Blog

This blog is written by an adoptive mom and friend of Katelyn’s Fund, Alissa Kroeze. Psalm 23. I sometimes get frustrated with my kids because they always seem to want something. Different food for dinner, just a few more minutes of screen time, socks that fit a certain way, to go on a summer vacation, to be on a different volleyball team, to have a friend over after school, for their sister to stop looking at them in the backseat of the...

The adoption journey doesn’t end the day a child comes home.  According to showhope.org, the aim of the Hope for the Journey Conference is to shepherd parents and everyday caregivers to a deeper understanding of their children’s needs. By introducing robust resources and sharing practical experiences of successes and failures of the day-to-day, it is their prayer that parents and caregivers will leave encouraged as they continue to journey well with their children.   If you are interested...

Kim Rozeboom, Carter King, and Claire Vander Kooi shared their perspective as siblings of children who joined their families through various avenues: foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption.  Despite the differences in their own unique family experiences, all three speakers reflected on how God was present in the formation of their families and how their families impacted who they are today.   Resources highlighted at this meeting were: 1. The Connected Child 2. Worry Too Much 3. Waymaker Recent Posts

Can you we just use this space to be honest for a second?  Life is a lot isn’t it?  There is so much being thrown at us. I was talking with a friend the other morning and we were talking that life is so much that sometimes our minds just swirl.  But in that conversation we talked about the power of a song.  Seems to center us, ground us, bring us back to a state or worship. A couple of nights ago...

February 9, 2023 – Darcie Van Voorst,  “Just breathe…” As caregivers of adopted and foster children, we must be mindful of our own health needs so that we can be equipped to care for our kids. Darcie Van Voorst, who specializes in body based therapy, shared strategies to help us regulate our nervous system.  These strategies can have a healing impact on our mental, emotional, and physical health.  In the near future, Katelyn’s Fund will be releasing a series...

Year after year, He has shown His faithfulness by leading us, helping us, drawing us closer to Him. As we lean into His leadership in all ways in the ministry, we surrender things to Him, His vision, His leading, His ways. Each year, we see Him move and teach, continuing to call us into places of security, in His presence, keeping our eyes on Him, and security that His ways are higher and He sees beyond us (Isaiah 55). Every year...

Children are never too young to talk about race.  Stokes and Draayer encouraged us to have conversations about race with our children at an early age.  Research shows that race-related stressors can cause trauma symptoms; however, high ethnic identity can serve as a buffer against the negative impact of race-related stressors on mental health.  Coping strategies for children who have experienced traumatic racial events could include: journaling, talking through the incident and time-lining it, powering off from triggering...

This month’s meeting was held at Shari’s Family Visitation & Exchange Center to bring awareness to our community about a new site providing a safe and neutral location for visitation purposes. Contact the Family Crisis Center if you would like to utilize the space. We also had the privilege of hearing from Mindy Louscher about her own adoption story as well as her responsibilities as a case manager through DHS. We were able to view the foster care process from her...