Saturday, February 2nd 2013, 6:49 pm
One of Oklahoma's Own is making it her mission to prove that it doesn't take riches and fame to make a difference.
She took on the challenge when a couple kids she was fostering asked why she and her husband would want to ring the Salvation Army bell over the holidays. She was surprised when they told her only those who are rich or famous can make a positive impact on others. So, she's taken to the blogosphere to show them the truth.
The sound of laughter: it's a constant refrain around Janice and David Sizemore's home.
"I'm a foster mother. We've had 18 or 19 children in our home. We've got... how many kids do we have?" Janice said, laughing.
Janice jokes about the number of kids in her life, but takes seriously her job as a foster mom.
"It is a challenge, but it's a good challenge," Janice said. "It's definitely not for the weak of heart or the lazy."
Right now, she and her husband are caring for four foster children. They've had as many six at one time.
"I tell every one of them, I love you from the time you walk through that door and I'll love you for the rest of your life," David said.
The Sizemores have been opening their home to children for two years now.
Janice says it was something she'd always thought about, but didn't commit to until after beating an aggressive form of breast cancer.
"Got to asking myself, ‘What have I done in my lifetime to make the world a better place?'" Janice said.
Now, she's asking others the same thing, using her blog, "Caring for the Kiddos" to inspire more people to take on the challenge and become a foster parent.
Visit the Caring for the Kiddos blog.
"Even if one person comes forward and decides to become a foster parent, then that's changed the lives of many," Janice said. "You see them grown and blossom into something that you know is going to be successful in life, and that's what it's about."
And perhaps, one day, the many kids who have come in and out of the Sizemores' lives will realize it never was the riches of money that made a difference, but the wealth of love the found behind the walls of the place they called home, if even just for a short time.
Janice and David are in the process of adopting two of their foster children now.
Both of them are getting involved with writing on the blog.
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