7 months.

photo credit: Lincolnian(Brian)

Seven months waiting for our Ethiopian referral.

A fostering update.

I've spoken with our social worker to find out what happens next in our fostering application. She is going to finish up her report and meet with us to sign off on it.
We will be recommended as foster parents but not approved to have children placed with us at the moment - the point of this is to be in the system so in the future we could just call if anything changed (daycare) and then begin having children placed in our home.
While this is not the outcome I had originally hoped for, it is at least not slamming the door closed as completely as we thought earlier this week.

the end...

Well this has been a disappointing couple of days.
Two weeks ago, after months of waiting we finally had our homestudy visit and walkthrough for fostering. Our references gave us glowing (really - seriously amazing - your confidence in us is so encouraging and validating) reviews and our social worker (who doesn't work for Winnipeg child and family - she was contracted the work because they were/are so far behind) had no problem with recommending we be licensed to foster.

I had one question throughout this whole process, which I have asked numerous people at CFS - Should I be applying to foster when I run a home daycare? And the answer that I consistently received was that it was up to the social worker who did the homestudy. So I am really disappointed to find that that's not the case after all and it really just comes down to numbers. It's not our social worker's decision at all.

I do agree that numbers should be considered and I purposely keep my daycare numbers low so I can enjoy the kids and not just endure each day. I have no issue with the fact that there are set numbers - I just don't understand why we weren't honestly told that it wouldn't work, before we invested in this.

Which means that all the forms we filled out, the doctor's visits we attended (and paid for forms signed) the minor renovations we completed, the friends we asked to be references, the months we waited and wondered when this would happen, the consideration we made about whether this was right for our family - could we handle another child? (yes) could we love a child we didn't give birth to? (yes - 8 years experience with daycare has shown me that I can) did we have room in our home and our hearts? (yes) and many more were really all for nothing.

Not doing daycare is really not an option for me right now. I love my job, and it is funding our adoption. We would not be able to pay cash for our adoption without my job and taking on debt is not something we are comfortable with. Also, the families I work with are amazing and their kids have become an extension of my own family. So my regret here is not my daycare, it is that I invested so much of my heart into fostering.

So, now I have to ask - what's next - this was more than a job, it was a ministry opportunity I was passionate about, and that fit into our lifestyle and family so well that I am at a loss for what to do next. It's incredibly disappointing and frustrating.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Dec 4 i ♥ faces fix it friday

Super cute baby to edit today - here's the original.

Here's my color edit:

Played around with a seventies action from Pioneer woman for a bit of a vintage feel.

and a black and white which is my favorite.

5 Months!

photo credit: Always 13

Well, here we are at 5 months since our dossier went to Ethiopia, and 16 months since we started the paperwork to get this adoption rolling. Timelines continue to increase and I think that my initial estimate of two years to referral (from the time we send our dossier) might be a bit conservative. Our agency is now telling families that it could be 36-48 months. It does not do my heart good to hear this but it's better to know, I guess.

I ♥ Faces Fix it Friday

Another really cute photo to play with this week. Here's the original:



My color edit:



And a black and white:





I'm usually a huge fan of black and white but I actually prefer the vibrancy of the color one this time. For editing, I kept it pretty simple - brightened facial (and overall) tones with curves and levels adjustments, boosted the color saturation just a wee touch, sharpened and brightened the eye detail and a crop to draw your eye to her face.