Author Archives: hollykaustin

Hard Emotions

I was chatting with an old friend last night, and he mentioned that foster care seems to be full of challenging emotions. Boy is that an understatement. About a month ago, the agency was telling us they wanted to have Mama surrender her rights to Sunny and have us adopt her. We were more thanContinue reading “Hard Emotions”

A Spooky Room for Sprout

We’ve been foster parents for almost 8 years, always in the same three bedroom house. Well, now a four bedroom house! There’s a master bedroom, and that’s stayed ours all along. But the other two bedrooms on the second floor have gone through a million different permutations. Kiddo was our first foster kid, and sheContinue reading “A Spooky Room for Sprout”

Sunny’s Need to Belong

The subject of belonging came up for me recently when I listened to a We Can Do Hard Things podcast called “Being Left Out: Navigating that Lifelong Ache.” In the episode, Glennon, Abby, and Amanda talk about the need for feeling like we belong, and how fundamental that feeling is to our survival. In essence,Continue reading “Sunny’s Need to Belong”

We have a date! (maybe)

Sprout’s parents’ rights have been “terminated.” Her mother surrendered her rights, and her father’s rights were terminated recently and he didn’t appeal the decision. That means Sprout gets a new adoption case worker. In this case, it’s a worker we know and love. She was Miss Kicks’s case worker, and while that situation ended inContinue reading “We have a date! (maybe)”

The state of my house

My spicy 5-year-old had the chutzpah to announce this morning that she’s been telling her friends and her teacher that our house is “dirty.” There’s lots to unpack around that. First, she comes from a truly dirty house. Her Mama is not a good housekeeper, unfortunately. So though Sprout was referring to our house (IContinue reading “The state of my house”

Islamic Education for Sunny and Sprout

Ever since Sunny came to us and we realized the importance of Islam to the girls’ family, we’ve been searching for the right Muslim community for them. We tried a mosque by the university, but Sunny didn’t have a good experience there and begged not to go back. We asked their family for ideas butContinue reading “Islamic Education for Sunny and Sprout”

How it’s Going

A few updates for y’all: 🎡 State Fair Time! I’ve taken 2 out of 3 kids to the fair so far. One was Sunny and one was a family friend who is 13. A good time was had by all except me, and I survived, so that’s really what matters. The highlights of it wereContinue reading “How it’s Going”

Frustration and Questions

I’m not in the business of badmouthing anybody, but I figure an update is appropriate as I have followers who are now – or who are thinking of becoming – foster parents who want to know what this gig is really like. I think I mentioned previously that our last case worker left the agency.Continue reading “Frustration and Questions”

The joys of chronic illness

How it’s been going: As most of you know, I collect autoimmune diseases. I’ve been diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Who knows which of those diagnoses is accurate, but the upshot is that my immune system likes to run amok and damage healthy tissues. The result is pain, stiff swollenContinue reading “The joys of chronic illness”