We Got THE Call

I hope you all will forgive that this post has been in draft all week…the good news is that you get more info since it has taken five days to get up.

This past Monday, October 19 at 3:30pm we got THE call…a newborn baby boy (straight from the hospital) who needs a foster home.  Based on the limited, but very positive information given, we said yes…and spent 24 hours doing the mad dash to prepare.  After all these months of preparation, we realized how unprepared we were. (The hazards of preparing for age 0-6. It makes it hard to know what to prepare for!)

So Tuesday was spent cleaning and shopping – diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, etc. And at 5 o’clock, there he was on our door step.

After an hours worth of paperwork, the CPS lady and our Catholic Charities worker left.  And there we were…with our baby.  Honestly, it is really strange for someone to drop by your house, stay for an hour, and leave a baby behind!

Since Tuesday evening, we’ve grown comfortable with our little man; and he seems to be taking to us quite well too.  He eats really well (and fast), sleeps like a champ (especially when swaddled), and well what goes in, comes out in due course.

Yesterday, we braved the germ factory/pediatrician waiting room (for hours) to have his first check up, which he passed with flying colors. And we had our first bath (I was as wet as he was) and he had his nails trimmed (not as horrible as I was led to believe, and less intimidating to me than me “chewing them off” which was one recommendation).  He is a very happy baby and we are very happy people, who are learning to be parents.

Since I know you all are wondering, we are not sure of the forever potential. After some initial really positive signs, newer information has contradicted what we thought we knew. This is not uncommon. So we are really where we have been “planning” for all along, we just don’t know.  And we won’t, most likely, for months, maybe longer. What we do know is that we have a beautiful, healthy, happy baby boy and our job, and our joy, is to love him and care for him to the very best of our ability.

I think my friend Meg summed up our feeling really well…we just pray that the Lord’s plan for this relationship comes forth on earth as it is in heaven – nothing more, but nothing less than the Lord intends. And we’re trying to be cool with that, and that alone.  Whether we have weeks or years we’re going to love little J. just as much as we possibly can.

One last comment, just to help set expectations…because our boy is a foster baby, we are going to be very cautious about putting his name and photos out in the public domain – so no blog pictures or Facebook for now.  And I won’t be using his name either (so if you know it, please work with me here).  There may also be things you’d like to know, that we can’t discuss. All questions are welcome but if we can’t say, we hope you’ll understand.  So thanks in advance for bearing with us as we protect and nurture our little bundle of joy!

DIY (Do It Yourself) Girl

No, this post was not written by Sarah (DIY would not be shocking for her).

Our nursery has been a project in progress for several weeks.  The theme has been determined for months (safari) but the details have been s-l-o-w in coming together. Actually, so has this post – I started it August 28 and here we are…

I started the nursery project back in July when Aaron Brothers had their buy one frame get one for a penny sale. (Isn’t this how everyone starts a room decor project?) This is when the frames were purchased for the safari animal pictures using pictures taken on my trips to Africa (either  by me or by traveling companions with better cameras).

We also found the crib months ago.

I found the perfect paint (seriously, its “safari green”) about a month ago; and a suitable bedspread for the guest bed (which will stay in the nursery).

Chris’s mom offered to sew curtains and accessories and I have after several expeditions to various stores, I finally picked the fabric (with an assist from Chris). Last Thursday and Friday we had a sewing extravaganza – we made 4 pillows, two bed skirts (one bed & one crib), and curtains for two windows. I’m really pleased with how all this turned out and can’t wait to set it all up properly!

And of course, the girls picked the perfect bookcase to complete the room. (I’m pretty sure Ikea also has the rocking chair I’d like to sit in front of the bookcase.)

So where is the DIY in all of this? The sheet rock was badly damaged up when we had the foundation fixed last fall (including the ceiling). We had determined that professional intervention was necessary. That was until I got the quote for $525 plus paint. Money ain’t growing on trees folks, and after helping my friends Janet and Dave paint in their new house, I decided we/I could do this. I invited a DIY friend to assess the situation and shop Home Depot with me and (after loaning me a couple of pieces of equipment) I had everything I needed to start. (That was the last week of August!)  So far, I have spacled and taped and floated.  I have also stripped and pulled wire.

The plan was to caulk the next day and after a break for Labor Day weekend, retexture and hopefully by the 12th have paint on the walls;  then can get the crib and build it.  I was hoping to be all done by the 20th. So much for that idea.

At the same time, now that my to-do list is out there for the world to see, perhaps it will get done sooner than later. Oh, and then there is the fact that we could get the call any day now.  There is that motivation too [Of course, we may also find that we get a 4 year old to start with, which would really change things up!]

In any case, I shall try to post updates (with pictures) as we go along.  And no, I didn’t take before pictures (oops).

Approved!

Well we got the call this afternoon that we have been approved to foster-to-adopt and perhaps to straight up adopt.  After all the hurry up and wait, and lack of flexibility in the system, the review panel decided that our “parameters were broad enough”* that we might even get to bypass the fostering step and go straight to adopting. This process never ceases to amaze me. 

So now we wait some more, first for the paper work to catch up to the decision (likely about a week) and then we wait for the next call…there are, of course, still lots of decision points when it comes to matching kiddos to us permanently, and we very well may wind up fostering for a while, but realistically we could get a call in ten days or ten weeks. Who knows?! (Glad I am at the in-laws working on nursery accessories today!)

We’ve taken a HUGE step forward today and we are really excited.  And, if I may say so, I look really good for being 8 1/2 months “pregnant.”

We’ll continue to keep you posted.

*our paramenters are that we are willing to take either gender of any race or mix of races, up to age six; and we are willing to take up to two children at a time, so siblings are possible.