Are we ready? - Foster Special #1

Tomorrow Chase and I have our first in-home interview to begin the process of getting licensed to foster children.  We're both very passionate about this, and we feel that God has called us to this.    BUT we are both nervous and wondering...Are we ready for this?  Are we going to be good parents?
Here are some of the biggest concerns I have.

• Time - Chase and I both work full time.  While I believe parents can both work and still raise a family, I'm very concerned about time issues... How will we be sure the kids are picked up from school? Can we afford after school care until we get off work?  I work from 8-6 on almost all weekdays and 8-1 every other Saturday.  Is there enough time left to devote to children?  Chase pretty much gets to set his own hours as long as he works 40+ hours a week...and he's supposed to go in one day per weekend.
• Discipline - Chase and I have never been parents before.  Will we be consistent but loving disciplinarians?   Will our strategies work? Will we even agree on those strategies?
• Pain - As Chase and I take children into our home, love them, and then help them move back in with their parents/relative/adoptive home...will we be able to handle the pain of losing them?  The goal of foster care is reunification.

I truly believe this is something God has called us to do, so I have to trust that He will equip us with what we need.  

Just in case you don't know what this process will look like for us...Here's just a little overview of the process.

1. Application - basically you fill out a form with your social security number, demographics, house information, references etc. DONE.  Chase and I have made it through this step.
2. Initial In-home Consultation - This is what will take place tomorrow.  The agent will meet all of our pets, perform a complete tour of our home to verify it meets licensing standards, review our paperwork and the licensing process, and get our fingerprints for more background checks.
3. Classes - Chase and I will both have to attend about 27 hours of classes (3 hours per week for 9 weeks).
4. Home Study - While we're attending the classes, a home assessment work will conduct 3 more home visits.  If approved, we'll be licensed!

Adoptive parent training is a whole additional process that takes place after foster training.  We're doing all this business through Great Circle which works with Children's Division.