Foster Care Step 1: Orientation Meeting

We're very excited to have completed the first step in becoming Foster/Adoptive parents in Iowa! Horah! We met some other people who are interested and hear some stories of people who already know the child(ren) they are trying to get licensed for. A night of emotion! Classes don't start until the end of January, but we have done what we can do for now. :)

Advice from my Students

Since I wrote last, a few things have changed. :) We moved to Sioux City, IA in September and were fortunate enough to both start jobs. I'm still teaching ESL, and Dave is using food science. So far so good! We are signed up for the foster care orientation here on Nov. 11! Horah!

During one class, students brainstormed about rules they had growing up. It was funny for us all to realize we had a lot of the same rules regardless of growing up at different times and different countries. Here they are:
1. Don't come home late.
2. Don't talk with strange people (hehe, or strangers).
3. Don't run inside.
4. Do your homework before you go out.
5. Don't go out by yourself.
6. Don't get into fights.
7. Look when you cross the street.
8. Go to bed at 9.
9. Wash your hands before eating and after using the bathroom.
10. Don't interrupt when people are talking.
11. Don't talk back.
12. Brush your teeth before bed.
13. Don't play with matches or fire.
14. Don't go too far away on your bike.

Slow, slow, slow your boat, gently down the stream...

This is not going very fast. I'm having a very hard time being patient today. Things are up in the air with where we'll live in a month or 2. Sometimes it seems like quite the adventure, but today it seems like a bunch of setbacks. I'm thankful for our house, my job, my very sweet students, and now my housemates. Dave has been working in Iowa for a few weeks now, and I've been living with 2 French exchange students. They're respectful, helpful, and a joy to be around! I've also been teaching Sunday school to 4 year olds, which gives me an eye into their very short attention span...and hoping that my own is a bit longer. :o)