Computer is back in action!

OK - I think I finally have a completely working computer. Yippee! It's too late now, but maybe tomorrow I'll be able to update a little more than this. I have some pics I want to post, and some stories I want to tell, yadda, yadda, yadda. But right now, I need to sleep! See you tomorrow!

Outside Play

What a fun day yesterday! The weather was decent, so we decided to have some afternoon play time in the backyard. The boys love being outside, as does our dog Sam. Little Man's favorite thing to do, though, is to sit in the sandbox and throw sand all over himself. Before we went in the house, I stripped off most of his clothes outside to shake them out, dust off the collection of sand, and then hurried him in to the bathtub. But next to playing outside, his second favorite thing is bathtime, so it worked out well!

Telling Secrets

Little Guy loves his new baby sister. He especially likes it when I lay her down on the footstool so he can talk to her and play with her. And she seems to be responding really well to him. It's amazing how much she looks like he did at the same age. Spitting image! If I didn't dress her in pink, I wouldn't be able to tell pictures apart sometimes!

Yikes - Computer Problems!

Just to let you all know - I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. My main computer has been down with a virus, and it's almost all the way fixed. The biggest remaining problem is that I cannot access anything Google related from that computer, and this blog is connected to Google, so I can't sign in on my main computer! I finally got my old work laptop hooked up, and it seems to be working ok, so maybe I can update from here. If anyone knows anything about this Google problem I'm having, feel free to contact me. I'm lost as to how to fix it, and so is my computer guy.

Talk to you all soon!

Just a quick check in...

I realize it's been a while since I've written in my blog. This past month has been busy. We are all moved into our new home - we've gone from 3 bedrooms/1 bath to 5 bedrooms/2 baths. Plenty of room for kiddos! We are still unpacking boxes and trying to find things, but we feel pretty settled. The house is wonderful, and we feel more peaceful here than at the old house.

We have one more day of a 3 day court hearing for Little Man. The commission is hearing testimony regarding the mom's petition to have him returned to her. So far, not a single person can testify that they feel he should be returned. Our hope and prayer is that at the conclusion of this hearing the commission will sign the termination papers, end all parent visits, and move us closer to the adoption proceedings.

We have court May 1st for Baby Girl. The social worker stopped by on Friday for a visit, and he told me that the state's plan is to NOT separate the siblings, to keep them both with us, and to push for an open adoption (which we are in favor of) to allow the extended family to have continued contact and involvement with the kids. Now we just pray that the commissioner will go along with this. Interestingly enough, we have the same commission for both cases - Little Man and the Siblings. So by the time this is all over, she will know our family quite well!

I'll try to catch up with things that have happened over the last month. But right now, I need to get back to the kiddos!

Little Guy is Walking!

Today, during nursery (we had nursery duty this morning) Little Guy took 10-12 unassisted steady steps! It was so exciting and I got all teary-eyed! He started towards me, and I just kept backing up, and he just kept walking! It was so cool to see! I can't wait until he's doing it all the time. He's growing up so fast!

Today's Meeting

I wanted to give everyone an update on today’s meeting regarding the aunt & uncle that showed up for Little Guy & Baby Girl.

At this time, nothing has been concretely decided. The state is still trying to convince the aunt & uncle that the two children are best left together, and with us since Little Guy has been with us for so long. We assured the aunt & uncle that we would welcome their involvement in their lives, as well as the rest of their extended family (given that they are all safe people, which it sounds like they are). However, the feeling we got from them is that all they want is to have WBaby Girl with them, and they are not willing to think about any other options at this time.

We have a family visit set up for next Thursday at the mall playcenter, and the aunt & uncle, their two children, and a grandfather and great-aunt will be there to meet Little Guy & Baby Girl and our family. I think it will go well, and we plan to set up more visits with them.

I don’t know how this will all end up. All we can do is trust that God has a plan, and that it is bigger than what we can see at this time. Please continue to pray that we have peace about the situation and that the right things for the children will be done.

Thank you so much for walking with us in this.

Special Prayers Needed, please

We are in need of some very special prayers.

I just got off the phone with the social worker for Little Guy and Baby Girl. Apparently, the birth father has a twin brother that has shown interest in the children. He and his wife have a 4-month old and a 6-year old at home. The recognize that we are Little Guy’s parents, and don’t want to take him from our home, but want to be involved with his life as aunt and uncle. However, they really want to have Baby Girl. The social worker said that if all the background checks come back good, and the home study, too, then the state doesn’t have much choice other than to place Baby Girl with blood relatives.

We have a meeting on Friday at 1pm to discuss the matter with the social workers and the aunt & uncle. You can imagine that we are heartbroken, and I am praying that the aunt and uncle will recognize that we want to be parents to both the children, but are more than happy to include them as aunt and uncle. The birth parents are still nowhere to be found and have disconnected their telephone.

Please, please pray for this situation.

She's Home! She's Home!

Baby Girl is here! We brought her home last night, finally arriving home around 6 pm. We got to the hospital around 2:30, but they had to do the carseat oximeter (sp?) test, and that took an hour and a half, so it took a while before we could leave with her. But she's beautiful! And smaller than we were originally told. She came three weeks early, and was 5 lbs. 6.5 ounces, 17" long at birth. When they released her to us, she was 5 lbs. .5 ounce. But her brother was only 5 lbs. 2 ounces when we brought him home, so it was practically the same. Although I really don't remember him being this tiny! She has a full head of red hair, and looks just like her big brother! She was born on the 24th, which ironically was the first year anniversary of us bringing her brother home. Kind of wierd,huh?

We can't post a picture of her adorable little face, but here is one of her feet!

Update on boys' TPR

Tamara had asked if I would update about the boys' TPR. Unfortunately, not a lot of great news, but some good news.

First off - Little Man (now 22 months) - whom we thought was coming to us almost legally free back in June 2006 (at 14 months). Apparently, this one is going to drag on for quite a while. The mom keeps petitioning the court for him to be returned to her, no matter how many times the commissioner says "no". There was supposed to have been a regular review hearing on Jan. 19 - my hubby took the day off work, my grandma came over to babysit the boys, and we got all dressed up and went to the courthouse. Five minutes before court was to start, the social worker came running in, apparently late for a meeting. We snagged her to ask what courtroom we were to be in, and she says, "oh, I think it's cancelled". Well, it sure would have been nice to know, I think to myself. Sure enough, court was cancelled, and we just were never told. Funny how the foster parents are the last to know everything! So, instead, there will be a contested review hearing addressing the mom's petition to have him returned sometime during the first week of March. Unfortunately, we are no closer to TPR than we were in June.

Second off - Little Guy. The social worker told the parents on Jan. 19 that the state will be filing for termination on Little Guy, and filing to put the new baby girl in foster care when she is born (of course, to our house!). The parents seemed shocked and surprised at this news - which just floors me that the couldn't see it coming! They were quite upset, to the point that they ended their visit with Little Guy early. We have a court date on Feb. 6, which is supposed to be the permanency planning hearing. We received the updated ISSP report from the social worker, and we noticed that the primary plan for Little Guy has changed. Originally, as always, the primary plan was placement back into the home, and the alternate plan was adoption. Now, the primary plan is adoption, and of course, our home is shown as the planned adoptive home. Now, to see what the commissioner says to the parents.

You know, it's really sad that it comes down to this. I just wish all parents could see the blessing of a child, and want to do everything in their power to provide a loving, safe home for the children they bring into this world. Unfortunately, either life choices or mental health issues prevent them from sacrificing their own needs for the needs of their child. I've had many people ask me, "what are these people thinking?" and unfortunately, their ability, or desire, to think of the child first is hindered. I still believe God has a master plan in all of this - He put the strong desire in our hearts for children, and he slowly gave us the ability to parent as foster parents. He is building us strong for whatever He has in store for us, and we are just grateful, and humbled, that He finds us worthy enough to do this hard job. So we will continue loving and fighting for these children, because they deserve the best God has for them.