The Unthinkable...

It's been a while since I've written (even if I'm ever the only one to read it). Life was just too chaotic to try to concentrate on putting my thoughts down. I also want to be careful not to overshare. It's not just MY life, but OUR life and I want to be careful to protect THEIR privacy.

So....we were on our way to go camping when the unthinkable happens...

The boys, our precious twins, we coming back into care and would we be willing to have them placed back with us. Um! Hello? You didn't even have to ask...when and where; we will be there!

It had only been about a month and a half, but it felt like and eternity to me. So many emotions! Happiness that I would get to hold them again, but sadness over the events that brought them back.

It has been a rollercoaster ever since with 3 little ones and 2 teens in the house, but we have loved every second of it...well, almost...I was NOT fond of Poopageddon, but that's another story for another time...maybe ;) 

The Beginning of 'The First'...

When the twins were placed with us late one Friday evening, we had no idea what we were REALLY in store for.  I mean, we had an idea. After all, we had raised two children (now teens) already and they were just 16 months apart, so that was similar to having twins, right? 

These sweet boys were our first placements. They arrived at 2.5 months old and were just tiny little things, but boy did they have big voices! These boys screamed so loud they could easily drown out a whole herd of cats fighting over the last piece of tuna. And the spit up! No, not spit up. I've seen spit up and THIS was not spit up. This was everything they had consumed throughout the entire day, maybe even throughout the entire week.

Imagine trying to care for these littles all while trying to concentrate on hearing important details and information about them on top of signing what seemed like an endless amount of paperwork. It was a lot to take in all at once, but we survived, the workers left, the dust settled, and then there was just us.

Our wild-eyed teens oohed and aahed over the babies. They had no idea what our family was in store for either, but they were ready and willing to help.

We had about a 2 hour notice that the boys would be coming, so we had enough time to get their room and beds ready. They arrived with a can of formula, 2 bottles each, 2 beany babies, and 2 little onesies. My husband made a mad dash to the store that evening for a few more things as we had no idea what the twins would come with or what exactly we would need.

Needless to say, we got NO sleep over the next few weeks. It took both me and my husband getting up around the clock, nearly every hour at first, to feed the boys an ounce or 2 at a time as that was all they could tolerate. Looking back, I honestly don't know how we survived the first month. Well, I do know. It was God. He equipped us with what we needed when we needed it. 

We were in and out of the doctor's office the first few months trying to get them healthy and to get their little digestive systems on the right track. A few months into it and they were doing great. Life went on, routines were established, and before long, it felt at this was the way things had always been...