I have told you every year: Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and all other holidays fall far behind in my book.  The season starts November 1 for our family, with lights going up, and three trees in place (the Santa tree, the Red tree and the just lights tree).  To go with the trees, we have hundreds of beautiful Santas across the house with animated trains, Ferris wheels, carousels and glitter globes galore.  Each and every piece was bought with purpose and love, and each has a story my wife and I can tell.  

“I often say adoption is a full-circle blessing… Adopted children were not abandoned; we were chosen.” —Dawn

The swaddled little girl came home to a modest suburban Tulsa, Oklahoma, residence five days after being born. Her parents, two successful chemical engineers, had been waiting with delicious anticipation for this baby to bring their love full circle. They never hid her story. They sang her tale like a hymn, the lyrics of which read, “You were chosen, you were wanted.” In that house, “adopted” wasn’t a whisper; it was a proclamation of belonging.

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to pause and reflect on the people who make life full, the ones who fill our homes with noise, laughter, and love. Gratitude doesn’t always come wrapped in picture-perfect moments. Sometimes it looks more like the everyday chaos of family life, the kind of love that’s honest, imperfect, and real.

Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, foster parents with CK Family Services, celebrated the adoption of twin 10-year-old boys this year, a journey that began simply with open hearts and a willingness to serve.

“Originally, we just wanted to foster. We love children, our own are grown, and we have space! That’s what led us to opening our home and hearts to children in need,” they shared.

Building Hope, One Connection at a Time

At CK Family Services, our work doesn’t stop at the office door. Every month, our teams are out in the community doing a host of important and impactful activities. We are recruiting, equipping, and encouraging foster parents; supporting children and families through behavioral health services; ensuring safe and happy homes for children; and partnering with those who share our mission to bring hope and healing.

Something new is happening at CK Family Services!

 Because connection is at the heart of everything we do, we are excited to announce the launch of a new initiative: Family Connections, designed to help our families feel more connected:

• To CKFS staff and leadership
• To other CKFS families
• Within the communities where they serve

 When families are connected, they find meaningful relationships, encouragement, and the support they need to continue making a difference.

If you’re not a foster parent, it may be hard to imagine how you can make a direct impact in the lives of children who are navigating one of the most challenging seasons of their young lives. But this Christmas, you have the opportunity to do just that.

Each year on October 10, the world pauses to recognize World Mental Health Day, a reminder that mental well-being is just as vital as physical health. For those working in demanding, heart-centered roles like child welfare, foster care, and family services, it can be easy to focus on others while neglecting your own needs. But just as you can’t pour from an empty cup, caring for yourself is essential to caring for others.

My daddy worked at a cotton compress all my life. Back then, compresses existed to take the bales of cotton from gins (600 lbs each) and squash them down to about half-size so more could be stored. Then, the bales would be placed in warehouses, sometimes as many as 250,000 bales or more, and the overflow would be placed in open fields. Now, they mostly just store cotton.

This week, CK Family Services foster parents, Alan and Ashleigh Conway, were honored in Frisco as part of the Savannah Bananas Tour Stop.