WIM1912 Christmas 2019 lowres - Flipbook - Page 9
Wesley Impact! A foster family’s first Christmas
from Wesley Dalmar. A team formed
around Rebecca and with her family’s
support, everyone helped the children
to settle in.
“We went on a camping trip for a
few nights away with my extended
family. The children enjoyed being
with others of a similar age. And
even though it was still early on in
our journey, I was able to cope well,
and I had become a parental figure in
their lives. I was already committed to
them, but now I knew we could,” she
recalls.
Rebecca’s sister-in-law fondly
remembers the camping trip where
new family memories were created.
“It was a great opportunity to get to
know the children better in a lowkey environment. We rode scooters,
played board games, sang songs and
fed farm animals,” says Lauren.
“There was a big trampoline where
we were staying, and all the kids
kicked their shoes off before going
on to jump. There was a moment of
hesitation when the older of the two
siblings pressed their new shoes into
my hands and, looking concerned,
pleaded with me not to lose them.
They were just regular kids shoes
from Kmart, but they were a prized
possession. Moments like this helped
me to realise that they will need some
support and encouragement to
experience life in the carefree way that
we hope all children get to live.”
selected, of course they chose the
most difficult one! But when I realised
that it was the first cake or birthday
celebration they had had, my Mum
and I willingly accepted the challenge,”
laughs Rebecca.
The party brought another moment
of realisation for Rebecca. “I looked
around as the children celebrated,
laughing and dancing to a song from
their favourite animated film. We were
surrounded by community—family,
church friends, people we knew from
school, after-school care and sports—
and it had all happened in the space
of a year.”
“Life is far from perfect, there have
been and will continue to be some
significant challenges to navigate, but
we’ll do it together. I love them.”
They say it takes a village to raise a
child and as Rebecca tells their story,
her parents, now affectionately known
as ‘Nanny’ and ‘Grandad’, play a
critical part. A role that will no doubt
come into its own on Christmas Day.
“I prayed regularly
for patience
and the Lord’s
guidance that I
would know when
it was right.”
“We’ll start the day with our church
family, celebrating Jesus’ birth,” says
Nanny. “We’ll have lunch with one
side of the family and then my son
and daughter-in-law will come for
dinner and probably bring their dog
too. Between waking up early, church,
family, lunch, swimming in the pool,
presents, dinner and the dog… our
first Christmas together is going to be
one to remember.”
*Names and images have been changed to
protect privacy.
The year has gone by quickly, and
family life has been full with school,
extra-curricular activities, church and
getting to know all the neighbourhood
playgrounds. It was the older of
the two sibling’s birthday first and
planning their birthday party was a
family affair.
“We selected a venue, wrote party
invites, planned games and chose a
cake from the Australian Women’s
Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake
Book that my brother and I grew
up with. I shouldn’t have been at all
surprised when the train cake was
Christmas looks very different this year for primary school teacher Rebecca.
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