After lots of soul searching I nervously grabbed my backpack and walked back to the same college classroom I had left in 1996, this time to pursue a Masters’s degree in social work. (No joke, I really had the same English professor in 1996 and 2020! Shout out to Professor Brattolii at JJC. Go Wolves!). After graduating from Lewis University with my Social Work degree, I took a few days off and got right back at it! I finished my Master's in Social Work and doing what God has called me to do.

Because of my own journey as a foster and adoptive mom and the need I was seeing in other families for support and encouragement, CALLED TO CARE was born. I believe everyone wants to help vulnerable children, but most people just aren’t sure how. The vision for CALLED TO CARE is to mobilize the church and individuals to find their way to “care.” Maybe it’s taking a child into your home, or maybe it is providing a meal or childcare or mowing someone's yard. We definitely aren’t all called to be foster parents, but we all are called to foster care.

currently

Home is my absolute favorite place to be. Our old white farmhouse surrounded by big strong trees and a yard for the kids to run gives me a feeling of indescribable peace and joy. On most days you can find me at home hanging with my kiddos, or in my happy place, the kitchen, making food to feed my crew. Date nights with Phil are the best nights, and we haven’t met a Mexican restaurant we haven’t loved! A stroll through Target with a Starbucks in hand will always be on the top of my list of ways to relax and unwind, but an hour of scrolling on FB Marketplace isn’t too shabby either.

home