Our letter board started as an announcement and has become a reminder of our family mission and foster care journey: all are welcome here.

Family Mission

When you walk through our front door there is a letter board on the wall just past the entryway that says : 

YOU ARE WELCOME HERE

Before it said that, it was used for a small photoshoot at Tuscora Park where my husband, Correy, and I captured our announcement photos. The previous message said : 

WHICHEVER ONES FIT

SCALLY 2021

A friend had lent me an assortment of shoes that her kids had worn over the years so that we could capture a variety of boy and girl shoes in various sizes. We lined them up beneath and around the sign as a visual of what was to come. 

I don’t think I’ll ever change that sign again, because I love its short and simple journey. It started as a mission statement for our family and a commitment to saying “yes” to whatever children were entrusted to us. Now, it’s the response to that mission. It reminds me that we have answered that call and invite all who enter to be welcome here. 

Call me Liv

My name is Olivia; you can call me Liv. Our current kiddos call me “mom” now and I don’t take that lightly, but a small part of me misses when I was just “Liv” to them. It reminds me of the very early parts of our journey where we were all skeptical of each other, but slowly learning to trust. The first time they called out in fear at night, the first time they yelled in excitement for me across the house, and the simple conversations where they recalled their days all were in the time where I was “Liv.”

Purpose

My hope for sharing this journey is that you will become a part of it. Whether you’re a fellow foster parent that will identify with what I’m sharing, someone wanting to learn more about how to support foster families, someone with children or a loved one in foster care, or someone just curious about this thing called fostering : 

 

You are welcome here.