Crystal Paine is a Christian wife, mother of four, and foster mom. She is better known as the MoneySavingMom (@themoneysavingmom) online. Through social media, her website, a podcast, books, and more, Crystal shares tips and advice for how families can cut back on expenses and be creative with finances. But there is a unique side to Crystal’s family. With four children of their own, ranging from ages 1 to 16, Crystal and her husband are also foster parents. Hear directly from her about the challenges and joys of fostering in the videos below.
The Paine Family’s Road to Fostering
Crystal Paine and her husband experienced foster care up close when a family in their community group walked through the fostering journey. They watched as their friends opened their hearts and home to a little girl. “Our lives were pretty much wrecked,” she says, “by just watching what they were walking through [and] knowing her story.” It opened up Crystal’s eyes to see the need for foster families in their area.
After supporting their friends through the foster care journey, Crystal and her husband wondered what else they could do to help. They felt the Lord stirring their hearts and decided they were open to providing respite care. So they went to their first class. Although they never expected to become full-fledged foster parents, something changed for them in the class. They looked at each other after it ended and knew they had to do more than just respite care. “Once you know the need, you can’t unsee it,” Crystal says tenderly. “You can’t not do something.” Feeling that they had the space in their home and in their hearts, they decided to step into fostering.
Crystal Paine’s Initial Fears about Fostering
The road of fostering is not always easy. One of Crystal’s greatest fears when stepping into foster care was wondering how it would affect her older children. She feared that trying to help vulnerable children with trauma would inflict trauma onto her biological children.
But despite the challenges, Crystal has been consistently impressed by her children. She says with a smile that fostering has completely changed her children’s lives and their perspectives. Her older children have loved fostering. She sees that her children and more compassionate and caring, especially towards people with special needs since they have fostered multiple children with medical complexities.
How Foster Families Impact Children’s Lives
Because Crystal Paine and her husband both work remotely and have flexible schedules, they have welcomed two infants into their homes that needed extra care. Their first infant placement was a baby boy called Champ. They brought him home from the NICU four weeks before their own daughter was born. After eight months of fostering Champ, he was reunited with his biological mother.
The reunification experience can be challenging for foster families, but the Paine family has found blessing and grace through the process. Champ’s biological mother saw the benefit of continuing Champ’s relationship with the Paine family, so they still see him every few weeks. But Crystal also witnessed how important reunification was for Champ’s health and happiness. Champ began to thrive once reunited with his family. “He was struggling to gain weight. [As soon] as he went back with his mom, he just decided he loved food,” says Crystal with a laugh.
The Paine family has seen God’s faithfulness through Champ’s story of reunification. Crystal and her family were able to show love not only to Champ but also to his biological mother. Even though it was “the hardest thing” for Crystal to say goodbye to Champ when he reunified, she feels God has changed her perspective towards birth parents. She recognizes the important role that foster parents play in cheering on and celebrating birth parents. And the Paine family now get to continue to love on Champ and his mother.
Choosing Faith over Fear in Foster Care
The Paine family is currently fostering an infant boy they call “Baby D.” He has Down syndrome, cleft lip, cleft palate, and a feeding tube. “He is a case that would be difficult to place [with a foster family],” Crystal says. There is a huge need for families to foster children with special needs. She urges families to choose faith over fear when it comes to these complex situations.
I got to see Him show up and be faithful because I couldn’t do it in my own strength.
Crystal Paine
Crystal has seen God’s faithfulness time and again, which is why she encourages families to step into the hard situations. When “Baby D” arrived at the Paine home, Crystal and her family had no idea how to care for him with his medical needs. Looking back, Crystal can see how God was using her to change this little boy’s life. She says, “God was so, so faithful. But I got to see Him show up and be faithful because I couldn’t do it in my own strength. There was no way that I could do this on my own.”
For families who are considering foster care but feel scared, Crystal Paine has a message of encouragement: “You can trust God. He is a big God. He is a faithful God. And when you step out in faith and say yes to something that is greater than yourself, you get to see God show up and show off…”
How to Follow Crystal and Her Family’s Journey
If you are looking for an authentic, transparent view into the life of a foster family, you can find Crystal Paine on Facebook and Instagram. She also has a podcast and blog where she shares money-saving tips and tricks. Along the way, you can hear the stories of her family’s fostering experience.
