My Story
After living and teaching at an orphanage in Latin America in my mid-20’s, my husband, Luke and I returned to the United States, asking ourselves a life-changing question:
Where are the vulnerable children here?
I had just landed my dream job, teaching immigrants and refugees at the local community college, utilizing my master’s degree in English as a Second Language. But that question nagged at us both, asking for an answer.
That answer led us straight to foster care.
I didn’t know a single person who had engaged with foster care before. It was utterly unfamiliar to me.
Even so, my life took a big swerve. I became a foster mom, then a biological mom and an adoptive mom, in that order.
It’s Not Always Pretty, But It’s Always Real
For better or worse, this is my life and it isn’t always pretty. There are no perfectly curated Instagram pictures, pristine presentations of parenting kids from hard places, or tidy sound bites that sugarcoat the complexity of this journey. But it’s honest. It’s hopeful. It’s real in a way that defies traditional norms and embraces the grafted, complex ways we become Family.