Starting with a Deal Breaker
Kari started her journey into parenthood after ending a 10-year marriage. After seven years of matrimony, Kari’s ex-husband changed his mind about having kids. This compiled with other “deal breakers” contributed to their divorce.
Once she figured that she could be a parent on her own, Kari turned to a friend who had adopted 3 children through foster care. Thus began Kari’s journey into parenthood!
Becoming a Mom
Kari legally became a mama to her daughter on July 14, 2017. It took a year from placement to adoption, which is fast by most adoption standards.
When Kari met her daughter, she found out some shocking news. Kari shares,
My daughter had been in foster care for over 3 years but was never told she was a foster child or that they were looking for a forever home for her. She thought I stole her. She was angry. So was I. But we worked through it with counseling and love. Now we are celebrating 4 years together. We’ve recently reconnected with her birth mom!
Despite this complication, Kari finds the best experience is being able to be a mom to her beautiful daughter.
Building a Family
Kari’s life a single person was completely different. But now she can share her life with an amazing girl and build the family she always wanted. She gave us some excellent advice, stating,
Make sure you have a rock solid support system. My best friend did the foster classes with me. I have a slew of people I can call when I need them. When things get hard, I always have someone there. And things will get hard!
In Conclusion
In conclusion, we would like to thank Kari for sharing how she became a single parent, adopting through foster care. It is a testament to how anyone who wants to have a family can use foster care to make that happen.
For those interested in learning more about fostering to adopt, check out our free adoption calculator here. It helps explain costs by adoption type and state.
