Welcome to Foster2Forever.com! I’m Penelope – a midlife mom with young boys adopted from foster care.
I began trying to conceive at age 40. In less than 2 years, our fertility doctor told us that all my eggs were gone and should realistically examine adopting a child.
We began the process to become foster parents in Jan 2007 hoping to adopt through our state’s foster care program. After a move back to our (much larger) hometown and struggles with state licensing staff, we were licensed as an adoption-only home in September of that year. Not the dual-licensed foster to adoptive home we had requested. After complaining to the right person, we became dual licensed in February 2008 and officially became foster parents of 8-month-old JD on March 4, 2008. Surprisingly enough, we adopted him over a year later on my husband’s 50th birthday in August 2009. An adoption success with our first placement!
We also adopted our kindergartner, Lil Bit, that we had been fostering since he was 3 months old. After fighting the State against placement with a distant family member in numerous court hearings, we adopted him on National Adoption Day. (Since he was an illegal immigrant, we had to wait for him to become a U.S. citizen!) You can read all the crazy details in our eBook!
Through this journey, we have also been foster parents to 20 other children (infant to age 12), having to say goodbye and wonder how they are doing.
On this blog, I share our struggles and joys of being foster parents and eventually becoming a forever family! I also share parenting tips and other tidbits from our lives.
Join in on the exciting conversations on our Facebook page! And don’t miss out on getting a FREE copy of our ebook detailing all the courtroom drama of our LilBit’s adoption.
PENELOPE
- Tree hugger by day – Mommy by night
- Loves being goofy with little kids
- Suffers from Peter Pan Syndrome (does not want to grow up old)
- Still coping with infertility
- Addicted to skin care products and Diet Coke
- Lives for social gatherings and Girls Night Out
- Loves popular music and can name that tune in just a few notes
- Cheats to keep up on book reading list by using audiobooks
FOSTER DAD
- Retired Special Education Teacher
- HUGE heart for disadvantaged and neglected kids
- Hopeless fan of Houston Astros, San Antonio Spurs, and Dallas Cowboys
- Snazzy dresser who refuses to wear t-shirts in public
- Addicted to cologne and coconut cream pie
- Can watch NCIS or FoxNews for HOURS
- Enjoys listening to Southern gospel, old country, and 70s easy rock (when Penny is not around to whine about it)
JD
- Strong-willed is an understatement!
- At 8 years old, thinks grown-ups don’t know anything
- Hopeless fan of Houston Astros and Texas Rangers
- Addicted to baseball, football, basketball, softball, tennis, soccer, hockey, wrestling…
Loves attending church- Way too charming for his own good and juggles too many girlfriends to count
- Likes to act silly
- Independent – demanding to do things by himself
- Future first round draft pick for the Houston Astros in 2025
