Special Ladies

Yesterday I had the honor of going to lunch and a speaking engagement with these wonderful foster mommas!  The woman on the far left is Ashley Rhodes-Courter.  She is a New York Times best selling author of "Three Little Words."   It is her memoir of her time spent in the foster care system....TEN YEARS of being in the foster care system.

My dear sweet friend Amanda (second from the right) bought each of us a copy of her book and so far I am about 5 chapters in and hooked.  It is a sad story of her life in foster care and the unspeakable things that happened to her and her brother.  It breaks my heart to read it, yet it gives such an insight into how a foster child thinks/feels and experiences that you want to keep reading!

Ashley spoke of her wonderful Guardian ad Litem that was the only constant for her during her time in foster care.  Of all the workers, judges, lawyers, etc, Mary Miller was the ONE who stuck with her, mentored her, and encouraged her to rise above what he had been through.  She cared!  It made me tear up because in each of our two foster cases it has been our Guardians who were the only people stay on the entire length of the case (minus us of course) and without them we wouldn't be where we are.

All 4 of us what to be Guardians when we "grow up."  We all realize that the fostering "gig" won't last forever (we just don't have the space!) but we all still want to have an active role in helping children in the foster care system.  Ashley was a Guardian (practicing what she preaches) for a couple of years before getting married and becoming a foster parent herself.  She called us "the new faces of foster moms!" :)

We all enjoyed ourselves so much (kid-free momma time) that we are already planning another outing.  It's good for the soul to take some time away and get refreshed :)