When I was young and placed in my first foster home, I could not believe how lucky they were. They had milk in their refrigerator every day. I thought to myself, “Wow, they must be rich.” It was close to Christmas and for the first time in my life, I hoped Santa would remember me and bring me something, because I was staying in a rich person’s home. I dared not voice my desire to anyone, but I prayed, “God, let me get a present with a bow on it.” Christmas morning, I woke up and I was scared to leave my room. What if I was too bad, too ugly, and too dirty for Santa to bring me a present? When I finally made my way out of my bedroom door, I could not believe my eyes. There was the most beautiful Christmas tree I had ever seen, with what seemed like a million presents under the tree. “Could one of them be mine?” I asked myself. With hopes soaring, I walked into the room and sat down in a corner just staring at all the packages. I thought, “Santa does come to rich people’s houses”.  At that moment, my foster mother came in and informed me that I would need to stay in my room that day, because they had family coming to the house to visit. With my shoulders and heart sinking, I walked back to my room. As the day went on I could hear them gleefully opening their presents. That night as I went to bed, I said to myself, “Santa must not come for foster kids.”

It wasn’t until I was 14 years old when someone donated to all the girls in my home three Snoopy dogs each that I finally received a gift. They did not come in a box with a bow, but I did not care. I got a present. A daddy, a mommy and a baby Snoopy. I treasured those Snoopy dogs and played with them every day. Someone thought I wasn’t too ugly or too dirty, to deserve a gift. At this moment, a new hope was born - I started hoping that life could be good.

I would love to know who this wonderful person was that made such a difference in my life so that I could thank them. Truth is, I will never know who they were, and they will never know how their gift of a Snoopy dog affected me. But I am here to tell you, your gifts, no matter how insignificant they may seem to you, could be a life changer to a child in care.

I moved around between many different placements in the short time I entered care at 10, and when I was finally emancipated at 15. It was hard growing up without anyone to mentor me or teach me. I remember one time, when I was about ten, a woman who sat down and read to me. I felt so special because someone was paying attention to me for the first time. It only happened that once, but I’ve never forgotten it. I wanted, as a mom, to make kids feel that same way I felt that day, like someone sees them.

Because of my history with the foster system, children in care were on my heart when I was ready to start a family of my own. I knew that I had the love to give, and the experience to understand what these children need. This is what pushed me to become a foster parent.

When you get a call about a child needing a foster home, you have minutes to decide if you are able to take a placement or not. In one particular situation, I was being asked to take a placement of a sibling set of three young kids. While I wanted my answer to be yes, I knew we didn’t have the resources to take them at that moment. I called Angels to see if they could help, and I was amazed at how quickly they got me everything I needed in order for my “no” to become a “yes.” Not only did Angels support me that day, but their continued support has allowed me to be their forever mom. We adopted them in 2018. Without Angels, we wouldn’t have these amazing kids and our family would not be complete.

Angels has been a great resource to our family in so many ways. One thing that I absolutely love about the program is that my Love Box leader is more like a friend and not like a volunteer. Some of my most treasured time with her is just getting a cup of coffee and discussing motherhood. She doesn’t see me as a saint, just a normal mom, and she’s there to support me.

The way the Love Box group supports our family is amazing. They watch our kids participate in extracurricular activities and events. They help with other things, like providing Boo Boxes for Halloween, getting their Halloween costumes, celebrating birthdays, providing Christmas gifts, showing up consistently, and treating us like family we never had. We have 14 children, and our group helps provide them with the things that most kids need. They spend quality time with the children, and each child feels seen and heard. One of the highlights of our year is participating in the entrepreneurial eight-week business class. Even I get to sit in each week and get poured into. It has given my children something to look forward to, a future that they know is now achievable. Angels is working to ensure that my children believe in themselves enough to grow up to reach their fullest potential.

Angels and our Love Box group help remind my kids of what I tell them. I say, “You’re not your circumstances. You’re gonna hold your head high. You’re just as good as anyone else. You have awareness and compassion that other kids can’t have.” Our angels make our kids feel this, too.

I can’t say enough good things about Angels. They’re so supportive and make us feel valued. I can call and ask for advice, or even help with school supplies. They really take a lot of stress off of us as parents. They might not be able to help with every need, but they help with so much. It makes us feel like there’s someone out there in the world who cares. The angels help keep me inspired, so I can cheer my kids on.

The saddest part of growing up in the foster care system is that I don’t have aunts, uncles, or cousins for our kids. We have had adoptions where we didn’t have any other family members there with us. But at our last adoption, our Love Box group came to support us. I had people there for our kids. For the first time, I went to an adoption and I felt normal for having people there with me. I never had that until the angels. I got my family. They’re right here.