# Our Foster-to-Adopt Journey



## Hermione394

Hi, everyone! I'm Lyn :).

After much prayer and thought, we decided we were going to pursue foster-to-adoption. We start our state classes in September of this year!

At this time, we don't plan on stopping to TTC; we have always planned to have both biological and adopted children added to our family. We also know that the process is a long road, so why not start it now?

For some back story:

I'm Lyn! I am 27 years old and am married to Tim (who is 35).

https://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab10/lovinglifefreely/FT1017-5-19-14-921_zpsdxqa6mkf.jpg
https://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab10/lovinglifefreely/FullSizeRender_zpskzxvvhlc.jpg

My husband has brought 4 beautiful kids into my life also :). They are 15,14,12, and 9!

https://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab10/lovinglifefreely/IMG_5832_zpsuegrpzo1.jpg

The 14-year-old lives with us and I homeschool her! This is from her birthday trip to Disney (we took all the kids on a solo trip over the course of 2 years).

https://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab10/lovinglifefreely/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-19%20at%2011.13.29%20PM_zpsjtshgfqx.png

I am also best friends with their mom, Nichole (we all work together!). She's actually been the one encouraging us to adopt for quite a few years now!

https://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab10/lovinglifefreely/11231739_10152963668788202_1718884486807408168_n_zpsifnpa7f1.jpg


My little sister (age 18) also lives with us! I homeschool her as well
https://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab10/lovinglifefreely/1498742_10100228592951742_2038778232_o_zpsgyqb1qza.jpg

And of course, we have our little fur baby Bo! He's a 10-year-old boxer-beagle!

https://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab59/lyncecelia/TTC%20Journal%20Album/12003990_10100623000890072_3768561934124380173_n_zpsmwltsc7t.jpg

So yes, we have a big family! But that also means we have a lot of love to spread around. Ever since I was a little kid, I swore up and down that I was going to have 6-9 kids! 

We have discussed the possiblity openly the last week or so with the two that live with us full-time as well as the kid's mom. They are fully on-board! The others we will talk to later this week, but we know they will be on board also because they have all mentioned in some way or another that we should adopt, now that we have all the space that we do.

So why TTC and do foster-to-adopt at the same time?

To answer simply--my husband and I don't want to be old parents. So we want to finish our family within the next few years. Since we have recently bought our house and have settled down quite a bit, we decided to just go for it and see what happens. Is this going to set us up for a lot of stress? Absolutely! If you check out my TTC journal though, I am a far stranger to stress. This past year has been constant change. And while it's been a lot of adjustments, we also find that we thrive as a family the more kids that are around! So we are excited for this opportunity! 

So, I guess that's my introduction! Nice to meet all of you!


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## krissie328

:ninja:


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## Hermione394

krissie328 said:


> :ninja:

Haha welcome! :)


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## helloeveryone

Hi and welcome, lovely to hear to want to foster to adopt,and TCC.
I love big family's, I have 6 children and I love it.

I live in the UK and we are not aloud to TCC and adopt, so please find out the rules before you go into it.

Also here in the UK we are not aloud to home school, as to foster takes lots of time, meetings, contact meetings with parents, training.... So again let them know you home school early on, as you don't want to get months into it and get turned away.

I am also a foster carer, but doing it just to foster, I love being a foster parent, keeps my house even busier and I thrive that way..
Any questions please ask....
KEEP US POSTED on how it goes...xx

Oh and lovely to see your photos, you have a lovely family xx


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## Hermione394

helloeveryone said:


> Hi and welcome, lovely to hear to want to foster to adopt,and TCC.
> I love big family's, I have 6 children and I love it.
> 
> I live in the UK and we are not aloud to TCC and adopt, so please find out the rules before you go into it.
> 
> Also here in the UK we are not aloud to home school, as to foster takes lots of time, meetings, contact meetings with parents, training.... So again let them know you home school early on, as you don't want to get months into it and get turned away.
> 
> I am also a foster carer, but doing it just to foster, I love being a foster parent, keeps my house even busier and I thrive that way..
> Any questions please ask....
> KEEP US POSTED on how it goes...xx
> 
> Oh and lovely to see your photos, you have a lovely family xx

Hi! Thanks for following!

Here we are allowed to TTC and foster/adopt at the same time. They also already know we are a homeschool family, and that is allowed also :). Our state is pretty homeschool-friendly :) (part of the reason we moved here!)

The person I spoke with at the state office seemed really keen to bring us onboard, so I'm hoping we won't have a lot of drama!

I'm trying to think of what we need to do/should do prior to our first class. Our state office is sending us paperwork, so once we get that I'll be filling it out and sending it back. But until then, I'm just sort of waiting. From my understanding, though, I should get used to waiting in this process, luckily I have a lot to keep me busy!


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## krissie328

That is great those aren't going to be barriers. I believe in my state we can ttc as well. I have no idea about homeschooling but we won't be able to do that anyways. DH are still trying for a second biological child but we have discussed adopting a third and even a fourth some day. But honestly we will probably have to adopt out of state as in Idaho the birth parents can change their minds up to a year after the adoption and I couldn't bear that.


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## Hermione394

krissie328 said:


> That is great those aren't going to be barriers. I believe in my state we can ttc as well. I have no idea about homeschooling but we won't be able to do that anyways. DH are still trying for a second biological child but we have discussed adopting a third and even a fourth some day. But honestly we will probably have to adopt out of state as in Idaho the birth parents can change their minds up to a year after the adoption and I couldn't bear that.

Yeah, that would definitely make it harder for me as well.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So I got our paperwork yesterday, and OH and I filled it out last night so I could mail it out today. 

Our class is in 20 days! Now all we can really do is wait!

I'm wondering, though...my childhood wasn't the best. It resulted in me having PTSD....I am in treatment for it and have been for quite some time. Should this prevent me from being able to be a foster parent or adopt?


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## helloeveryone

To be honest with you, the fact that you had a bad childhood can be a plus for you, they can see it that you had a bad past in your life and dealing with it.

Not sure what you mean by bad childhood, but any experience, with something bad, makes you have more understanding and know how the children are feeling.

So .... no please don't worry, be honest when social services ask you what you went through... And how it effects you now..
Xxxx

20 days will fly by....


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