are opening up our home and hearts to the foster children who walk through our door, no matter how short or long their stay.
Watch more video on our foster care journey here:
At Live well, Jess, I'm sharing how I'm discovering what it truly means to live well, and I want to inspire and encourage others to do the same. Subscribe and hit the bell notification for health, wellness, and lifestyle videos! Vibrant living is yours for the taking!
I love getting your feedback! Please like, share, and comment!
I N S T A G R A M - / livewelljess
T W I T T E R - / livewelljess
Business inquiries: livewelljess.yt@gmail.com
Filmed with Canon Rebel t5i: amzn.to/1GdSzt7
Ring Light: amzn.to/1QKRIpU
FTC Disclaimer: This video is not sponsored. This description box contains affiliate links. I am an Amazon associate. This means that if you make a purchase through one of my Amazon links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Royalty free music from Epidemic Sound - Jak na to + styl
I’m thinking about doing this I’m a Widow it’s just me in a 3 bedroom home It a way of giving back love to kids that need it and give a light in someone else life
This is sooo perfect I’m 28 single no kids but since I was young I have always wanted to do foster care I’ve been praying about it I’m going for it thank you
Wow, are you a foster parent now?
I needed to hear “ God didn’t make me to be comfortable “ . Thanks so much
I'm here for you. FC is so hard and if they come from a very tragic situation most often. I'm so proud of you guys. Most of them have had a bad life. I agree with you in providing. I had taken my daughters friend because she was homeless. I treated them both the same. As a single mother I felt very overwhelmed. Like you, I just walked with the lord during that year and half. She is with her dad now but still texts me every day. She tells me I'm the only mama she has ever had.
Thank you so much for the update! What bravery! In you, your husband, your children and the bonus children you have for a while.
This is very inspirational! I’m feeling the same way right now about being called to step out of my comfort zone right as we’re waiting for a placement 💗
Thanks for sharing your story. I am so glad that you’re willing and able to help these kids. Your faith is inspiring. ❤️
So precious. Thank you for sharing this with us. I know it's got to be hard. God bless yall
So happy you updated, I missed you! Thank you, it's not an easy thing to do. YOU ARE SPECIAL DARLING!
Thank you, sweet friend. ♥️
I love how real your videos are!!! You are such an inspiration for everything you’re doing and how you handle it!
Thank you ❤️❤️
Thank you for being willing to share. Your courage in getting through the difficulties for these girls’ sake has really inspired me. Your family will be in my prayers. ❤️
You're so sweet. ♥️ Thank you for your prayers!
I love how real and raw this is. It's easy to gloss over the hard things, and giving a real picture of the good and the bad, and continuing to persevere is lovely. Praying for you and your ever changing, always lovely family!
Thank you so much for your sweet and kind words! Your prayers are appreciated so much. We've really felt the power of all the prayers these past few months! I think it's imperative to share our true and honest experiences, so I'm glad you enjoyed hearing about mine.
Thank you for being honest with us and talking about your experience!
Love this so much. Thank you for your realness with it all.
God Bless you and your growing family. 💝🙏. Very Exciting times for all of you.
Thank you for sharing your story. I absolutely loved it & can totally relate with God pulling you out of your comfort zone. You did a great job explaining your story without giving away too much detail, much respect! 💕
You are an amazing woman. We all know that none of us are perfect, but you put your heart and sou out there and you really are an amazing woman, mother, and wife. Always in our thoughts and prayers!
Thank you for such kind words, Mackenzie. Your prayers are appreciated beyond words!
Thank you for being transparent. I really need to hear this.
I pray that God will bless you in your efforts to help those precious children have some joy in your home.
Thank you for the truth to the challenges and stresses. God bless you.
I love what you said about God not calling you to be comfortable.. that is exactly what I feel and I have not been able to put it into words until now .. thank you for sharing
We fostered thirteen kiddos over four years. We adopted two of those kiddos, case three and case 12. It’s a long, broken, crazy and unpredictable road but it’s also amazing. We are two years closed and still feel drawn to foster again at some point. I can tell how strong you are and how much these kids will benefit having you for a day, a month, a year or longer. We had twins leave after a year and it’s hard.
Wow! Thanks for your supportive words. I love hearing stories like yours.
❤️ Thanks so much for this Jessica.
I just love your channel. As a person with hashi's and someone who feels called to foster, I'm cheering for you!
Thank you so much! Sounds like we have some similarities. ♥️
Thank you so much for sharing your story Jess! We are in between two options in pursing our next adoption and Im excited to hear everything about your experience! Love you girl
Love you too, Myka! Seriously - contact me anytime as you're making decisions about which direction to go in. If you have questions, there are things I can share with you privately.
Myka, me too. I had messaged you on Instagram but am social media free now, but I can always email or talk on the phone. ❤️❤️
Sending lots of prayers and love
I love the comment: "We cannot make decisions in our moments of weakness & in our moments of fear; but we have to make decisions grounded in truth & in strength & in love."
Almost everything you have said, I could have said based off of my experiences w/ foster care. Our experiences are very similar. However, you seem to be handling better than I, even though I've been doing it much longer. I'll keep praying for help!
Prayers for you! As I mentioned at the beginning of the video, I filmed this when I was in a much better head space than the first time I attempted to film this video. There has also been a shift in dynamics the past few weeks that have been really helpful, but I couldn't really get into detail about that here. There have definitely been moments filled with struggle, but I am so thankful and glad we are persevering with the Lord's help. These girls deserve it.
@@livewelljess Thank you! Yes, having the Lord's perspective is incredibly helpful! 🙂
Jess, Thank you for being real and honest! God is so glorified through you and your family and I loved that you shared your walk with God to viewers and have given him all the glory!
Thank you again, your Sister in Christ Alicia
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing! Such an inspiration!
Jess you and your A-fforts are to be Lauded as these Acts you've undertaken are indicative of a Most Generous Heart in You ! Praise to God ! ! ! ! and for the Extension you make of His Love ! ! ! !
Thank you for sharing this. My husband and I feel called to foster care...not sure of the timing. This video helps me to have more realistic expectations.
I'm so glad it was helpful! I really want to be a resource for people interested in fostering.
Thanks alot for for sharing your experience at foster home. Because being a mom its not easy and you need alot of support and guideline how to deal with them. And how let them to to rely on theirselves especially regarding to cleaness especially at Corona time. And how to hygiene. And how to live with respect and dignity and be productive to public. And to respect their own privacy and their body and be strong to live probarly. God bless you and go on
You are so inspirational! Thank you for sharing all of this information. I have felt called to foster care since I was young and now as a young adult I'm starting to change from thinking "if" I do it to "when". I'm also a major control and plan freak haha. God is definitely calling me out of my comfort zone and into a place of faith and trust in Him with this situation. Practically, I'm not in a place where I could practically care for a child (yet) but I hope someday soon that I can.
Jess, thanks so much for coming on here and filling us in a little bit! I've been praying for your family, and will continue to do so. I'm confused - are the girls still with you, or have they gone "home" or on to somewhere else? I kinda felt like the placement was over, but now I'm not sure.
Thank you for your prayers! We still have two of the three girls from our placement. One went to be with biological family.
Thank you for sharing! I know you're not able to share those specifics but this really helped me
Omg !! I initially found you a while ago because of your thyroid video & then you popped up again during my foster care search !! Meant to be !! ☺️💜
We are waiting for our first placement and I've definitely felt God calling us out of our comfort zone. Thanks for sharing! ❤️
Amen girl! 17:30 in and I feel like I am in Bible study.
God is doing a good work!
I appreciate this video! We’re working on finishing up the licensing process right now. We’re also open to three children (in addition to our two bio children).
That's awesome! Best of luck to you!!
I admire what you are doing. We should all listen and serve god more. It's so easy to get comfortable and just think about ourselves. You inspire me :-)
♥️♥️♥️ Others before me have inspired me!
Awesome!
Your bedroom is so pretty!
Awesome and wonderful you were able to take it all three girls. Kind of sad they ended up splitting them up but I'm sure it was good having their big sister there during the initial transition. So wonderful they're playing with your biological girls and enjoy the company of each other as well.
We were so thankful we could provide them a place to be together after their initial removal. The family the youngest went with really is a great place for her though, and it's been a positive transition. There's not much more I can say regarding that except that God is good in all things, and we have definitely seen some blessings in disguise.
@@livewelljess wonderful I was thinking it was the oldest but I guess I wasn't listening right. I know you were so modest about it but it really is awesome that you guys are able to be on the same page and open up your heart and your home to help these children.
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Do you have any suggestions on self care things that genuinely help with the emotional labor aspect? I feel like a lot of traditional self care puts a bandaid on your wellness bucket, but there are so many more & larger holes that come up when you deal with long term, emotionally taxing situations.
💞
Also, what mic do you use? I use a Rode and it pulled in a LOT of weird buzzing/electric noises with interference. Love your auto quality!
A lot of my videos have been filmed with a Rode Video Mic Go, but I recently started using a really inexpensive one from TAKSTAR that I've been really pleased with: amzn.to/2Pv8hL5
We just had our first placement of three siblings that we considered adopting. They are being removed from our home tomorrow and I don't know if we will ever do this again.
I totally understand and am here for you. My husband and I are getting our license again after our last adoption 4 years ago. We have had quite a few placements. It is hard EVERY step if the way. Leaning in God IS the only way. I am with you though, I would not trade it for the world.
Thank you. ♥️ I love hearing from others who have walked through the same journey.
My hair falls out from stress too, postpartum and otherwise. The only thing I've found to help is HairAnew vitamins (you can find them on Amazon). I found out them from another mom, and they are fantastic. They're just a high dose of Biotin plus a few other vitamins. Thank you for sharing your story with us. It must be hard to explain how you feel without talking about their case history because that would provide some context. I know that your family is a blessing to them :).
Thank you for the suggestion and the kind words!
Thank you for the update! Question, how do you deal with safety concerns regarding foster children towards your younger biological children? We have always felt interested in fostering but I am nervous to have kids who struggle behaviorally around my very young children.
We have some "hard no's" with behaviors we do not feel comfortable having in our home that our agency is aware of, so the hope is that those types of behaviors would not become an issue in our home. Of course, it's possible to get a child without all the pertinent information, so we would always want to make decisions moving forward that kept the safety, security, and well-being of everyone in mind. When we have dealt with certain behaviors, our agency has done a wonderful job of providing support and resources. It's been challenging, but it's been manageable, and we haven't encountered behaviors so severe that we question the safety of our biological children. We do have safe guards in place and establish boundaries. I'm incredibly grateful that our biological children and our foster children have bonded so well.
@@livewelljess thank you for the insight!
Do you still have them? Did it take a year to get everything resolved?
Are you still fostering? If so how is it going? If not why?
Check out A Fostered Life here on CZcams. She's one of the most helpful foster mamas here. There are also foster parent support groups on facebook. Finding a community in this journey is so necessary.
Totally agree! Support from a like minded community is so important when you're doing foster care.
I am pursing fostering and I am going to a Q & A soon to a foster care event.
But I have some questions for you
As a believer can I talk to foster care children about God?
Good books to enjoy before becoming a foster care parent
We talk to our foster daughters about God all the time, and they love going to church with us! Just be aware that bio parents have the right to set boundaries and can say you can’t take them to church. We have been blessed to not have this as an issue with our girls.
Yo
Thank you for sharing. I pray that God continues to lead you and your family on this journey. I also pray for His grace, wisdom, providence and favor as you serve Him in this most important role. Please only listen to His voice as you make decisions as we humans, although we mean well, end up saying foolish and hurtful things that don't edify or help. I pray that He leads others to help in very practical ways as you love and nurture these children. Finally, thank you for the reminder that we are called to obey no matter how difficult the request from Him. May God bless all that you put your hand to do in Jesus' name. Colossians 1:9-10 TLB: "So ever since we first heard about you we have kept on praying and asking God to help you understand what he wants you to do; asking him to make you wise about spiritual things; and asking that the way you live will always please the Lord and honor him, so that you will always be doing good, kind things for others, while all the time you are learning to know God better and better."
Totally not related but you have amazingly white teeth.
Haha, thanks!
I can tell a lot of people have no idea what a truly broken system this really is. The child protective agency does not help either side. The biological parents are also a victim of this system. Until you are there you will never know.
The Holy Spirit is sanctifying you. Beautiful.
♥️♥️♥️
What did I just watch... just a bunch of rambling
Thanks for the comment. Very helpful
It’s honest. Her story is hers to tell as she wishes. Not enough of that in the world. Grateful for it.