But a few years later, Eric was listening to a radio show called ‘Focus on the Family’ and they were discussing raising children with special needs, and Eric felt in his heart we should have another baby. So in 2005, we had another beautiful baby boy, followed by another beautiful baby girl a little over a year later! Now we were a complete family!
Courtesy of Eric and LeAnne Stadler
Then the day came when we moved out of the suburbs and into the middle of the country. A smaller home with lots of land for the kids to play and explore. Our home was full and our lives were busy, but our hearts were pulling us to fill a need that was great in our community. Foster care! Caring for children who, by no fault of their own, were removed from everyone and everything they had ever known.
But I was hesitant. My parents had been foster parents for many years, and I knew the toll it took on biological kids. I knew how much time and attention the foster kiddos needed, which in turn, took time away from myself and my siblings, and I could only think about what effect it would have on our kiddos, the very children God had blessed us with.
So for 2 years we discussed, prayed about, and researched foster care. We found there were way more kids in the system then there were foster parents to care for them; and because of the drug epidemic, the number of kids going into care was rising. The need was great, and after talking it over with our children we began the classes. In 2014, we were licensed for Foster to Adopt and the same day our license was finalized, we took in our first placement of 2 kiddos.
Courtesy of Eric and LeAnne Stadler
Ready or not, we were foster parents.
It was February of 2017, we had had many foster placements by then, and we were considered seasoned foster parents. We had a decent relationship with the caseworkers and supervisors at Children Services, and they knew which kiddos our family fit best with. Not every child and foster family fit well, and for a child to thrive in care, they need to be matched with the right foster family. We were finishing up dinner one night after having just recently surrendered an amazing baby girl who we had loved and cared for over the past year for reunification when a call came in. ‘LeAnne, we have a 2-month-old baby boy, failure to thrive. He is at the hospital, and we want to know if you guys could take him?’ ‘YES! Of course,’ was our quick reply. ‘Thanks, the caseworker will call when he is ready to leave the hospital.’
That call unknowingly would change our lives forever!
We couldn’t wait for the caseworker to call, so Eric and I headed to the hospital. When we arrived, we were escorted to the room where the caseworker was sitting holding a baby. I had never seen anything like him. He was blue! Blue, not pink like most babies. His skin showed all the little veins that ran through his body. He had no fat on his little bones. His head was huge and the ‘soft spots’ were ridiculously obvious, not to mention the sutures where his skull came together were completely visible. He was so pitiful. He was tiny, frail, motionless, and he honestly resembled an alien. I know it sounds awful, but it was the only way to describe it. The caseworker handed him over, and I was nervous to even hold him, but the moment I did, I knew Eric and I were going to fight with everything we had to keep him safe.
