Yeah.

So once I got her home, I felt it was really my job to be observant and watch every little thing that she did and what's causing this and what can I do to change this.

I knew that she was more than likely going to die, but I wanted her to be comfortable between the time that I got her and the time that she left.

So I paid attention and I noticed that every time she ate, this happened.

And I had seen this before with other babies where they just can't handle the formula.

Not to this degree, of course, but we're gagging and choking and like they're just uncomfortable.

Yeah.

Yes.

But what can the attendees expect this year being the 30th anniversary?

We are going to be having it at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki Beach.

It is, as you mentioned, it's the second time we've been there.

The first time the conference was canceled because of COVID.

We had the pandemic that hit.

So we were limited to how many people we could have there.

We...

So is there some shared knowledge that is going to be received and experienced at this conference? Will you have our Polynesian relatives as speakers, as guests, or even some cultural immersion?

So but before we dive into that, um, if you could just tell us a little bit about you and John and how you started fostering and kinda when all that journey began.

Sure.

Uh, my husband and I had been married probably about 25 years.

We had just recently moved to Michigan for his job and I, we had four children that we cared for.

The youngest two were still in high school when we moved to Michigan, and it had been our dream to be foster parents.

But as you know, raising your own children with fostering can be challenging, and my husband was a corporate pilot, so he depended on me a lot to take care of our kids [laughs] uh, 'cause he flew internationally.

So, um, I met someone in our neighborhood who was fostering for a Christian agency, adoption agency, where all you had to do was take care of the baby until they were placed with their adopt home from the birth mother.

Yeah.