Seven?!?

So, a little thing happened...

We had 1 month - ONE - of no CPS workers, no agency workers, no CASA workers, no visits, no documentation, no crazy hoops to jump through, no last minute hurdles, no court dates...ONE month of blissful normalcy.

Then it happened...we got a frantic call, but it wasn't just any call. We had told our agency we were taking a break, so it wasn't from them.

The twins birth mom called. She had a little 2 month old baby boy she feared would be removed by CPS and asked me to come to court the very next morning.

I did, and little "KoKo" was placed into CPS custody. There's so much more to the story, but in the end, by that evening, little man (half-brother to our twins) was with us.

Once again the barrage of people and papers came flooding thru the door along with this newest little bundle of love.

That was 7 months ago and it feels as if he's always been here. He has to be the sweetest, happiest, healthiest baby I've ever had the privilege of caring for. Everyone who meets him falls in love with this little guy.

I don't know what the future holds for us, for him, for his birth parents, but God does. 

...And Then There Were 6

I've written a lot over the past year, but emotions were high and after settling down and doing more thinking and praying, I felt it best to keep some of the details to myself so many posts have gone unpublished.

If you've kept up with any part of this blog or read the last post, long story short, the twins are ours - forever. The other little boy we had been fostering went back home right before Christmas. It's been a year and a half since he left. We often wonder how he is doing...we hope he is well, but it's hard not knowing...

We went thru an agonizing week long jury trial in which I had to testify. We learned that things were much worse than we had imagined, but in the end of it all, the jury chose to terminate parental rights and grant us the privilege of adopting these precious boys.

The adoption has been finalized for about 8 months now. The boys are ours to cherish and love and protect - forever. We don't take this responsibility and what happened lightly, we pray often for their birthparents, and we pray these boys will grow to love Jesus with all their hearts.

6 Little Words

(I actually wrote this back in January 2018, but never published it...I figured it was time...more to come.)

This past Wednesday was supposed to be the last visit our foster boys would have with their biological parents before mediation and the jury trial to terminate rights in order for us to adopt. I don't know what the future holds, but I wanted to make this visit special for the parents.

The twins and I had been working on a craft for the past 2 weeks. I was a little bummed because my final pieces needed to complete the project had not arrived yet. Flooding up north delayed my package indefinitely. My daughter graciously let me have a few of her Lego pieces and miniature glass figurines to sub for the missing craft items. The final touches were put on the special crafts that morning and they were wrapped up and ready for the visits that afternoon.

I didn't have any expectations going into the visits. I just wanted to encourage the twins mom to be truthful in the upcoming mediation and jury trial. Her boys futures depended on it.

Before I could even get the words out of my mouth, mom boldly and matter-of-factly said, I have something I need to tell you. "I want you to adopt them." 

6 little words.....Tears started streaming down my face. I could find no words to say at that moment. Just tears of relief and shock and happiness and joy. She went on to tell me a few of her reasons why. In that moment, she spoke with such courage and strength and wisdom that I had never seen from her before. She was putting her boys first and thinking of them and their futures above her own. It was then that I realized how extremely difficult all of this must have been for her. I honestly had no idea what to do next. All I could do was cry, give her a hug, tell her she would always be the boys biological mother, and that I would always encourage her to have a relationship with her boys and that I would always keep her in tune with what was happening in their lives.

We both knew this was only half the battle and the boys Dad would likely never agree to this and that there was still a long road ahead with the upcoming mediation and jury trial. Mom wanted to protect her boys tho and that was enough at the moment to overshadow the unknowns of Dad.

I got into my van and started off. Part way down the road I had to pull over. I was crying so hard! It all hit me. Mom had just made one of the hardest and most sacrificial decisions she had probably ever made in her life. My heart just broke for her! I had always wanted her to get better and had always wanted her to succeed, but now more that ever! She still had the chance to get better, to make something of her life, and to stay connected with her boys all while knowing they were safe and loved and cared for. Should the adoption take place, what a beautiful story of love and sacrifice her boys will hear one day 💕