This is why we have created the Filling the Gap Together community. Our mission is to cultivate a community where foster & adoptive parents can have a safe place to be seen, heard, supported, & encouraged. 

Our journey started one August evening at a young adult small group church meeting. I (Josh) was fresh out of college, and I (Krista) in the throes of learning to be a single mom. The attraction to one another was mutual. I (Josh) just felt a burning desire to get to know her more. But I (Krista) thought that someone like him could never be interested in what I had to offer. I (Josh) was persistent, and I (Krista) couldn't resist his thoughtfulness and integrity. 

As the wedding date drew closer, we had that discussion about children and how big we thought our family should grow. I (Josh) was fairly conservative (as with how I approach everything in life) and said 2-3 kids would do. I (Krista) said I wished for 3-4 kids. That truly is all I dreamt of at that time. It appeared 3 kids was the compromise in the middle where each would be happy. 

And so, we embarked out on life together and grew our family the traditional way to 4 kids (don't the wives always get that something extra?). But something along the way happened inside of me (Krista). I was captivated by this woman at church who had a bunch of kids in tow all the time; and the group of kids appeared to be different each time. This is where I came to know foster care in a real way.  

The idea of fostering children was very intriguing to me, (Krista), but I felt like I couldn't handle the heartache of giving kids back. I also felt like I didn't have enough to offer to even be effective as a foster parent. So, the idea of fostering was put on the back burner. That was the case until one night when I attended a friend's baby shower. Another one of my friends was there with her foster baby. She had just gotten placement of her that day. I was able to hold that baby and hear my foster mom friend’s story. That was when my heart just gave in, and I knew I had to pursue this calling.

With eagerness, I (Krista) approached Josh about just sitting through an orientation seminar to see what it was all about. I (Josh) was hesitant and didn't want any part of it, but the desire to support my wife won over. After the orientation seminar, I (Krista) was excited to start the training classes. I (Josh) was adamant that foster parenting wasn't a fit for our family. Ultimately, I (Josh) agreed to do the training classes only on the condition that it didn't guarantee we would actually become foster parents. 

After finger printing, home study, & much paperwork we now had a license saying we were certified foster parents. I (Josh) was still in denial about the whole situation. On the other hand, I (Krista) could hardly contain my excitement and was eager to get that first placement call. It ended up taking 6 weeks for that call to finally come. But it did, and we had our very first placement; a 16-month-old girl! She only ended up being with us for one night, but that was the start of our messy & hard, but beautiful & rewarding path of opening our home to foster children.

I (Josh) eventually realized the noble cause I was a part of.

I have watched Krista make so many new friends in the local foster community and continue to have a heart for helping people. We have now grown our family to 6 kids through adoption. Together we have learned so much in this chapter of our lives and continue to grow, as individuals and as a family unit, every day that goes by. 

Our passion for Filling the Gap Together is that we can hear each other’s stories and build a community of support & encouragement as we navigate through the trenches of foster & adoptive parenting together.