My two favorite t-shirts are ones that say “Be the change” and “Be the Village.”
“It takes a village to raise a child” is an old African proverb. And it’s incredibly true. As foster parents without a lot of friends who are also fostering, sometimes we feel rather like an island. We need a foster parent support group. In my spare time (ha!) maybe I’ll start one.
But the last few weeks have made me realize just how much of an amazing village we actually have. You all are my village. And more importantly, our kids’ village.
Earlier this week of course I posted about our kids’ books collection. You know what we got in the mail yesterday? TWENTY SIX NEW BOOKS! We got books with Asian characters, and Native American stories, and chapter book sets featuring Black girls (including a Black super hero that Kiddo is already totally into!). We got a book about the White House dogs, and bilingual books that are in Burmese and English. I could not believe it as I opened up the mail, package after package after package! Kiddo is soooo excited about new books.
And of course, the kids’ rooms!!
The teenager room isn’t done yet. It still needs artwork. I got the calendar in the mail that one of y’all bought us and put up four of my favorites in the 12×12 picture frames we already had on the wall.
And I’ve ordered a spectacularly beautiful print by Natalie Collins.
And I’m going to be stalking the art sale by Pink Lomein that will start at midnight on the 1st of February for something else amazing. I’ve got one of her paintings downstairs that I love.
The teenager room still has construction materials in it for our bathroom project, and a Winnie the Pooh quote on the wall, so there are no photos of it put together yet. I’ll post photos when it’s done.
But the new room for Tiny and Kiddo? It’s done! And it’s spectacularly cool!
Here’s a very messy “before” photo of the two girls crammed into the room.
Here’s the new room, with bunkbeds and storage shelves and bedding all courtesy of YOU all!
I am so indebted to y’all, for the financial and the emotional support. I won’t feel like an “island” again because I truly have a Village helping raise these amazing kids.
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