Courage Community Foster Care

05/04/2026

Congratulations to our Ryan family who was selected to be honored for National Foster Care month!

They are a joy to be around. So welcoming, nurturing and earnest in their efforts. They love their family, the children they foster, their foster children's families, their community, and hopefully us (as much as we love them).

May is Foster Care Month + Recruit Foster Families at Juneteenth and Pride + More Colorado Department of Human Services sent this bulletin at 05/04/2026 04:00 PM MDT View this email as a webpage? CDHS Honors Colorado Foster Families Highlighting the Ongoing Need to Support Nearly 3,600 Children and....

10/18/2025

This sort of scenario has happened to me so many times, I have lost count. I happen to think that it's meant to be somehow.

I went for a long overdue haircut to one of those low budget haircut places. I do that when I need a haircut NOW because I can't stand it anymore.

I was paired with the next available hairstylist, and after I sat down, she asked what I did for a living. I anticipated the 'oh, that's so awesome' response, but got something different.

She said she was in foster care at age 11 for a year. It was in a home with a million kids (like 20, actually), back when that was allowed. I winced, thinking it must have been a terrible experience.

But then she went on to say that was the best year of her entire childhood. That she was well cared for and was able to experience things she never would have otherwise. She was close with her foster sisters she shared a room with. She remembered when it was her birthday, her foster mom organized a whole scavenger hunt for her to find her gifts. She just cherished that experience. So much so, that now she does it for all of her (6!) kids on their birthdays.

She said she was determined to break a cycle of abuse and out of home placement in her family of origin, and she has been successful with that.

I had goose bumps up and down my arms, and had to hold back some tears.

I don't know if it's fate or pure coincidence that I sat in that chair, but I sure need these moments for my heart.

Let this be a reminder to you foster, kinship and adoptive families, and the people who have become role models to children who need one.

You absolutely make a difference.

~Courage

09/08/2025

“Heart murmur.” “Premature.” “Brain bleed.” “G-tube.”

These aren’t the words most people expect to hear when thinking about a baby in need of a home. They’re heavy. Intimidating. The kind of words that paint a picture of uncertainty and challenge.

When it comes to fostering a medically fragile child, it’s easy to focus on the hard things — the constant medical appointments, the surgeries, the sleepless nights, the unfamiliar equipment, and the specialized training.

C's referral came just like that — filled with medical terminology, future surgery dates, and a long list of unknowns. He was five months old and had spent every day of his life in a hospital. No one knew what the future would hold. Would he ever sit up? Crawl? Walk? Talk? Eat by mouth? Laugh? Go to school?

Instead of turning away, Ellie and Chase leaned in. They committed not only to learning what C needed — but to loving him through every single step of the journey.
And what a journey it's been.

Yes, there have been surgeries. Long nights. Therapy sessions. Training after training. Moments of regression and worry.

But there has also been so much joy and progress.

Crawling across the living room floor. Laughter and smiles. Wrestling matches with his big brother. First bites of new foods. Wobbly first steps. Words and hugs and friendships blossoming at childcare. Learning. Growing. Becoming.

With a child like C, progress doesn’t always follow a straight line. The path is full of ups and downs, leaps forward and steps back. But each milestone he reaches — no matter when or how — is a hard-earned, joy-filled victory.

And he has surpassed every expectation, thanks in no small part to the fierce, steady love and care of his family.

This Friday, surrounded by family and friends in a courtroom full of celebration, C walked, smiled, hugged, and ate — all living proof of how far he’s come. And with that, his foster family officially became his forever family. Happy Adoption Day C!

08/28/2025

It's a huge bummer when kids spend years in foster care and their cases are dragged on and on.... But on a positive note, it gave me a lot of time to get to know two incredible boys and watch them grow and thrive. Through this journey, I'm continually reminded that Mitchell and Eric are exactly the parents that 'T & D' were meant to have.

Over the past 3 years, I’ve been blessed with countless hugs, stories, snuggles, laughs, high-fives, and hand-drawn pictures from T & D. D, who once struggled with selective mutism, now speaks with confidence and clarity. The boy who was once afraid of the world will soon be dancing in The Nutcracker. T, who used to hate and fear school, is now an enthusiastic reader who looks forward to seeing his classmates daily. This boy who struggled with his gross motor skills is climbing the ranks in jiu-jitsu and learning healthy ways to express himself.

Through this journey, I've had the honor of watching two amazing men step into their roles as parents—becoming not only dads but fierce advocates, experts, and mentors. During today’s adoption ceremony, the caseworker couldn’t help but tear up as she praised Mitchell and Eric for being remarkable parents through every challenge, serving as role models to others, including herself.

Family is created in many different ways, and I'm lucky to have had a front row seat as these four people became a family through adoption today.

Happy Adoption Day T, D, M & E!

07/23/2025

Thank you Foster Love for coordinating this generous donation from our new friends at Hazen & Sawyer! Check out the cool stuff they do at www.hazenandsawyer.com.

Our kiddos are going to love riding in style with their new bikes and helmets! And I can’t wait to see the experiments they conduct with their new STEM kits. Thank you to the amazing volunteers and donors that made this happen!

06/14/2025

Today we celebrated a very special adoption day of an almost 3 year old little guy that is 'Wanted, Chosen and Loved' - just like his shirt says! His huge tribe of family and friends filled the court room and everyone celebrated afterwards with donuts in the courtyard. His biological brothers were there to give him presents and hugs and Mama was showered with flowers and cards. Our guest of honor played with trucks, shared his favorite treats with his toddler friends and they all chased each other around outside in the sunshine. It was truly a beautiful scene to see this newly 'official' family surrounded by so much love and support.

Happy Happy Happy Adoption Day A & L!

05/29/2025

Just like the rain lately, the kids have been pouring in. So many referrals- mostly for teens, but also for little guys in sibling groups.

Just so you know!

~Courage

05/23/2025

Yesterday was our annual audit (which we aced, by the way, thanks to our diligent foster parents and the best right-hand lady ever, Program Director Megan!).

It was also file purging day. We are mandated to maintain files for three years after they close. After that, we shred all of the contents.

It's a strange task for me every time I have to do it.

Those files contain paper, lots of it- but they also represent every child that we had in our care for a couple of years. So many of them. All ages, all circumstances, with one thing in common- they were taken from their families of origin through no fault of their own...
..and then typically placed elsewhere at the end of the case. Sometimes with relatives, sometimes back with parents, sometimes to another foster home, but sometimes adopted by their foster families.

We pore over the files as we remove them, remembering each child, telling stories about them, and usually asking, "I wonder what happened to them?" with a twinge of sadness. Because we are rarely able to stay in touch after they walk out the door for the last time.

It's a fine line between wanting to shred all that paper, as kind of a liberation- setting them free like a butterfly....and at the same time shredding our final reminders of those precious little humans who walked with us for a while.

They're never just 'cases' or 'files' or 'fosters' to us. They're unique, vulnerable and beautiful children. And they all matter.

~Courage

05/13/2025

We've had eight children referred for foster care placement this morning.

By 8:30 am!

04/03/2025

We've received four children in the past couple of weeks. I've been there when all of them arrived, something we always try to do.

It's so impactful to see them take their first steps into a new home. Regardless of how old they are, every single one is terrified. Every single one reacts in a different way. Some are quiet and wide-eyed, some begin chattering and don't stop, some cling to whomever brought them.

My house flooded, and for a couple of months, we are going to be displaced. We moved to a hotel first, and now we're in someone else's home in a long-term rental.

It makes me think a lot about our kids in foster care. I am uncomfortable. I don't know where anything is. I wouldn't decorate like this. The bed is different. I keep mindlessly driving to my real home, then all of the sudden I remember that I'm not living there now. My cats are not with me.

Can you imagine what a child goes through when they are removed and placed in a completely foreign environment with people they don't know? Or when they are moved from that place to another place? And then reprimanded when they 'act out'?

That's why it's so VITAL that we have people in our community who are understanding, soft, vulnerable with our children. It makes all the difference.

~Courage