FHC Blog

September 2023 Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 09/06/2023

Hey All!
Mark your calendar for our next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 20th, at 7:00pm during the Church service.  We are still meeting in the Agape Room and you can drop your kids off at Calvary kids! At our August meeting, we talked about different topics that would be beneficial for us to discuss as a group, and Charlotte introduced a program through The Empowered to Connect TBRI work book. We decided to choose some topics that would relate directly to connecting with your child and how it relates to our faith. So the next few months, along with our discussions, we will introduce some practical ways to connect with your child through conversation and/or games that you can practice at home as well. Here is a preview of the series we will be exploring together:
 
“Connected caregiving is an approach to adult-child relationships that focus on building and maintaining a secure, positive relationship over time.  Adults provide appropriate boundaries and expectations, along with the appropriate support and empathy.  This approach supports children though attachment-rich interventions that can strengthen their ability to develop a healthy sense of self, independence, and strong socio-emotional skills.  Ultimately this can empower children to meet the demands of their environment with support, encouragement, and guidance.”

That’s a lot of words! But basically, we’ll be walking through the Theology of Connection, as well as reflecting on God’s interaction with humanity described in Scripture.  And …. We’ll have some snacks and pray for each other!  Hope to see you there!!! And invite anyone you think would appreciate this type of support group!

Love in Him,
Kelly and Charlotte

June 2023 Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 06/12/2023

Hey all! Just a quick note to say we missed you, if you weren’t there, at the strawberry picking!  So fun! Also coming up… mark your calendar for our summer pool party on Saturday, August 5th at Kevin and Judy Terry’s house.  More details to come, but make sure you save the date!! We can’t wait to see everyone!

One other thing, our next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, June 21st, is during a family night at church.  It’s VBS week, so there’s no childcare cuz all kids are in sanctuary.  There’s a group game, worship, short VBS kinda message, ice cream sandwiches…. So that’s all fun.  But me and Charlotte will still be in the Agape Room if you want to come by, if you need prayer, if your kids are old enough to be in there alone.  We both plan to be there more for prayer, touch base, etc.  Feels like forever since we’ve been together!
             
Have a great day! Love you all!
Kelly and Charlotte

April 2023 Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 03/27/2023

Hey everyone! We had a great meeting in March discussing sleep issues that kiddos can have.  This month’s meeting, on April 19th,  we will be talking about food issues, which seems to be a common problem.  We plan to have a great discussion and time to pray over specific issues. Hope to see you all there! Also, ICA is having a Family Fun Day at Kenny’s Strawberry Farm on April 1st from 10:00am-6:00 pm.  They’ll be a Bunny, crafts, face painting, photo booth, strawberry picking, and more! Come celebrate Easter and raise awareness about foster youth at the same time! It’s at 953 Rainbow Valley Blvd, Fallbrook, Ca,  92028! Hope to see you there!

Hope to see you soon!
Kelly and Charlotte

January 2023 Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 01/20/2023

Hey everyone! Just wanted to remind you about our next meeting on Wednesday night, January 18th at 7:00 pm in the Agape Room. We’re excited to see everyone! We hope you can be there. I also wanted to remind you that Cameron and our High School group has offered to babysit everyone’s kids here at church on Friday night, January 20th from 6:00pm-8:30 pm. If you want to take advantage of that for a night out, please email me and let me know!  

Hope to see you soon!
Kelly and Charlotte

April 2022 Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 04/07/2022

Hey everyone! Woke up with you all on my heart today! Praying you are all doing great! I wanted to remind you to mark your calendars for our April meeting on Wednesday night, April 20th, at 7:00 pm. Charlotte will be leading a discussion on the development of children with trauma. Should be great! I hope the babysitting night went good … love to hear some feedback on it.

I plan to have a date nailed down for our next potluck when we get together on the 20th. Really want to spend time with you all in a more casual, relaxed setting. This morning, as I was thinking about kids with trauma, the Holy Spirit put it on my heart to pray specifically for those, children and parents, who are dealing with depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles … for them, as well as for their families to have patience, compassion, and a greater understanding for their issues. Will you pray with me!

I pray you have a blessed Easter next week! He is our Reason to Rejoice… can I get an Amen?!!
Love you all,
Kelly

February 2022 Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 02/08/2022

Hey everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all next Wednesday, February 16th, for our next group meeting. I’ve been praying for you all. I can’t wait to hear updates on how everyone is doing, what’s new in your lives, and how we can pray for you. I hope you all know that you can always email us with your prayer needs, call for prayer, etc.  Also, I wanted to talk to you all about something. The High School Ministry is wanting to do something to bless you all. They were thinking of hosting a night where they watch all our kids and parents can go out, or something like that. They are open to ideas.  So, think and pray on that, and maybe bring your ideas and thoughts to the meeting! Maybe we could all go out together? Hmmmmmm ….
See you soon!

In His love
Kelly (and Charlotte!)
 
“Let’s humbly come before the God of the Universe and ask Him to guide and strengthen every person involved in the life of a child in foster care. Let’s pray that the children in this community would know they are loved by God and would also experience a sense of belonging in their foster/adoptive families and their church community. And let’s pray that God would lead them as they work through hurt they have experienced in their past and their present.” (CAFO)

November Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 11/03/2021

Hey everyone! Just wanted to remind you about the potluck we are having Saturday, November 6th at 11:00am. If you are new with us and would like more details, please contact me at [email protected] and I’ll share the details. We’d love to meet you and your kids!

We had a sweet time last month celebrating the Stiff’s final adoption of Bugsy, and a tearful time praying for another precious one as they left the Denny’s home. Please continue to pray for both these families. I read a quote this week that reminds me to pray for many of you. “One of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do, my dear, is to grieve the loss of a person who is still alive.”  

Please mark your calendar for our next meeting on Wednesday night, November 17th in the Agape Room.  We will briefly be looking at the topic of “Sensory Issues” in our children, as well as praying for one another. Look forward to seeing you there!

Much love,
Kelly Bell

“Family is not defined by our genes.  It is built and maintained through love.”
“Every child deserves to know the love of a forever family. Every family deserves the chance to thrive.

Our Next Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 09/07/2021

Hey all! Just a reminder of our meeting on Wednesday night, September 15th at 7:00 pm.  We liked our discussion last month, so this week we’ll be doing something similar. We will be facilitating a discussion on “fear,” how it manifests, ways to recognize it in our kids, and hopefully, some tools to deal with it. So much of their behavior comes from past and present fears.  Sometimes we know the root cause, and other times it’s not so apparent. I’m excited to be able to be together and discuss this, as well as encourage each other in our journeys. See you soon! I’ll probably remind you a few days before to let you know where we’ll be meeting. (Pending bathroom construction!)

Love to you all!
In Him,
Kelly

First Meeting

By: Kelly Bell
Date: 06/08/2021

Morning everyone! Hope you’re well! I just wanted to remind you that this month we are meeting on Wednesday night, June 23rd instead of June 16th, so mark your calendars! I’ve been praying for each one of you guys! Can’t wait to meet up again. This next meeting we plan to talk about trauma.  We seem to spend much more time trying to identify our kid’s trauma and ignore how their trauma affects us.  We’d love to help support each other by helping to identify how trauma affects us, what triggers certain behavior, and how we can deal with it more appropriately.  We also plan to break up in groups and spend time not only getting to know each other but praying for each other and our role as parents! We can’t wait to get together again!  See you soon!

In His love,
Kelly