Keeping Ties

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, I got a text from the foster family my kids lived with for two years. They asked if they could talk for awhile. We used to Skype or call pretty regularly, but somewhere, over time, the kids became much less interested in keeping connections. This time, everyone was eager to chat! We started out with a few minutes on the phone, and then we moved into Skype. The foster family recently had a new baby, so everyone enjoyed "meeting" her. The foster mom even suggested she might come and visit this summer. At first I was kind of taken aback! I mean, shouldn't someone preview that with the parents before they announce they will be coming to visit? But then I realized that she truly is always welcome at our house, just another extension of a large family tree. 

Today my daughter spent time making a family book of her own (kind of like the life book we gave each kiddo). She used illustrations only, but here are the contents of the book: 

Page 1 - Our family 

Page 2 - Her foster parents (but she really meant her birth parents). I think her only "memories" of her birth parents are what she hears from her brother or sees in her life book. 

Page 3 - My sister and her family 

Page 4 - Her foster family, including their new baby 

Page 5 - All of her cousins 

It truly melted my heart to read her family book. It wasn't a sad book at all but rather a celebration of all the people in her life that love her and have taken care of her or meant something special. The idea that her family book is growing with time is an amazing statement of the love and support I hope she is feeling. My hope for each of my kids is that they will see their support system grow a little bigger each year and that their roots will get a little deeper. Over time, their "family tree" will be so massive from their birth family, foster family, adoptive family, teachers, and our church family that, even if they have a limb that breaks or they experience a season of drought, they will be able to continue to thrive and grow strong.