For the last three years I have loved participating in my friend Rebecca’s December Photo Project. She hosts it from her blog and encourages people to take a picture daily from the beginning of December through Christmas. It’s been a fun way to be a little intentional during the holiday season to stop and reflect. This year I have chosen to document the life of a foster mom through an image a day. For confidentiality reasons, there won’t be identifiable photos of our foster child, but I struggle with feeling like confidentiality means our kids become invisible. It’s easier to ignore what you can’t see. So I’m documenting the impact a foster baby creates in a home, like the waves that happen when you throw a pebble in the water. And what lovely waves they are. (For the record—I am not a photographer, don’t necessarily enjoy taking pictures, and have done zero editing to any of these images. I like to document, but I am not artistic.) Enjoy this last installment of the series.
25 Images from a Foster Mom
Week 4
Day 22
My two former foster kids (and some of their favorite friends) perform in the church Christmas program. It is one of my greatest joys to see my kids involved in church and embraced by their spiritual family. Moments like this get me a little emotional to think of the redemption that has happened in their lives. Thankfully there was enough wiggling, dresses pulled up over the head, and wrong words screamed out that I didn’t have the chance to work up a good cry 🙂
Day 23
Can’t wait to see what’s in these four packages. They were donated by people in our community through giving trees that were set up by two different organizations and coordinated through our foster care agency. It’s beautiful to see that these kids aren’t forgotten. That fact alone means as much as the gifts themselves.
Day 24
This guy. Our firstborn son who somewhere in his heart must still remember being an orphan. That’s the only reason I can come up with for his incredibly giving heart when it comes to sharing his family. I asked him if this baby should be the last we take in and he told me that we should keep saying yes to babies until all the babies have homes. One of the common concerns I hear from families considering foster care is how it will effect the kids already in your home. I am thankful for that effect on our kids- their compassion, their sharing hearts, their understanding of some difficult realities, their acceptance of those who are in a tough situation (the babies AND their families). Our kids are a large part of the reason we do what we do.
Day 25
A card for a woman who doesn’t get to see her baby on Christmas. My own experience of sad Christmases while we waited for the addition of a child to our family makes me ache with the mamas who are separated from their children during this season, even if it’s because of their own choices. So for the last decade of group home work and foster parenting, every year I have written Christmas cards and sent pictures to the women whose children I have the pleasure of mothering during that season. I know a card can’t fill the void, but I hope it provides a measure of comfort to know their child is loved.
