In this book I write about the life that I experience, through the eyes of foster children, while they lived in my home with my family and me. I want to let the world know that it is important for us to help raise, not only our children, but children whose parent or parents are unable to do so. Yes, "it takes a village to raise a child"! These foster children enter the foster care system, some as young as newborn, and sometimes they linger or get lost in the system. They either float from home-to-home, are adopted by an adoptive foster parent(s) or the foster parent who is caring for them. Very few children return to their families, for many different reasons. I want to enlighten people, by helping them understand that these precious foster children deserve a home, they deserve to feel wanted, loved and told that they are special. As a former foster parent, I learned that there was a misconception about foster children. Some people thought that all foster children were born drug-addicted and/or were sickly. Not so! Foster children are up-to-date with their immunizations, they go for physicals each time that are placed in a foster home and upon leaving the foster home. I also want to share some of my experiences which I had with foster children...some of the things they did and some of the things they have said. We must remember that children are quite resilient, therefore, even foster children thrive in uncomfortable circumstances. Please read what I have written because I would like for everyone to try and understand what it must be like to be a child, be removed from your home and placed inside of a home with total strangers. Please take a minute and try to imagine yourself in their shoes...how scary it must feel like to them. How, even babies who are used to their mother's scent, end up in a stranger's arms. This stranger has a totally different scent that the baby's mother, so imagine how irritable this baby can become because he or she no longer smell

There are great rewards that come along with being a foster parent, yet there are also great challenges that can leave you feeling depleted, alone, and discouraged. The many burdens of a foster parent's day--hurting children, struggling biological parents, and a broken system--are only compounded by the many burdens of a foster parent's heart--confusion, anxiety, heartache, anger, and fear. With the compassion and insight of a fellow foster parent, Jamie C. Finn helps you see your struggles through the lens of the gospel, bringing biblical truths to bear on your unique everyday realities. In these short, easy-to-read chapters, you'll find honest, personal stories and practical lessons that provide encouragement and direction from God's Word as you walk the journey of foster parenting.

With a combined emphasis on biological, psychological, and social aspects, this candid and compelling resource will help therapists fully address the emotional needs of children and adolescents in foster care.

"I'm excited to be a sister in our foster family, but I'm worried about new rules. I feel happy and sad at the same time. What about when our help isn't needed anymore?" It's Okay to Wonder is a story about Avery, a loquacious girl whose parents have decided to become foster parents. While Mom and Dad attend another foster training class, Avery shares with her Nana and Pop about her mixed-up feelings. She and her grandparents learn together what it might be like to become a foster family--that it's okay to feel two emotions at the same time and that it's okay to wonder! The Joy of Avery series offers resources for foster care families and brings the world of foster care to life by exploring Avery's feelings as her family welcomes foster children into their home. It's Okay to Wonder is the first book in the series.

With all the social workers, lawyers and doctors involved in Staceys journey, Blaque Diamond releases, through Xlibris, the second in the series of childrens books A Temporary Home for Stacey. This book will open your eyes to the realities of life for every foster child to have one single, stable foster care placement. Diamond so bravely shares Staceys Journey and what it has offered to her and to others. Warm and suspenseful, this release has more successes and challenges and lesson-filled occurrences to share with foster parents, adoptive parents, and anyone wishing to parent.

Children suffering from abuse. Neglect. Malnutrition. Even drug-related problems passed on from a mothers addiction. Children rejected by those who were to love them most, their parents. When placed into a foster home, many of these children carry with them the physical and emotional scars that prevent them from accepting the love of another. This journey as a foster parent is the most difficult thing John DeGarmo has done. Through the sleepless nights with drug-addicted babies, the battles with angry teens, and the tears from such tremendous sadness, John DeGarmo learns that to follow Gods call in his life means to take up His cross in his own home. Fostering Love: One Foster Parents Journey is the true-life account of his experience as a foster parent, along with his wife and their own three children, as he followed Gods call to take foster children into his home. This is a story of heartbreak, sadness, and ultimately love as he came to find God in the tears and smiles of many foster children.

In 1990, at the age of ten, Daryl Brougham was told by a social worker that he was useless and would end up in jail. By 1997, he had attended 27 schools, been through over 30 social workers and lived in more than 30 different foster homes. During his 18 years as a state ward he suffered repeated sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse. Imagine coming home to be told you are moving somewhere new in half an hour. Imagine being forced to eat a spider. Imagine drinking from the toilet bowl because you¿re too scared to go near the kitchen. Imagine what you would become after all those years of living in fear and loneliness.

At age ten, Peter Mutabazi ran away from home. For five years he survived on the streets of Kampala, Uganda, a city of 1.5 million, until one man saw potential in him. This man not only supported Peter through school but also altered Peter's outlook in every possible way. Since then, Peter has served as a relief coordinator during the Rwandan genocide, worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross during the Sudan conflict, emigrated to the United States, fostered countless children, and become a single adoptive parent. He speaks seven languages and has traveled to more than one hundred countries as an international advocate for vulnerable children. Now I Am Known is Peter's inspiring true story. In it he reveals the transformational power of taking risks, learning to forgive, overcoming self-doubt, breaking negative patterns, and believing in a better future marked by hope and purpose. *** "God met Peter Mutabazi in the midst of his agony, and he will meet you in yours too."--Kyle Idleman, bestselling author of Not a Fan and One at a Time "Peter's astounding and unlikely true story proves that if you remain committed and give it your all, great things will happen."--Sanya Richards-Ross, Olympic gold medalist and founder of MommiNation "A must-read for anyone wondering whether they can actually make a difference in this world."--Kelly Slater, American pro surfer and world champion "One of the most redemptive stories you'll ever read."--Jedd Medefind, president of Christian Alliance for Orphans