Brandon: I'm 12. I'm in 7th grade. I'm the oldest. I said I would do this page if I didn't have to write about feelings.

James: I'm 10 and in 5th grade and I'm doing ALL of it.

(Mom here. I typed what they said and fixed the spelling. That's all I touched.)

Brandon: We're in 4-H. I've shown a steer two summers and James did his first one this year. You get your calf in the fall and you feed him every morning before the bus and every night. You have to rinse him and brush him and teach him to lead on a halter and stand right, which takes forever because a steer does not care what you want.

Moose is black with a white face. He stepped on my foot in March and I didn't cry. At the county fair in July I got a red ribbon in market steer and a blue in showmanship, which is the one where they judge YOU, not the steer. Dad said the blue is the one that counts because I earned it. He is an ag teacher so he would know.

James: Tater is red and he is the nicest steer in the barn. He likes it when you scratch under his chin. I got a white ribbon, which is third, which is still a ribbon. I'm going to do better next year. Brandon helped me clip him. He only messed up one spot.

Brandon: It was a small spot.

James: Also the hard part of a steer is the end of the fair. I'm not going to talk about that part.

Brandon: OK, this part is kind of about feelings but it's important so I'll do it.

1. It's not your fault you're in foster care. Grown-ups made the decisions, not you.

2. You can still love your first mom. Nobody here makes us stop. We have a picture of her in our room.

3. If you move to a new family, give them a chance. It took me about a year to believe they were going to keep us. I was kind of bad for some of it. They kept us anyway.

4. If you have a little brother, he's going to copy everything you do, so be careful.

5. Ask questions. Ask your caseworker what's going to happen. You're allowed to know.

James: Mine are:

1. Bring your favorite thing in your backpack so it doesn't get lost when you move.

2. Ask if they have a dog.

3. It's OK to be scared at night. I was. Now I'm not that much.

4. Your new mom and dad might be old but they can still be fun. Ours are 43 and 44.

(Mom again. We'd like it noted that 43 and 44 are not old.)