You know you're a foster parent when:

This made me cry... I am doing that more often now that I am a foster parent! LOL
I've bolded the ones that I have experienced!

By Andrea from (Live with Laughter) -

You know you're a foster parent when: 

• You can't cut your child's hair without permission.
• You get asked "Are they all yours?" Every single time you go out, you learn to make a game of it. (Yes I had Rachel Carlson's A,B,C my 2 nieces and one nephew). None were actually mine. LOL
• You hear "Will you get to keep them?" way too many times. 
• You have to write in "I don't know" at least five times at every doctors appointment.
• You want to scream when you hear "I could never do it, it would break my heart." (honestly this one gets me b/c what do you think - it doesn't and won't break my heart either?, I am not a cold fish. It is gonna hurt and hurt bad, but I am willing to take the risk, not be selfish and serve God by changing a child's life who ultimately is changing and will change mine (FOR THE BETTER)" After all it hurt pretty bad when God gave us His son but He saved us all by doing it!
• You look at your calendar on the 1st of the month and all you can do is laugh at how full it already is. 
• Your kids have to go to three different places, just so you can leave the house without them. 
• You get told, "They don't look alike." When one is black and one is white. 
• You ask strangers in the hair care aisle how to care for African American hair. (YUP John did this the first week we got preemie twins LOL.)
• You have friends and family drop everything to bring you dinner and supplies. (Thanks to my mom who does this constantly. Mom (Ginger Drake) you are the best example of a MOM ever!)
• You break the rules by having the newborn sleep in your bed. NOPE TOO UNSAFE!
• You clean more in the hour before a social worker visits than you do all week. 
• You jump every time the phone rings, even if you're not expecting a call. 
• You fall in love in an instant when the door to the car opens to a new member of your tribe.
• You have a "after the call" ritual. Mine involves showering and laundry. MINE IS SHOPPING b/c the vouchers never show up the first day. 
• Your other children wake up to a new sibling that was delivered overnight. 
• You never get use to the stares, but learn to ignore them. 
• You have binders and folders and paperwork. Everywhere. 
• You get excited at back to school sales, you can stock up on binder and dividers. 
• You have a new knowledge of medical fields. 
• You learn on the job.
• You have a community of women online that you've never met, but who your trust and love. 
• You just have to scream sometimes. 
• You just have to laugh sometimes. You cannot make this stuff up. 
• You cry. More than you thought possible.
• You get involved in birth families lives, for better or worse. 
• You take pictures. All the time. 
• You want to laugh when people ask "You're paid for this, right?"
• You research subjects you never even knew about the day before. 
• You fight the insurance system, sometimes daily. 
• You hate filling out the "Is your child doing....." form at check ups. 
• You just can't find the words sometimes. 
• You get the immense pleasure and heartache of raising a child not born to you. (OH BOY is this ever true. Baby J you ARE SO LOVED!!! And I can't live without you!)
• You cry at what they don't have and never will. 
• You own one nice court outfit and hope no one notices that you wear the same outfit every time. 
• You get annoyed you have to waste your babysitter time on a court hearing. NAH I HAVE THE BEST BABYSITTERS. Thanks to MOM Connell and Mom Drake!
• You know there's a good chance this child you love will leave. 
• You rejoice when they stay, and cry for what that truly means. 
• You are amazed at the people that come into your lives. People you would have never met otherwise.  (Baby J you have some good bio people in your life who love you very much, you are a blessed young man)
• You read. A lot. Really. A lot. 
• You have become a pro at researching and know who has the best websites. 
• You weep when they leave. 
• You know the best places to get baby gear at a discount. 
• You're amazed at how quickly they become part of your family. 
• You troll the waiting children websites, even though you know it's crazy. Uh YEAH I really got to stop doing this. 
• You can rearrange a room and make a Walmart run in an hour.
• Your heart always skips a beat with the social worker calls. Always. 
• You have to realize you can't save them all, and that sucks. 
• You have such comfort when you hear "It's okay, I understand" and you know that they do. 
• You are filled with love when your family claims the child as their own. (Thank you to all my family who love baby J so much already!)
• You are amazed at how loving your own children can be to a new arrival. 
• You pray they stay. 
• You pray they go where they belong. 
• Your heart leaps when you get a new picture of a love you said goodbye too. 
• You dread visitation day. 
• Your anger at birth parents can shock you. 
• Your love for birth parents can shock you. 
• You're on first name basis with half of DSS, the police department, the judges, and even the bailiffs. 
• You can't believe the support you get. 
• You can't believe the support you don't get. 
• You're amazed at the kindness of strangers. 
• You get to live in this crazy, messed up, loving, hateful, hurtful and healing world of foster care and wouldn't imagine it any other way. 

WOW I related to more than I remembered I guess I am knee deep already!!