I'm back! (Again!)
And then the Summer of 2016 happened, and let me tell you- it was a doozy. (Which seems to be true of most of this year, doesn't it? It's a good thing it was the year of J-Bear's adoption, otherwise it'd be a total bust. Hope you've been taking notes, 2017, because you're going to have to take it up a notch or ten.)
Long story short- that post is currently sitting unfinished in my draft folder.
But as 2016 winds down and I gear up for all of the New Year's Resolutions I want to uphold in 2017 (at least for a few weeks), I decided I should dust off the old keyboard and bring this blog back. I've missed writing. And, frankly, I need the outlet these days.
Let me catch you up on what's been going on in the past 2 months in case you haven't seen on Instagram:
- In September, J-Bear turned 2, and let me tell you- boy entered toddlerhood at full force. He's as strong-willed as he is adorable. And he's really, really adorable.
- In October, our home was officially re-listed as an active foster home.
- About one week later, I received a call about a placement- a 12 year old boy.
- About one hour after that, said 12-year-old boy (T) showed up at my front door.
- Approximately 12 hours after that, I spent the day frantically trying to prepare for life with a pre-teen boy: getting clothes, enrolling him in school, and buying as much food as I could possibly jam into my pantry. (I have to keep a lot more food on hand these days.)
- Then life with T began. And it's been.... interesting. Twelve year-old-children are fascinating and fun and exhausting, as it turns out. They are fairly needy, but in a totally different way than two-year-olds. So between T and J-Bear, I have my hands pretty full.
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| Have I used this gif before? Because it's pretty much my life. |
- About 6 weeks later (and one week ago), I went to a court hearing and discovered that T's siblings were being moved to new foster homes. Due to licensing constraints, the children couldn't all be together initially- there wasn't a home available that could take them all in. But now one sibling was about to be moved into a new and different home by himself. And I just couldn't let that happen- it didn't feel like it would be good for any of the kids. So I jumped in and said he should stay with us. Because, really, he should. We have an extra bed. And his brother is here. And it's the holidays. And what's one more kid in the house, anyway?
- About two hours later, I was sitting in a meeting when the gravity of what I'd just agreed to do began to dawn on me. I freaked out a little (or lotta) bit. I was already outnumbered- could I really handle adding another kiddo into the mix??
- The next day, T2 arrived. He is sweet and sensitive and sometimes a handful, but it's been wonderful to see these boys care for and support each other. (It's been less wonderful to see them fight over little things, but as a person with five siblings, I can relate to it.)
Now we're kind of sort of maybe a little bit starting to get into the groove of being a family of four. There have been may moments I wanted to pull my hair out, but so far I've managed to overcome that urge, and we're all surviving and doing well. Even in this hectic holiday season! We've been surrounded by so much love and support, which has been a tremendous gift in the midst of this transition and season. I mean, I welcomed a new kiddo two weeks before Christmas, and I didn't have to do any extra shopping! That is the definition of #blessed.
After the holidays, we have no idea what the future holds. We are hopeful the boys' stay will be temporary as family reunification is the ultimate goal, but in the meantime, I'm going to do my best to love them as much and as well as I can.
And I will write.
When I have time.
As always, thank you for journeying with us on this adventure! And from our hectic family to yours- happy holidays!!
