Grapes!

One of the great joys of fostering kids is the opportunity to show them new sights and give them new experiences. This can be epic exposures or small daily steps.

In the category of small daily steps is food choices. Getting foster kids to eat healthy foods is a common challenge and was part of our training at Jonathan's Place. There are several drivers to this situation. If a foster child has experienced neglect then they have probably eaten non-perishable quick foods (packaged chips, sodas, cookies) that they can access for themselves and fast food the adults pick up that is cheap and easy. If the child comes from a home of poverty then fresh vegetables and fruits were probably too expensive and a menu without much variety would be usual. There are also children who come from different cultures and the foods that match. Once a foster child starts family visits, their family desperately wants to connect in the brief one hour they have each week and have control over something. They usually bring fast food, candy, sweets and sodas; I get it.

D has come from a home of limited means and his culture is that of Latin America, primarily El Salvador. We have approached meals with balance. We want D to feel welcome and comfortable. Thus, our family now eats pupusas once a week and we love them so he has expanded our culinary world. We are cooking beans weekly (pinto and kidney so far) as well which we also enjoy. I put a small bit of each item we are having on his plate and ask him to try it. I also have bowls of fresh veggies and fruits sitting on the table. He is such a great kid in that he always takes a tiny bite. When he does not like it, I get a funny scrunched up face back at me. We have been unsuccessful so far in finding a fresh vegetable that he will eat - oh my.

BUT today we had a small victory! D ate green grapes AND grilled cheese/turkey sandwich. I was seriously thrilled to see him reach for the bowl of green grapes and he gave me a thumbs up and a toothless grin on the grilled sandwich.

The Foster Care Team Update

1) Jonathan's Place (JP) Caseworker - NEW UPDATE - Friday afternoon, our JP Caseworker texted me that D would have his second family visit at CPS on Monday from 12pm-1pm. I requested he call me immediately and he did. He had not had a chance to read my report on the emotional and chaotic family visit from last Monday so I explained to him what happened. I asked him to try to find which family members would be at the visit and if our CVS Caseworker would be there too.

2) CVS Caseworker (CPS Conservatorship Worker)  No contact with D yet. Hoping will be at visit on Monday.

3) Guardian Ad Litem (Attorney for the foster child) D's attorney has not contacted us yet and court date is May 4 - this Friday.

4) CASA Volunteer - NEW UPDATE - D's CASA volunteer contacted us on Friday. She had not read anything about D's case yet so I gave her the background. She brought D a puzzle and visited with D today; they worked on the puzzle and played soccer. She will be at the second family visit Monday (tomorrow) and can observe. She cannot be at court Friday, May 4, so her CASA supervisor will be there instead with her report.

5) Therapist Evaluation - NEW UPDATE - The therapist, Dr. J, came to our house last Friday from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. She spent one hour with us on intake and another two hours with D. Dr. J was conducting the state mandated review that must be completed within 30 days. She did indicate D might be more comfortable speaking in Spanish but he did fine. She will recommend a therapist to help him with his sadness at the loss of his family. 

6) Biological Family - The biological family for D includes Mom, Dad, grandmothers, an aunt and cousins. We are fairly sure there is a request for kinship care and expect to learn more specifics over the next week.

Glimpses ...

D, age 6, was happy to ride the JUST RIGHT bike for him. He still needs training wheels. We are grateful for this gift to D!

It has been a very long time (years) since I spent the morning at the park. Saturday was lovely.

We went to a Foster Kid Event Saturday afternoon that provided foster kids with bikes and skateboards. We did get the green bike but 20 inches and no training wheels so this bike will be for later ...

At first, there was no way D wanted to take the skateboard lesson. But then he did. We were so glad to see him work through the fear to give it a try.

And D is off!

By the end of the lesson, he could stand and go a short distance on his own! We have the skateboard and helmet so now time to get pads! 

Thanks to a friend for sending us to Sam Food & Beer so we can get pupusas very close to our house. These are frijoles and cheese filled cooking for us.