A coffee break with Kris

For today's coffee break, I'm excited to chat with Kris, a foster and adoptive mother from the Sioux City Service Area. Our coffee break is a regular feature when we talk with different folks from around the state involved in foster care and adoption. Kris's family took part in Sioux City's first ever Adoption Saturday last weekend and adopted a sibling group of two young boys!

First, congrats on being part of Adoption Saturday! How would you sum up the atmosphere at the courthouse?
It was great! Festive, and there were lots of really good speakers during the program. I really enjoyed how one adoptee talked about how when she went to her adoptive home, her mother made sure she stayed connected with her Native American heritage and culture.

The best part of the day?
That would be our actual adoption. And I have to add, our adoption worker is amazing!

You've been doing foster care for years. Any favorite stories?
I think our best moment in foster care was when a baby came to us from a hospital. We had him for seven months, and during that time his mother was incarcerated. When she came to pick him up at their reunification, he had never seen her but he just laid his head on her shoulder like he had known her forever. It was so great to see, and great to see someone who had turned her life around.

I love that story! Any words of advice for future foster and adoptive parents?
Take advantage of classes and training.

Thanks Kris for sharing a bit about this special day! And a big thanks to all the individuals in Sioux City who worked so hard to bring Adoption Saturday to northwest Iowa. This weekend Iowa has four other Adoption Saturday events coming up in Ames, Cedar Rapids (held on Friday, Nov. 20), Council Bluffs, and Des Moines.

Thanks for reading!