Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Thank you God, for baby belly laughs!

I worked late tonight, trying to get my 30 hours of continuing education crammed into one week's time.  Spending almost an entire day in the ER with Garrett yesterday didn't help much either.  And it is back to school time, so lunch breaks are consumed with shopping, after work I run errands.  Blaine's 18th birthday is coming up.  Football season has started.  I have continuing ed for our foster care license that is due.  A surprise inspection coming up from our agency.  The dogs shots are due.  More adoption paperwork to be completed and notarized.  The list goes on and on..... 

Anyways, I got home and was mentally exhausted.  Didn't have the energy to do much, but sit in the floor with the littles while they were playing.  Little Miss Ruffle Bottom plopped down in my lap, as she always does.  Prince B followed.  She and Prince B start playing with a toy.  They were having a ball.  Giggles turned into huge belly laughs.  Baby belly laughs, is there anything MORE precious in the world!?  They played for about 20 minutes, both sitting in my lap, laughing and bonding. 

I sat there, holding these two precious babies that we will soon be adopting.  And I felt peace and happiness despite my previous state of exhaustion. 

For YEARS, I prayed, I cried, I begged, I wanted, I doubted, I worried, I obsessed.....  for a little girl.  And here I am, 5 years later, FINALLY holding my baby girl, and her precious brother too.  When we started this journey, we wanted a little girl.  Little did I know, that God had a little girl AND a little boy as rewards for our faith in him.  I couldn't have picked two more amazing children if I were able to hand pick my son and daughter.  Thank you God! 

I was looking over my old blog a while back.  There is an entry there from the day before Little Miss Ruffle Bottom was born.  I had been to a bible study.  In the weeks, months and years preceeding this night, I was a neurotic mess when it came to this adoption process.  That night at bible study, I just felt complete peace.  I blogged about peace.  I had this HUGE sense of peace in me, that said everything would be ok, just hang in there.  The VERY NEXT DAY, my princess was born.  How amazing is that???????? 

God IS good!  And suddenly, I am not so exhausted anymore!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Saturday....

Looky, looky!  I have followers!  I love you guys!

I spent so much time tonight trying to remember my password to my new blogger account (the second blogger account I have because I couldn't remember the password to the first one), I kinda' lost my blogging mojo.  So, here goes nothing....

Today was kinda' nice.  Robert didn't work today.  The man has worked 6 days a week for... ummmm.... probably 6 months now.  So it was nice to have him around today, even if he spent most of the day tinkering in the garage.  Oh wait, he let me sleep late (8:30 woohoo!) and got the pool cleaned out so I could lay out.  :0)  Love that man!

So.... later in the day, the littles lay down for a nap.  MY TIME.  I haven't been able to lay out the last 2 weeks, so I was long overdue.  I TOTALLY lost my cocoa-licious tan!  George Strait on the radio, all by myself, my butt on a raft, floating in the somewhat cool water on a miserably HOT Texas afternoon, sun beating down on my "not so tan" body... I was just getting to total peace and serenity.... when a wasp/yellow jacket stung me.  Martha Focker!  Talk about ruining the mood!

Other than that, just another crazy, busy, teenager and toddler energy filled day. 

Prince B is doing much better since the "adoption talk".  After talking to him that night, he told us that he was scared they were "taking him that way" (pointing to the front door).... translation from a 3 year old child who has been in foster care almost all of his life... he was afraid they were taking him away.  He has talked about some things that happened before he came here.  Things he has never talked about before.  Talked about a "special green fishing pole" that he was REALLY SAD about.  Talked to his relative via email and it was something his other relative was going to get him, but never did.  So now, I HAVE to go get him a special fishing pole!  :0)  I knew that talk bothered him, freaked him out, totally rocked his world.  But I am happy to say, he is just fine.  We are talking a lot about the things he brings up, and for 3 years old, he can tell us a LOT. 

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Adoption talks with a 3 year old...

Haven't blogged in a LONG time.  Someone suggested I start again, so here goes....

We are in the final stages of the adoption process for Prince B and Little Miss Ruffle Bottom.  One of the millions of things that needs to be done (required by the State) is to have 3 "adoption talks" with the kids.  B is 3.  LMRB is almost 1 1/2.  But because they can talk, they have to give their permission to be adopted.  WHATEVERRRRR.

So today was our first "talk".  We had two Caseworkers come out, to talk to the kids in private, to make sure they want to be adopted.  I can't prepare the kids for the talks, that would make too much sense.  Or coersion.  Again, whateverrrrr.  I don't know how these things NORMALLY go, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't what they had in mind.

So the two Caseworkers (whom both visit us each month) take the kids in B's room to "talk".  The door shuts.  I eat my breakfast and finish my coffee (it is almost 11 at this point).  I really don't know what to do with myself.  Quiet.  Peace.  Noone to chase after.  Not my norm!  But that didn't last long..... 

B starts yelling, he is putting the Caseworkers in time-out.  He is mean.  He is bossy.  He is acting like a MEAN, IRATE Teacher.  He is putting LMRB in time-out (she has NEVER been in time-out).  I can't do anything about it, so I just sat there and prayed.

B has been in five homes in his 3 years of life.  Kids in foster care KNOW Caseworkers, they KNOW change.  And being alone with these two sweet women FREAKED him out!  I can't even imagine what went through this poor little boys mind!  It hurts my heart, it really does, to think of how scared he was.

So they are in there for about 30 minutes.  I can hear them trying to re-direct him to serious conversation.  It obviously isn't working.  They come out.... frazzled and overwhelmed.  B is FREAKED out.  He runs to me, jumps in my lap, and buries his head in my chest.  This little guy was scared. 

So, "talk one" is over with. 

On a good note, they said that he KNOWS this is HOME.  That he KNOWS we are MOM AND DAD.  "In his mind, we are his family, this is his home and that is good". 

We have two more talks to go.  I am praying they go better than this first one did....