I know it sounds corny, but our hearts are overflowing. In the course of two weeks we have met with social workers about two kids in search of a family, had discussions with their previous care givers, teachers, social workers and therapists, met these two precious souls... and then were lucky enough to get to make the decision to move forward as their parents.
So much has happened in the whirlwind of the past week. When we met them on Tuesday, our visit flew by too quickly. In under 45 minutes, we had fallen in love. The seven year old (M) was such a story teller, and kept asking us thoughtful questions. The two year old (N) ran right over to jump up on Andy’s lap, (after peeking at us from the social worker’s lap for about 15 minutes,) and played for the rest of the visit. By the time we said goodbye, we felt a connection with them and had an overwhelmingly positive feeling that we all fit together. So we told their social worker, went back to her office to review their full file, and ended the day by forming a transition plan to welcome the kids into our home.
The first step of the plan was for us to bring them to our home for Easter weekend. We spent Wednesday - Friday in a bit of an excited panic. The stuff we had to acquire! The arrangements to make! The fact that we had no idea what we really needed... It was a lot to handle in three days. We found a crib, thanks to Michelle who loaned us the one that her daughter just grew out of. We bought a car seat and a booster seat, with helpful advice from Daja. We got a crib sheet and blankets - thanks for the help on the shopping trip Candice! We rearranged our house and moved M’s bed and set-up N’s crib (thank you Anna Marie!) We also went shopping for diapers and food... again thanks to Anna Marie who knows what 2 year olds will eat, as she has one herself! We borrowed a ton of toys from Anna Marie too... I arranged to take a leave from work, I started to look into school for M, who is in 2nd grade... I spoke to a million people between family, friends, social workers, foster parents, etc...
And then it was midnight on Friday and we had only 7 hours to sleep before we had to wake up to go get M and N for a full weekend. Surprisingly, I actually slept, less fitfully then I had for the first part of the week. And then our alarm clocks were ringing, we woke up and started getting ready, and my heart was pounding so loud that I was sure Andy would say something. He didn’t. I think his heart was pounding too!
When they got to the meeting place, we could easily tell that they were anxious. M asked for help pronouncing my name, (which is nearly a daily occurrence in my life,) and then practiced saying it several times. Andy and I had some struggles getting them into their seats at first, but after a couple of minutes we figured it out. And then we drove... the 75 minutes back to our house... with M counting the minutes (literally) the whole way.
M had a lot of nervous energy at first, and N was very quiet. I am sure we had a lot of nervous energy too... but we were trying very hard to be calm for the kids! Saturday was a great day, especially when we all seemed to get into the groove a bit. We walked to the elementary school, which is about 5 minutes away, and played on the playground for a little over an hour. We played make believe. We dyed easter eggs. We watched Hannah Montana. We played puzzles with N... he was very good at them! We had some temper tantrums and some time outs. I put N to bed at 8... and M fell asleep cuddling with me on the couch. All in all, it was a great day.
The real fun for us was the chance to give them an Easter... our first holiday with kids. They both got their baskets and were so excited on Easter morning. N got a doctor’s kit, and we were checking each other’s temperatures all day. M got a magic 8 ball. M’s favorite toy was not one that came for Easter. It was a Cabbage Patch Kid that I had in her room. She found the adoption papers that come with every Cabbage Patch Kid, and wanted to know how they worked. So, we had an adoption ceremony. She named her Gloria Princess Marie W. She signed the papers, and then Gloria went with her everywhere for the entire weekend.
On Sunday night we took the kids back to their foster home. We didn’t want them to go home. Just before leaving, M asked Andy if we were an adoptive home. When he told her that we were, she got a huge smile on her face. N got very quiet again. Both of them fell asleep on the drive. As we left them at their foster home, and drove away, it felt very weird. We cannot wait until we see them again...
So, we will have them with us again next weekend... and the weekend after that they will move into our house with us! Two weeks seems like very little time in the way of preparation, but way too much time to be apart.
Forgive me for the abbreviation of their names, and the lack of pictures. We have not received permission to share more information yet, and we want to make sure we are following the rules for the safety of the kids! You know me though... I took 138 pictures of M and N this weekend... as soon as we receive the go ahead, they will be posted!!!
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