Our Journey to Becoming Foster Parents “What’s your plan for foster care? How many kids are you planning to accept at a time? What ages of kids are you planning to foster? Are you hoping to adopt from the foster care system?” These questions and many more have been asked by very well-meaning, caring people over the last few months as we’ve shared the news that we were becoming foster parents. If you know me, you know I’m a planner. I’m a to do list queen. I love having order and organization in our lives. I’m a big proponent of setting goals. And yet, when it comes to foster care, I don’t have a pre-determined plan or fill-in-the-blank answers. In fact, my answer to pretty much every question is, “I don’t know. We’re open to how God leads.” That might seem vague or even like a cop out. But it’s the truest answer I have to give right now. Why We Said Yes to Foster Parenting You see, we aren’t saying yes to foster care because it fits into a grand plan we’ve written out for the next 10 years of our life. In all honesty, saying yes to foster care feels pretty crazy with our current workload and responsibilities and season of life. And yet, to the deepest part of our core, we know this is God’s call on our life and we know that He has a plan for our future that is greater and bigger and crazier than what we could dream up. So we've jumped off the cliff of our comfort and plunging into the unknown in full confidence that God’s got this. He knows what the future holds and He’s the One Who holds the future — and we can trust Him to carry us, even on the really hard days. In this week's episode of the podcast, Jesse and I share in-depth how we ended up on this journey (it wasn't one we ever anticipated being on!), why we made the decision to pursue getting licensed, what the licensing process was like, and what we've learned along the way. We also answer some of your most often-asked questions regarding foster care. In This Episode: [01:23] My exercise ball and cleaning out our closets have been saving our lives. We share why. [06:38] I just finished reading Parenting and wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes. [10:56] Jesse is reading Hunter Killer. [12:40] The unexpected path that led us to become foster parents. [19:37] We talk about what the classes and certification were like. [26:00] After finishing all the classes, we moved on to the home study. [29:18] What the best step to start with to look into fostering? [32:21] Why we decided to actively involve our kids in the decision-making process. [34:51] What are some of the best ways others can come alongside and help foster families? Links and Resources: My Exercise Ball Parenting by Paul David Tripp Hunter Killer by Kevin Maurer and Kevin McCurley CrystalPaine.com MoneySavingMom.com YourBloggingMentor.com My Instagram account (I’d love for you to follow me there! I usually hop on at least a few times per day and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, my grocery store hauls, funny stories, or just anything I’m pondering or would like your advice or feedback on!) Have feedback on the show or suggestions for future episodes or topics? Send me an email: [email protected] Our Sponsors:* Check out KiwiCo and use my code CRYSTAL for a great deal: https://kiwico.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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