Article December 6, 1999 Issue

The joys of foster-parenting

A conversation with Joanie and Herb White

By Kim Shippey

EARLIER THIS YEAR, a Winnetka couple, Joanie and Herb White, were honored by the Children's Home and Aid Society of Illinois as Foster Parents of the Year in the Chicago metropolitan area. They received letters of congratulation from Chicago mayor Richard Daley, state governor George Ryan, and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. At Christmas this year they will be fostering their ninety-seventh baby in twenty-one years.

"A home at Christmas with a guest or a child is very special," says Herb White, with undisguised enthusiasm. "And with a foster child, you get to have both a guest and a child in one," adds his wife Joanie.

"I just love dressing our infants for the holiday events," she continues, "watching them discover the lights, the colors, and the music of Christmas. There's a picture in our home of an infant taking a bath and watching the water come out of the faucet. His face is delighted and full of expectation. It's quite enchanting. It's titled 'Let the Wonders Begin.' and for us that says it all. That's what we've been doing and enjoying all these years—letting the wonders begin! We seem to have the Christmas spirit all year round in this house."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

IN NEXT WEEK'S SENTINEL