Dream Birthday Gift of One Foster Child
The Little Things Matter Most
A foster parent sees the good, the bad, and the ugly. The lives of foster children all over the country is absolutely heartbreaking. Although their normal seems so extremely abnormal, it is still THEIR normal. My children have been spoiled since day one with love, as well as, an abundance of gifts at Christmas and for their birthdays. It is really hard to think of the fact that hugs anytime, having a mom or dad tuck them into bed each night and being told "I love you" doesn't happen in every home. I can not share the details of our foster child's case but let me tell you about how a baby doll and a simple lollipop made one little girl's day!
Simple Request
From the day our newest addition came into our home, she made sure we knew that her birthday was the following week. When I would ask her what she wanted for her birthday, she told me TWO things. I am not sure about your children but when I ask my children what they want for birthdays or Christmas, I typically get a list longer than Santa's roll of names! Not with this little girl. You know what she asked for? A baby doll and a lollipop. Really?! That's it?! Every day for a week, I asked her the same question thinking that she would have more than two things on her list. Her answer was the same.
The Story of the Lollipop
I still don't know exactly why she had her heart set on a lollipop. Deep down in, I know part of it is because that is something she probably saw others enjoy when she never got to. Part of me thinks that there must be a deeper meaning of why she had such a deep desire to make a lollipop one of the TWO things she wanted. We may never know the reason behind it.
A friend of ours from church had not met our foster child yet and had no clue of her birthday request. He works for a candy distribution company. As always, he showered my children with candy. She was there when he was handing my other children each a piece of candy.... a lollipop of all things. A PINK lollipop. Her favorite color.
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After licking that lollipop over and over for a couple hours, she still had some left. My daughter had thrown her leftovers away. It was no big deal to her. However, this little girl knew it was time for a shower and softly asked me if I could please find a way for her to save the rest of her lollipop. At first, I thought NO WAY! It was a small piece left and would stick to anything I used to wrap it. I knew how much she had wanted a lollipop so I found a way to save her precious lollipop. Moments later, we looked over to see her standing next to her lollipop, wiping tears. I assumed she was upset that she couldn't finish it right then. When I asked her what was wrong, she buried her head in my shoulder and cried harder saying, "I was just thinking about how special my lollipop was!" A LOLLIPOP.... that is all it was but it was her special birthday wish. WOW, we take things for granted so often.
Next Up, a Baby Doll
She had already received one of her birthday wishes. The next wish was up to us to be sure to make come true. JC Toys had already asked for a review on not one doll but FOUR dolls. The day before her birthday, the dolls from JC Toys arrived at my door. They were quality, beautiful dolls and looked so lifelike!
The little girl who came to us just the week before (AFTER I had already agreed to do a review for JC Toys), came into my home with one small backpack. Inside were clothing in which some were too small. Others were too big... and ONE toy from the social worker. Foster children often come with little to nothing!
While she was at school, we filled her bedroom floor with balloons and placed her gifts right in the middle of the floor with a helium balloon attached to them. I wish I could show you the expression when she saw these dolls for the first time. (by law, we can't post photos of foster children that are in the foster care system). The little girl who typically has a plethora of words was speechless. She asked right away if I could please open them for her. For the rest of the night, our foster child had a doll in her hands at ALL times. Even while eating her cake and ice cream. She has brought the dolls to "sit in church" and begged to bring them to school. We had to draw the line somewhere. Ha!
The Lots to Cuddle Babies, the Berenguer Boutique 15" Soft Body Twins Gift Set, and the 15" La Newborn "Real Girl" All Vinyl Pink Bunny Gift Set were all going to be Christmas gifts for my daughter. When they showed up the day before our foster child's birthday, I knew they were meant for her. This foster child may not be with us at Christmas but I KNOW she will have precious memories of getting her two birthday wishes in access. Our foster child asked for one lollipop and one baby doll. She got multiples of each. Before she went to bed that night, with tears in her eyes, she told me it was the best birthday ever!
How YOU Could Make a Difference!
You may not have a child but you can always make the day of a child who is new to the foster system. Contact your local Department of Social Services and ask if you could gift a doll to a new foster child. You will never know the impact that one JC Toys Doll or one lollipop might make in a child's life!
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It breaks my heart to think of how many kids are out there in this situation. And it would take so little to help in some way. You might not be able to actually care for a foster child, but you can definitely help those who do.
I love this story. It warms my heart. I am a big fan of JC Toys now. Those baby dolls are really precious.
How wonderful to foster a child and make a big difference in their life! A terrific birthday party and gifts to give them must be a special feeling!
I am so glad that the little girl was placed with you for her birthday. Now she will have at least one and hopefully many more happy memories of her birthdays to come.
This post made me cry. You are such a wonderful family for doing this, I have so much love and respect for those who take care of foster children. I can only imagine what the life of a foster child must be like, but thank goodness there are people out there like you who make them feel as special and give them hope! Thank you so much for sharing this.
Broke my heart, tears pouring. My great niece just had a 2nd birthday on Sunday and someone gifted her a doll. She has lots of dolls but she would not let that doll go. So I cried some more just thinking about the 2 different little girls.
Important for us all to keep in mind what is important in life and how to help whenever we can.
This put a tear in my eye, so sweet...it really touched me and made me think about the older kids that don't get picked. So i decided i'm going to leave some (unnamed) foster kids some money in my will so they don't have to leave the system with so little and have to fend for themselves - kind of an anonymous inheritance, so they know people care about them. I'm thinking I'll let a family member pick the kids or a social worker. thanks for the idea...
People don't realize just how little foster children have. Many arrive with just a trash bag to hold their meager belongings. We are unable to take foster children but have supported programs to help them and others who need help for many years. Those of us who have enough to be comfortable as well as more than enough to be so, seldom know what children and adults in need go through. Foster children have often lost what little they had in material possessions. In addition, they have lost their family and have no idea if or when they will be united again. Little kindnesses can make such a big difference. It doesn't take much to buy a few gifts for the Angel Tree at church or in town. We always select older children. The babies and little ones are favorites because they are fun to buy for and tug at the heart strings. The older children/teens tend to be left on the tree and get much less. They often need the love and attention more than the younger ones. They may have been in the system longer and been shuffled around frequently. They shut down emotionally, feeling unwanted, and often cut themselves off as a means of emotional self-protection.
Do what you can to make these children feel wanted, appreciated, and worth something. It is worth it for them, for you, and for society.
This is such a sweet post! I love the idea of asking if you can gift a doll to a foster child.
I've been thinking seriously about applying to foster. Until then, I support programs that assist foster kids and aged out youth.
This is really nice. Our area is collecting luggage for foster children. The state gives them a trash bag for when they are moved to another home.