Live from the Foster Parent Conference!

Welcome! If you are a regular, thanks for stopping by again! Your time, attention, and support is appreciated :) If you are visiting for the first time, I want to personally say thanks and that I truly hope that you enjoy what you read!

I am currently attending the South Carolina Foster Parent Conference in Greenville, SC at the Embassy Suites. We arrived in town at 7am.. I had been under the presumption that we could check in early into our hotel rooms before the first class at 9. Well.. I was incorrect. And well, I am one of the few foster parents that did not ask someone to watch my children for the weekend. Hu Hu.. so yeah, you see my dilemma!? I thought I would just check them into the room and they could just chill in the pool or watch the tube. (I do have a responsible 17 year old, btw). Fortunately, Greenville has an awesome downtown atmosphere with a great park full of water and rocks and other boy-friendly stuff! So I dropped them off at the park.. told my teen that I owed him big time, and headed over here for my first session. Views at the Greenville Reedy Falls Park!:

Everyone here has been very friendly! :) Many of the foster parents are very cordial and thus far, willing to participate in the sessions. The hotel is very nice! (I did pay for it!) We have a roomy suite on the top floor with cable (2 tvs!) and wi-fi downstairs. I attended 3 sessions so far.. the first session was about habits for success. It was very informative and helpful. The presenter was great! The second, the one I am in right now (Shhh!), is about child advocacy. The title and description is very interesting.. and that is all. :\ It's not really that relevant or interesting. :P Sorry.. just being honest! *Now, adding to my blog later in the day, I have just gotten out of the 3rd session, all about play! My specialty! (I am a guy afterall!) It was an excellent session full of great insight and lots of laughter. I stayed up really late last night making the shirt I am wearing right now.. first time using the sharpie fabric markers.. it was fun!

If you saw my shirt today and it brought you here to my blog, please say so below! I sure hope someone did.. I want you to feel free to comment on anything you have read here or in previous posts or even tell me all about your foster experience! :) Later tonight or tomorrow night, I will upload my notes on each of my sessions. This is a big job with lots of typing and paying attention (hard for my ADD! lol) so please, check it out. It should be in the menu on the right ----> Although long, this day has been a good one. I love to learn more about something that means so much to me! On a side note, something awesome happened yesterday.... I saw my very first foster child for the first time since he left me 2 years ago! :) I was visiting another school, observing a teacher's math skills, and as I walked around my eyes fell on him. He looked at me. I looked at him. And then the light bulbed flashed on in his head and he showed the biggest grin across his face! We talked for a while about all the things we had done together.. I told him that I still had the pillow that he had brought with him when he came to me (with his name and tear stains..) and he told me that he still had the blanket I had given him. It was such a touching moment and it was so comforting to have seen it all come full circle! :-D Well, now it is time to crash for an hour before heading back to the conference for the "banquet".. whatever that may be. Sounds good! (Except the kids can't come.. !) More to come later, thanks for reading!!