Connie Kerbs

Connie Kerbs, aka The Fostering Mom, was an early and ardent student of Language Arts - and still is. She is a prolific writer and intense lover of great poetry. Along with the poetry, she writes fiction, non-fiction, inspirational tales, memoirs, children's stories, ...and everything in between! Her stories and poems have been published several places, and Paths of Fear is the debut title of her Pebbled Lane Books Series, (www.pebbledlanebooks.com). She has several other projects in the works at various stages of publishing progress.

She says it sometimes feels more like, The Fostering Mom, aka Connie Kerbs. After 23 years of foster parenting with her high-school-sweetheart-husband, they are blessed with what she calls their "sweet sixteen." More than a dozen adopted children (13), and three biological children comprise the family. This is in addition to the dozens of children and families they have fostered over the years. "I understand what so many of these children endure, and have to overcome - and they are my heroes, everyone," says The Fostering Mom, whose children include several with extraordinary needs.

When not writing, or mothering her large family, Connie serves on the Board of Directors (President, Past) of the Spokane Youth Symphony. She is also the Vice President of the Foster Parent Association of Washington State, (FPAWS). She gives intensely of herself to underprivileged child-focused projects with names that have "Orphan Summit," and "Crisis Nursery," in them. She has appreciated the opportunity to work on legislation and congressional sub-committees at the state level, as well as Washington, D.C., which advocate for under-privileged children, foster care, and broader family welfare issues she is passionate about.

Whether it be her family, a non-profit or community project, or a book, she believes in the importance of giving one's best, and helping others in enduring ways. Her current Pebbled Lane series is a project which gives in more ways than one – either by acting as an outlet for serious writers to publish their stories, or by supporting worthy causes directly through the proceeds. Her passion for this project, and others like it, is as evident as her love for her husband and children, who fuel her aspirations.

For Connie Kerbs, The Fostering Mom, its all about doing what she calls "living the gratitude." She asserts, "This is an essential thing, to joy, to purposeful living, to a meaningful walk of faith, to overcoming...to success," says the mother of so many, herself a former foster child.