Fostering & Photographs

The best piece of advice that I was given as a new foster parent was to send along pictures to the birth family every now and then.

We include pictures in weekly (sometimes monthly) newsletters to the birth family letting them know what has happened in the life of their child. When they reunify, these pictures are sent with them on a CD and on a DVD as a slideshow using the pictures and their favorite songs.

So obviously, we know the importance of photographs for the children...to help them remember a time in their lives that might otherwise remain a mystery. I just never realized how important these photos are to the birth parents.

(A)'s mom recently had pictures misplaced and she asked me to print more copies for her. She started off with three and then went to four and then kept mentioning pictures that she wanted. I had to stop her and reassure her that I have them ALL and would be giving them to her at some point. It really struck me, though, how valuable these pictures are to her. If I stop to put myself in her shoes, I can understand why. I need to do that more often.

Anyway, this weekend was so much fun! With the exception of David getting sick, of course. Here are some pictures we took of our family time:

Lee and Naomi. It is so sweet when she says, "Hi!"

David could not stay away from Naomi. Future boyfriends better watch out. They will have to meet the approval of her grandpa, daddy, and David!

 I guess I should say that both boys were quite excited to spend time with her! Naomi, however, wasn't so sure right away. Don't blame her...

Such a sweetheart! It is crazy how much she looks like my sister at her age. Minus the brown skin, hair, and eyes of course. Her eyes look like her daddy's, but apparently her eye and hair color take after me...she's also 'strong willed' like me too- yeah!

The boys spent some time at the lake with daddy and even got to row the boat around! They loved every minute. 

We are now back home. David has had a fever for the past few days and the doctor said it is just a virus that we have to wait out. Poor little guy. It is really nice to be home with them....with the exception of the whining and tattling:).