Just a short introductory post.....my name is Donna, I'm 41, and I'm the Mama to Amber (19), Erin (16), Adam (12), and James (5). Amber, Erin, and Adam are my biological children. James was originally a foster child (he came to us at 7 days old) and my partner and I adopted him when he was 18 months old. My partner and I had decided, when James was about 2 and was showing special needs, that we were going to put a hold on foster parenting so that we could focus on James. Since then, my partner has passed (from Lung Cancer) and, now, I am getting back on the foster parenting path. It is something I am passionate about and she encouraged me to continue before she died. So, here I am. I am currently being re-certified as a foster parent in PA. I don't anticipate getting any placements until the New Year...I have to go through lots of clearances, etc., and with it being the holidays I expect that ACCYF (Allegheny Co. Children, Youth, and Families) won't be rushing to get me in the system. When James was a foster child, I had decided to start a journal to share our experiences with foster parenting, the system, and all of the emotions connected with those experiences. It served to give me a place to write down my thoughts, but it was also a great way to keep track of concerns I had and things that happened so that I could report those things to my caseworker. In the end, it was a wonderful thing since we ended up adopting James and it's a record of his first 18 months. So, I've decided to do this again. Because of the sensitivity of what I'm talking about and the anonymity of the children who will be in my home, I will only use the first letter of their first name in my posts. I won't divulge too much so as not to even take the chance of violating their or their family's privacy. The point of this journal is to share with other foster parents, to express my thoughts/concerns, and to have it all written down for myself. I'll do my best to keep it updated....I'm a busy Mama. :)