As Tim and Stephanie Kreitner prepared for the adoption of two of their children, Stephanie stumbled across a notebook with notes from the initial call asking the Kreitners if they would be willing to welcome these children into their home. This was their first long-term placement, and it was an emotional, full-circle moment.
“We got a call on a Wednesday evening,” Tim said. “We rushed to get everything ready and make sure that everything was welcoming, on the fly.”
That first night, Stephanie and Tim’s focus was on helping their children transition into their home smoothly, especially helping them wind down for bedtime.
“We had this sacred time of trying to get them settled down after the removal [from their home],” Tim shared. “Everything gets quiet at bedtime, and it took us a while, but we got there.”
Over the next few days, Stephanie shared that the support they received was a huge blessing. As they navigated scheduled wellness checks and the emotions of this transition, they also had to figure out a lot of logistics.
When Stephanie and Tim both needed to work, Lorenzo Scott, their Family Advocate, took care of the children the second day they were in the Kreitners’ home.
“If there’s one word that could embody Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries, it would be support,” Tim said. “We have never felt alone on this journey. Someone has always been there with food or encouragement. It is priceless to know that if something happens, you won’t be alone.”
In the years that these children have been in their home, Tim and Stephanie have watched them grow and flourish.
They shared that their son is now able to calm himself down using the resources that they have worked hard to give him.
“It took a lot of hard work, but little by little, he showed us that if we can be steady, he can be steady,” Stephanie shared.
One of the ways they demonstrated their steadfastness was through Tim’s daily affirmations and hand gestures of who their son is. Tim would say the statements, “I am strong, I am bold, I am loved,” to him each night, with accompanying hand gestures, for him to repeat.
“At first, he couldn’t look me in the eye, and he would say it so quietly that you could barely hear it. After a few weeks of doing it consistently, he said it like he believed it. I think he needed to realize it was true.”
For their daughter, Stephanie recounts witnessing a huge transformation. Each year, families at The Hill are invited to Lake Day at the Glennon’s lake house. When their daughter first arrived at their home, she had an intense fear of water, but at Lake Day, she was able to swim freely with so much enjoyment and with no fear. That day, Stephanie went tubing with both of her now-adopted children.
“I will never forget the looks on their faces when they went out on those tubes—it was pure joy. It was just a tube and a boat on Lake Day, and they felt so free to have fun and enjoy the water.”
As the Kreitners look toward the future, they are excited to further their relationships with their children. In the long-term, they want them to thrive and live life to the fullest.
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