an update, 6 years in the making

Remember when I used this thing? HA! Life has a way of taking over, doesn’t it?  Things have certainly been a whirlwind for me as of late.

So take a journey with me if you will, through the last six years.

Josh and I were living in Kansas and through a long and winding road of turns, we landed with Boys Town in Las Vegas and became Family Teachers (read: house parents to six “at risk” teenage girls). After a year-and-a-half we transferred to the main site in Omaha, Nebraska. In a community of over 60 homes filled with kids ages 10-18, we signed up for the home with some of the highest behaviors. Kids attempting to jump out of windows? Check. Being physically assaulted? Check. Drugs in the house? Check. (I think you get the idea). After a total of five years, we cared for over 50 boys and girls between the ages 10-19. It was the ride of a lifetime and when it came time to settle down and have a more “normal” life (like spending Christmas with our own families, or doing laundry whenever we want, just to name a few) we absolutely wanted to stay with Boys Town, because their mission to put children and families first had become our mission, too.

So we moved. Again. This time to California, where Josh took a position consulting people doing the same thing we were just doing, and I started working with an exciting newer program with parent mentors. When Thanksgiving rolled around and one of the kid homes was short staffed, Josh and I volunteered to cook thanksgiving dinner and spend the day there. And then when Christmas rolled around and they still needed staff, we cancelled our vacation so the kids had someone to spend the holidays with. In fact, I actually quit my job for a month to move in. (I mean my boss was awesome and super supportive and let me take it off, so it wasn’t quite as dramatic as all that, but it makes a better story, right?) Oh yeah, and then I had my third miscarriage, because let’s not forget that we have been struggling with infertility through all of this. But fast-forward to present day and things are going great! I mean not on the baby front (still no movement there. Literally.) but after 14 months in California we’ve really hit our stride. Things have calmed down (IE: no more cancelled vacations) and I just got a promotion! Girl boss for the win!!

And then Monday they called an all-staff meeting and announced that they are shutting the entire site down.

Yeah.

 Are you shocked? I hope you’re shocked, because all 108ish of us certainly were. We found ourselves sitting in a room full of people, coworkers, friends, and even spouses, and we were all out of a job in 60 days.

Of course our first move was to weigh our options (that is, after the anger faded enough to stop seeing red) and we realized that we’ve got a few good options, but none of them include living in California.

But we couldn’t stop thinking about these kids. Four of them in particular. There is a sibling set of four kids who will probably be split up. No, they will definitely be split up, because there is no place for them to go, let alone a place they can go and stay together.

Yeah.

Are you heart-broken? Because we are.

So we decided to throw out all our best and easiest (and even more career-advancing) options out the window and throw all our energy into taking them. All of them. All together.

We have no idea if this will work, we literally have 40 days to: get licensed as foster parents, get out of our (expensive) lease, find a new place to live, furnish said place to live, get a van, and get at least one good full-time job………and then try to raise these kids.  

I'll definitely keep you posted.