Help Krista move into a two-bedroom

Hi! My name is Krista and I'm a single foster momma and I'm busting out of the seams of my little space! Let me tell you a little more.

How It Started

In May 2018 I moved from Southern California to a small town outside of Austin, Texas to work for a foster care nonprofit. I knew my endgame would be becoming a foster momma but wanted to give myself some time to create a life and community in my new home. I dove into my job and became involved in my community. After living with friends for a few months, I signed a lease on a sweet, awesome little one-bedroom apartment. Even though I was 35 when I moved in, the space has felt like where I've grown up in a lot of ways.

My childhood was extremely chaotic and traumatic, and the one thing I wanted in a home as an adult was a space that felt "put together." I wanted the decorations to match. I wanted a gallery wall! I wanted framed pictures and pillows on a nice sofa. In my adulthood in California, I either lived with friends or lived in apartments with lots of secondhand things. I was safe, warm, and fed so all my needs were met but I longed for that creative and connected place.

In Buda, I've had the opportunity to create that home. A few nights after I got the keys to my apartment, I hung up my gallery wall and I cried looking at all of the pieces I had collected for it over the years. It wasn't an apartment; it was my home, and as the years passed and I kept renewing my lease I was so grateful to have this safe and healing place. I got to bring my family and friends from out of state to stay with me. I hosted a baby shower and a birthday party and move nights and casual get-togethers. I grieved the loss of my grandma and laughed until I cried with my friends. It was a beautiful place, and that's when I knew...

It's Time to Begin

It was time to make it a home for a child.

My childhood and healing journey made me know I would become a foster parent, so in March of 2021, just shy of three years in Texas, I started the process. Three months later, after mountains of paperwork and classes and certifications and interviews, I was licensed for one child 0-3 years (perfect for a 600 sq foot one-bedroom). I built a crib on Mother's day and stared at it, simultaneously praying my home would never be needed and preparing to be a safe space.

I got the call for my first placement on June 28th. He was 10 months old. I said yes, and for 16.5 months I got to be his foster momma. I learned so much from him -- and from his mom and dad, with whom I have built a special and incredible relationship. The goal of foster care is reunification whenever it's safe, and in November 2022, after 502 days with me, I got to send him home to mom and dad. We have continued to stay in touch and while it's been a learning curve for all of us, it's been incredibly special to come together as a team to be our guy's biggest champions.

Transitions

While I continue to support my little man and his mom and dad, I am preparing to do the same for more families. I am currently limited right now by the size of my apartment -- in a one-bedroom, I am licensed for one child 0-3 years old. I would love so much to be able to expand both the ages and the number of children for whom I can care at once. There is a need for homes for siblings sets and I would love to move into a two-bedroom to be able to help meet that need.

The Need

A larger space is much needed for my little (and growing) family. We have toys crammed in every nook and cranny and currently, my dining arrangement is that my placement will eat in the high chair and I sit on a folding chair in front of it. Sharing a room with an infant and a toddler is quite the experience -- there are a lot of nights (more than half I would estimate!) where I've slept on the sofa so we could both get a good night of sleep. Closet space is limited.

Simply put: I need more room!

I have some money saved up for this move, but I would love to raise additional funds to help offset the additional cost of rent for a few months. I love the apartment community I'm living in and have an opportunity to move directly across the hall -- a dream I've joked about for several years. I would love to jump on this while I wait to take a new placement later in the year, in mid-spring. Moving before a new placement comes would allow me time to set up the house, making it a home, so that when the time comes for a new kiddo or kiddos to need a safe space, everything is already organized.

I am ready to expand my home so I can eat more meals, watch more kids take their first steps, play with more blocks, fold more tiny laundry, watch more Miss Rachel (IYKYK), make more bottles, change more diapers, and most of all grow more and more and more love.

The Logistics

I have already started the conversations with my apartment complex about what this looks like. To move, I would need to have the following:

I have also factored in many of the other miscellaneous moving costs that arise as well as the additional cost of offsetting the increased rent for a few weeks and the purchase of a few items (like a table and chairs -- now that I have a cutely decorated space, my next dream is a nice table and chairs so I don't have to eat dinner on the couch after bedtime or at a metal folding chair!).

The Bottom Line

I want my home to continue to be a safe space for as many kids and families as possible. Watching my life change when my little man came to me and I got to know and care for his parents has changed me. Your help and support in making it happen for more kids mean the world to me, and when I say it will change the world one child at a time I mean it!