There are some events in life that cannot be told in a short amount of time. Each time I tell this story, it takes about 45 minutes, and I understand no one is going to spend that long reading a blog post. What I will attempt to do is share significant life update concerning my husband and me as concisely as I can without losing the heart of the story.
January-May 2026: In January, my husband (Bobby) and I went through the state-approved process to adopt a teenager out of foster care. Bobby’s family did foster care for 20 years, and since our dating years we had talked about having an “open” home for a child or children in need. Our first match was a young man who, after our preliminary meeting with his case worker, we learned could not attend a regular public school. That would not work for us because the child needed to be able to go to the high school where Bobby teaches. The second young man had to be the youngest in the family (he was 16), and since we have two young children, we were not a match. The third had previously been institutionalized and was on a high number of medications, which would not work well for our current stage of life. By the time we completed these three matching processes, it was May. With summer upon us and then football season (my husband is a head high school football coach), we decided to press pause.
July 28, 2026: I was sitting at a work training with my boss in Franklin (I work in College Access) when she received an email from a 17-year-old stating that she was living on her own and needed help applying to college and figuring out where to go because she wanted a good education. It is rare that we ever receive an email directly from a student; it is generally school counselors or parents. My boss read it to me and responded, asking where the student lived. She replied immediately and said “Athens,” which is in the same county I live in. I told my boss to forward me the email so I could respond. I did, giving this student my phone number, and she texted within two minutes asking when we could meet. She said she was working 40+ hours a week and doing her schooling online for the past year but was off on Sunday because of church, so we set a meeting for that Sunday. I said I would take her to dinner.
August 2, 2026: We met for dinner, and she stated she wanted to study business because people who own businesses “make money” and she did not want to struggle for the rest of her life. I signed her up for the ACT, talked about financial aid, and discussed college options. I found out she is a junior but wanted to finish faster so she could start her life. I also learned she was currently living with an older cousin and had lived a life marked by abuse. We agreed to meet again to decide on campus visits and begin her college applications.
August 14, 2026: She came over to my house, and as we started talking she let me know that her mother was no longer paying for her coursework and she did not know hoq4w she was going to afford her classes. We talked for a bit. I tried to pull her transcripts with minimal success, but I quickly realized this young lady was going to need much more help than simply navigating the college admissions process. So, long story short, we invited her to move in with us, and she tearfully accepted🥲. We had a meeting the next day to go over rules and expectations, and we moved her in the following day. She starts her junior year at the school where Bobby teaches on Monday, August 24th.
We believe God has made two crooked paths become straight.
Today: So, why write this? Well, for one reason, to share the story this way takes less time. Secondly, to ask that you would pray for us. And lastly, in full transparency, we need financial help. Because this young lady is not in foster care (and does not want to go back into the foster care system for various reasons, including turning 18 in January), there is no extra financial support to offset expenses. Thankfully, our church and my sister’s church gave a combined $700 to help get us started, and we were able to cover basic needs with that. However, there are other expenses that need attention. For example, her car (which is paid for) needs new tires for sure, a possible air compressor because the AC is out, and at least a tune-up. She is using our son’s furniture right now, but we need to get her bedroom furniture of her own. We do have an extra mattress that used to be Bobby’s and mine. She is also wanting to join the golf team, as she was on the golf team at the school she attended freshman year. They require specific uniforms that she must buy herself in order to compete (she does have her own clubs… no idea what shape they are in, but she says she has them).
We are thinking if we could raise somewhere in the ballpark of $3,500, we could cover all these initial expenses and start this school year with everything she needs to be comfortable in our home, safe in her car, and settled at school. If any amount over this is given, we will put it in an account to help with future expenses that I am sure we have not yet thought about when it comes to raising a teenager.
We are not trying to guilt anyone into giving. There are seasons in life when we can give freely and times when we cannot. We simply wanted to make our need known and humbly ask for help, as we feel God has put us in her path to help her. We understand that after reading this you may have some questions and want to know more about the story (and there are obviously more details). We are happy to tell it—just contact us. If you would like to assist us financially, please click or tap this link.