By Jill Rippy The system is broken because humans manage it; don’t use this as an excuse to quit. You knew it was broken way before its attempt to break you. Your calling doesn’t end just because it gets too hard. Being a team player is...
By Jill Rippy Update: Clearwater Marine Aquarium now offers FREE admission for children in foster care. Just bring your placement letter. If you are looking for amazing, affordable condo lodging in Clearwater, check out my article here: Vacation on...
To One of the Great Loves of my Life, I was your first Mom…the only one you knew for the first year of your life. You were brought to my home a two day old, 6 pound, frail little creature. My dear, you were a gift from the heavens. As the...
You know it…that really stupid policy that says we can’t homeschool our foster kids. We’ve seen the online battles between foster parents with differing opinions. We’ve heard all the reasons why children should or should not...
The costs associated with traveling to Disney World are enough to make any parent shutter. Thinking about the cost for traveling to Disney with a LARGE family seems downright impossible. Lucky for you, I am the deal hunting, penny pinching...
Dear Teacher, Tomorrow, I will put my daughter on a bus and send her off to an exciting new school year. 2nd grade is a year I honestly never really envisioned when I held that beautiful baby in my arms and dreamt of her future. It’s tucked between...
So, vacation has come to an end and we are back in reality again. The trek to and from Navarre, Florida with our crew of 8 plus 2 grandparents was quite adventure filled with great memories and lots of much needed sunshine. In a recent...
To have a large family means living a frugal life. For our family, we live frugally throughout the year, which allows us to have a more than satisfying Christmas season and to vacation once or twice a year. One of my foster favorites is...
Scary, emotional, unpredictable, scheming, hormone driven, false accusation making, window jumping runaways…who could I possibly be referring to? Teenage girls in foster care? These frightening beasts are without a doubt, the most feared...