May 20, 2002
PARENTS AGAIN:
Foster care leads to adoption
___By Scott Collins
___Buckner News Service
___LUBBOCK--Angels occupy every corner of the living room in Barbara and Shawn Smith's home in Lubbock. The walls are covered with plaques quoting Scripture and other sayings of encouragement. A rocking horse stands saddled and ready for a rider, and an adjacent playroom looks like a child's paradise. Barney, the purple dinosaur, sings in the background.
___A few miles away in Shallowater, Ron and Vickie Goulette's living room walls are covered with similar plaques. A portrait of the hands of Christ reaches out to visitors, and a wall hanging reminds anyone who reads it that "life is fragile, handle with prayer." Family photos decorate the immaculate room where the only clutter is a giant stuffed toy waiting to be hugged.
BARBARA AND SHAWN SMITH play with a foster child in their care.
___The similarity in these two families doesn't stop with their home decorating. Both couples are embarking on new journeys in their parenting. Having raised children, they are now adding another generation to their families through foster-adoption.
___For the Smiths, adopting Nancy, 6, and Andrea, 4 was a natural step after being foster parents to the two children. And the Goulettes say the same for their adoption of 4-year-old Brandy, who has lived with them since they brought her home from the hospital 24 hours after she was born.
___Finding foster-adoption homes like the Smiths' and Goulettes' is a priority for Buckner Children & Family Services in the days ahead, according to Felipe Garza, vice president of the Buckner ministry.
___"There are so many children across the state in our foster care system who could be adopted if we could find a home for them," he explained. "The foster-adopt program is a wonderful way for families to provide love, nurture and security for children who would not have known that kind of family."
___Buckner needs families willing to provide foster homes for children of all ages, from newborns, to teenagers. He added that Buckner especially needs more minority families willing to become foster parents.
___Adopting Brandy was something the Goulettes had not considered seriously until they discovered she was adoptable and that Child Protective Services was actively looking for a home. Still, after 19 years as foster parents and caring for dozens of children, adoption was not something they thought about.
___"She was special," Goulette said. "She was a little bit more than the others. We loved them all. We cried when every one of them left, but Brandy--there was something special with her.
___"When they came and said they were going to place her for adoption, we got nosey," he added. "We started asking questions. We'd had her for six months, and I said, 'We're all she knows.'"
___That's when a caseworker asked if they would consider adopting Brandy. With two grown daughters and grandchildren of their own, the idea of adopting an infant had not entered the Goulettes' minds.
___"We thought she needed a young family that doesn't have kids and that can appreciate her," Ron said. "They said, 'Well, give it some thought.' And I said, 'Nah, I'm not even going to think about it.' I hung up the phone, and Vickie and I started talking about it and we started crying about it. Wecouldn't let her go.
VICKIE GOULETTE and Brandy share a hug. Goulette and her husband, Ron, have been foster parents to Brandy since she was born. Now they're adopting her.Barbara and Shawn Smith play with a foster child in their care.
___"So the only option we had was either adopting her or letting her go, and I think both of us knew there was something just so special that we couldn't let her go. We cried and we prayed, and a few days later I called."
___As older parents, the Goulettes are taking time to stop and enjoy Brandy.
___"We are more like grandparents than parents," he said. "If she wants to stop and look at a flower, we stop and look at flowers. If we're outside and she sees a bug crawling on the ground, we stop and get down on our hands and knees and follow the bug around. It's so neat being able to stop and slow down and see things through her eyes."
___Even after adopting Brandy, the Goulettes continue as Buckner foster parents, specializing in the care of infants and young children. They got into foster parenting nearly 20 years ago when someone in a Sunday School class mentioned the need for foster parents as a prayer request.
___"I view this as my ministry," said Mrs. Goulette, who is a retired church secretary. "I don't sing. I don't play the piano anymore, and I kept thinking: 'God, you gave me a talent. What is that talent?'
___"The best part is just being able to love them and see them light up when they see us--just being able to love them," she said.
___Mrs. Smith agrees. "It's just watching them, just being there, just knowing that we're helping in their lives and seeing how happy they are.
___"And I think you do make a difference, the nurturing and the care you provide. It's really important," she said. "What matters is love in the life of a child. I mean, years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was. Every kid is important, no matter what their life is at the time you know them. But what they can be is just incredible. The sky's the limit."
___While foster parents like the Smiths know they are making a difference in a child's life, Shawn Smith believes they get something in return.
___"We're not only doing something for the child, but it does something for you, too, to know that you made a difference, especially with a child," he said.
___Being a foster parent is like tossing a pebble in water," Mrs. Smith said: "You never know where the ripples may go."
___Because of that, she makes certain the children in their home hear about Jesus. "I try to sing 'Jesus Loves Me.' I'm always telling them, 'I love you, and Jesus loves you even more than I do.'"
___And she works hard to help her foster children "put forth their very best foot," she said. "They may be foster children, but they need to look the very best. They're the best and they deserve the best. We don't raise them to be half-best. They're children. They didn't cause it. They didn't do anything wrong. God gave them a chance. It's heartbreaking, but these kids have a chance.
___"That's all you can give a child. You can't make it happen, whether they're birth children or foster children. You can just give them a chance."
___For more information on becoming a foster parent or about foster-adoption, contact Buckner Children & Family Services at the following locations: Dallas, (214) 321-4530; Longview (903) 757-9383; Lubbock (806) 795-7151; Beaumont (409) 866-0976; Lufkin (936) 637-3300; Amarillo (806) 352-3900.
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
