by Lisa Kieklak -

#weksfoster {Preparing Hearts & Home}

I wrote this post in December, a week before our home was opened & we accepted our first foster care placement.

We (the Kieklaks) are at the tail end of the foster care certification process. We were supposed to have our home open by November 1st, but there was some forgotten paperwork that surfaced after we signed our contract. Now, after the 1st of December, we’ve gotten all the paperwork (actually all of it this time) sent in to DHS and we’re just waiting for approval. Our foster care agency will want us to take another respite care placement before taking a (more) permanent placement.

About the author

Explorer & adventurer – mostly through scratches of ink on a page – I enjoy my husband, our twin boys, our boisterous German shepherd, and strive to live for the glory of God.

by Lisa Kieklak -

Kieklak Twins {1 Year Pictures}

This post, along with the next several that I’m posting, is back-dated to better reflect the order of events. I’ve been doing a lot of catching up on blogging lately, so I’ll be posting a lot in a short span to help catch you guys up on the last year or so. Sorry if your inbox gets spammed – it’s just for today!

We had these pictures taken right after the boys turned one. Mitzi (or Mimi as the boys know her) did a great job capturing their personalities. We love looking back on these and remembering how little they were.

by Lisa Kieklak -

Kieklak Twins 1st Birthday

For their first birthday, our boys had an airplane-themed party. I wanted to go with a theme that was very easy for cake decorating & minimal on the other decorations, but still cute. I made the boys little individual cakes  so they’d each have their own little cake (we’ll see if I continue that tradition, it might be too much work once they have their own opinions and preferences).

I also made a larger cake that was for the rest of the guests, and I used a little toy seaplane for the topper. I saw someone else do something similar and I loved the idea of having a topper that is also a toy so I’m not wasting my money on something I’m only using once.

by Lisa Kieklak -

Adoption Resources

adoption

Adoption is important to both of our families, as caring for orphans is not only a job Christians are charged with, but also a glorious picture of the gospel and our adoption as sons and daughters of God. If you have questions about adoption, have a heart for adoption, or want to grow your love for orphans, one of the best things you can do is get your hands on a copy of Adopted for Life by Russell Moore right now.

Below are links to some of our favorite adoption resources, and we’ll add to this list as we come across things:

The Connected Child by Karyn Purvis & David Cross

Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel – sermon by John Piper

What I Learned About Our Heavenly Father by Being An Adoptive Father

Lisa was interviewed about embryo adoption on a podcast in 2018, here’s the link:

Adoption with Allyson Reid and Lisa Kieklak

by Lisa Kieklak -

Foster Care Resources

foster careBoth of our families plan to pursue foster care in the future. Here are our favorite links about the importance of foster care & how you can get involved and support foster families.

Foster Children Need the Church

Foster Care as the Way of Christ

Four Ways Your Church Can Support Foster and Adoptive Families

10 Simple Ways Your Church Can Serve Foster Families

Wanted: Parents Willing to Get Too Attached

Fighting for Faith in a Fostering Family

Foster Caring: How to care for foster children without becoming a foster parent

Foster Care: An Invitation into an Entirely New Normal

Surprised by Foster Care: 5 Ways It’s Not What I Thought It Would Be