Kirsten Golden

Cancer and Poland

I use two examples to describe foster care. The first example from my own perspective, and the second from that of our foster children. Imagine finding out a loved one has cancer. Not necessarily terminal, but the future still isn’t certain. Do you stop loving them in order to prepare your heart for whatever griefContinue reading “Cancer and Poland”

The Licensure Process

I’ve already given an overview of our first experience getting our foster care license, but because I dug out all of our initial paperwork to get ready for our recertification, I thought I would share the details of the homestudy and classes in case they’re helpful for anyone else. The first step in getting licensedContinue reading “The Licensure Process”

How It Happened

It’s time for us to renew our foster license, after two years of being on this wild ride. Luckily for us, I documented everything pretty well when we initially got licensed, so I already have most of our paperwork ready for our licensure worker. I know there are a lot of questions before getting licensedContinue reading “How It Happened”

What Will 2020 Bring?

I have some goals for this year, and this blog, that I’d like to share with anyone else living in foster care chaos. (Spoiler alert: losing weight did’t make the list of resolutions for the year.) On a personal level, I am a full time student, and classes start again Monday (the 6th). I’m notContinue reading “What Will 2020 Bring?”

Foster Freebies and Resources

My kids have clothing, and they have shoes, and book bags and toys. We are fortunate to live so close to Walmart, and have a lot of support from our (really large) families. But sometimes, your newest kid needs a mattress, or tutoring, or a diversion from being a new foster kid. So, I haveContinue reading “Foster Freebies and Resources”

I Lie

When our first fosters burst through the door in July of last year, our world changed in so many ways. We went from being free to being flexible, from selfishness to selflessness. Our kids became ‘our kids’ instantly. There was never a doubt that they belonged with us and that we were a family. IContinue reading “I Lie”

You Thought It Was a Different “F” Word, Didn’t You?

I do love that one too. It’s probably one of my favorites to use when the kids aren’t around. But since I’ve become a mom, I’ve had to change up my dialogue a little. Get more creative with my ‘adult’ language. No one warned me before starting my foster journey that kids repeat literally everything,Continue reading “You Thought It Was a Different “F” Word, Didn’t You?”