This adoption video brought tears to my eyes, reminding me of our first magical moments with Snuggle Bug, meeting and holding him at 2 minutes old.

I wish I would've recorded those first few moments with Snuggle Bug, but we were so terrified of it all falling apart and trying so hard to be respectful of the decision that had to be re-made.  So we had no extended family present the day of his birth and no video recording.  We have pictures and our sweet memories.

Has it really been 10 years since the birth of our amazing son?  What a blessing he has been in our lives!

Labels: adoption, adoption #1, babies, God, miracle, Snuggle Bug

Labels: adoption, Boo, elementary school, family, Snuggle Bug

Oronzo and I made the decision some time ago that our family is complete with the two wonderful children we are parenting. Snuggle Bug is now 7 years old. Boo is now 5. They're finally becoming more independent and self reliant and we're enjoying this stage of parenting.

Labels: adoption, friends

I received an unexpected phone call not long ago, from Giselle's mother.

Labels: adoption, family, Snuggle Bug

One year ago today was a very happy day, indeed.

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Boo, family

It's been over 7 months since I last posted here but this blog is like a comforting, old friend that I'll keep coming back to from time to time,

Labels: adoption, Boo, family, Oronzo, Snuggle Bug

The day we've been waiting for for approximately 2 1/2 years, give or take a month or two, finally arrived!

We recently finalized the adoption of Boo and she is now legally our daughter! Of course, we've considered her a part of our family pretty much from day one but now it's legal. There is no longer any threat of her being taken away from us.

As you all know, this has proven to be a much more difficult journey towards adoption than we expected. We entered into Foster Care training rather naively. We were quite optimistic in the outcome of adoption through the Foster Care system, believing that we'd have a child adopted within a year.

We also believed that we'd be adopting a child from unfit parents that had had their parental rights forcefully terminated by the State. In some ways, perhaps it helped us feel less guilty about wanting to adopt again, because we believed we'd be adopting a child truly in need of a loving home...a child right within our city.

Baby Bug was our first placement and we lost our hearts to her quickly. She was reunited with her parents 8 1/2 months later and, although we supported that decision because we knew how hard they worked to get her back, we grieved A LOT. I still miss her and I had to grieve all over again when her parents chose to end all contact with us a second time.

Our continued journey through the Foster Care system with Boo was very little like we expected. We were lied to by the initial social worker, who told us what she thought we wanted to hear, in order to get Boo placed in our home. It wasn't until I attended the next court hearing, a couple of months after her placement, that I realized how much the social worker had lied and kept information to us.

We tried desperately not to get our hopes up about adopting Boo, as we waited to see how things would pan out with her bio mom who was incarcerated. We waited, and waited, and waited for the judge to make a decision, either way.

We did our best to be "good" foster parents, attending all court hearings, filling out all necessary forms, speaking up inside and outside of the court and advocating for Boo's needs along the way, being careful to follow all guidelines put forth by the foster care agency we were licensed through.

After many months, we got the severance ruling that we had prayed for, due to the instability of Boo's bio mom and her criminal lifestyle. But then, against all odds, the Court of Appeals overturned that ruling on a technicality and threw the case back to the Juvenile Court system and told the new judge to "start over". That's when talks began in earnest of having Boo transferred out of state. It seemed that our state wanted to "wash their hands" of the situation, regardless of what that meant to Boo.

We had to hire our own lawyer to gain "party status" in the case and fight even harder for Boo's rights.

In the end, Boo's bio mom made the difficult decision to admit that she was incapable of offering Boo the stability she needed and deserved and voluntarily severe her parental rights so that we could adopt her. Everyone involved in the case felt that we would've gotten another severance ruling again, even had she not come to this conclusion on her own, but we didn't trust "the system".

The events leading up to Boo's adoption have been nightmarish. We lost a lot of sleep, our marriage was strained, our finances were strained with unexpected legal fees, our family struggled, we doubted ourselves. But, we hung in there, we fought for this precious little girl, and now she's forever an important part of our family!

Boo's Adoption Day was glorious! We had a private adoption ceremony, with the same judge that finalized Snuggle Bug's adoption and the same lawyer too! Many of our family members and very dear friends were there to witness this amazing event. There was much joy and celebration! And there was an unexpected bonus to all of this...Snuggle Bug was a part of it all and Boo's adoption finalization helped him to understand a bit more about his own that took place when he was only 3 months old.

Afterwards, we had a party in a nearby splash park for Boo. It's one of her favorite places to be and she had a grand time! She got an Adoption cake, many thoughtful gifts, lots of hugs and kisses, and many well-wishes.

It was an emotional day for me. It was perfect! There are moments when I still find it hard to believe that we actually made it through to the other side.

Shortly after Boo's finalization, we notified our foster care agency that we were closing our home. Ornozo and I thought long and hard about that decision. It wasn't an easy one to make. But we both feel that it's best to focus on the raising of the two beautiful children that we have been blessed with.

Maybe one day again we'll foster. I'm sure we'll find other ways to help children in need. It's a passion of mine.

Thank you for all that have followed this journey. Your support, encouragement, and prayers have meant the world to Oronzo and I!

Don't think that you've seen the last of me though. I may not blog as often as I used to, but I'll still pop in now and then to discuss issues related to being an adoptive parent. And I hope to hear from you as well!

I'm a bit uncomfortable posting our family picture on here, but if you've been following our journey and you'd like to see one of Boo's adoption day photos, leave me a comment with your email and I'll oblige!

Take care!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Boo, foster children, foster-to-adopt, fostering, Oronzo

As Boo's adoption finalization date approaches (a bit over a month away now), there's a whole lot of adoption talk going on in our household.

Labels: adoption, adoption #1, adoption #2, Boo, family, foster-to-adopt, fostering, Snuggle Bug

I saw this over at A Foster Mom's Journey and I couldn't resist sharing it on my blog as well.

Apparently, Steven Curtis Chapman is a Christian musican/singer and is both a biological father and an adoptive father. He has an organization that helps people adopt children.



Beautiful, isn't it?

Labels: adoption, bloggity goodness

Sorry I've been absent lately. It's been a bit busy with an almost 3-year old and a 4 week old in the house. :)

All is well here. Snuggle Bug still likes having the baby around. And Baby Bug is growing! She had her follow-up doctor's appointment last Thursday and she's now 7 pounds, 20 1/2" long. That means that in the week that we've had her she's gained a pound and has grown an inch! Hooray! Our pediatrician is quite pleased and has said that he can wait for the normal 2 month appointment to see her again.

Interestingly enough, CPS mandated that Baby Bug's parents attend all medical appointments for her, to prove their commitment I guess. I learned of this at the hearing on Wednesday and they were instructed to meet us at the doctor's office for this appointment last Thursday.

When I told Oronzo this, he said he was uncomfortable having to interact with the parents without a CPS worker present. What if they got difficult about ending the time with Baby Bug when the appointment was over and it was time for everyone to go? What if they wanted to take her with them? What if, heaven forbid, they were under the influence when they arrived?

My agency worker told us that we were not to leave the parents with the baby unattended. We were to be with her at all times. If they took off with her, we were to call 911.

As first time foster parents, we felt very awkward about this situation. I called our pediatrician and explained the situation. He told me not to worry. Since his office is on a hospital campus, he could call their security and they'd be there in minutes to help. And he'd know if they arrived under the influence and would act accordingly. That made us feel a bit better, knowing he'd be watching our back. We decided not to take Snuggle Bug along for this appointment, just in case there was trouble.

Our worrying ended up being for nothing. Oronzo got to the appointment early and Baby Bug's parents arrived shortly thereafter, on time for the appointment. While there, they were courteous, cooperative, and expressed their thanks over and over to Oronzo for taking such good care of their baby girl and for the pictures that I had given them at the hearing.

Oronzo offered to let them hold Baby Bug during and after the exam and they did, but when the appointment was done and after they had chatted with the baby and Oronzo for a bit, they kissed the baby, telling her it was time to go, and handed her back to Oronzo with no prompting.

Baby Bug's parents brought a large duffle bag full of baby clothes, they told Oronzo that they brought everything she owned so that we could use it while she was with us! They also brought us her infant car seat. As her parents and Oronzo left the doctor's office, Baby Bug's dad helped load all her things in our car. Then both her parents said their goodbyes and walked to the nearby bus stop to catch the next bus.

Now we wait to find out when their supervised visits with Baby Bug begin again. At the hearing last Wednesday, CPS said they'd get two 2-hour visits per week, to be held at a CPS office, but no one said when they'd start. I would guess they'd start sometime this week.

I'll keep you posted!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Baby Bug, foster children, fostering

Today was the PPH (Preliminary Permanency Hearing). I am so glad I made the decision to go because it's amazing the amount of information I learned at this hearing!

I'll cut to the chase, Baby Bug is staying with us a while longer. We were told to expect her to be here for 1-2 months, maybe longer.

After the very first meeting that I couldn't attend, I learned that an extended family member (a cousin) had stepped forward and expressed an interest in taking Baby Bug. We thought this cousin was related to Baby Bug's mom and had custody of Baby Bug's two siblings. That is not the case.

Apparently no one from the mom's side of the family has stepped forward on behalf of Baby Bug. The cousin that has requested her is related to Baby Bug's father and the courts have never dealt with this woman or her husband before.

My understanding is that CPS initiated a background check and right out of the gate found something that causes them concern. Because of the information reveled, they are not willing to place Baby Bug with this couple at this point in time. They haven't totally ruled them out, but they intend to do a more extensive background check/homestudy before proceeding with this possibility. This could take a month or two to complete. In the meantime, CPS wants Baby Bug to remain with us. Apparently they think we're doing a pretty good job of caring for her thus far.

At the beginning of the hearing, everyone introduced themselves and I was amazed at how many people were there in the interest of this tiny baby girl. Baby Bug's parents were present, the paternal cousin was present. The lawyers for each parent were present. Baby Bug's lawyer was present. Two CPS caseworkers were there, as well as a lawyer representing CPS. There was a social worker type person there, ready to make recommendations about services for Baby Bug. There was a Drug Team rep there, ready to offer services to the parents. There was a mediator and, of course, a judge.

I sat and listened for the most part, taking notes along the way. I was asked to voice any concerns I might have for Baby Bug's condition and I mentioned her low weight (only 6 lbs at 3 weeks, and she was born full term) and stiff joints. I said that other than those two issues, she's doing quite well with us...she's getting into an eating/sleeping routine, pretty mellow, etc.

During the hearing, I sat and listened to all the allegations being brought against Baby Bugs parents and couldn't help feeling relieved that CPS had removed her before she was seriously injured.

Baby Bug's parents seem very eager to do what is necessary to get their daughter back. They are looking forward to the promise of twice a week, supervised visits with Baby Bug (court approved) that will take place at a CPS office. They were also told that they would be expected to meet us at the pediatrician's office each time that Baby Bug has a doctor's appointment, to prove they can offer active participation and better parenting skills. There are other requirements they'll have to meet as well. They assured the judge that they will do what is required of them to work their case plan.

Out of that court hearing came appointments for 3 other court appointments between now and mid-March! There will also be 90 day reviews done for each parent to see how they're progressing. I learned that the parents will be given up to 1 year to meet all the requirements to get Baby Bug back (they could have her sooner than 1 year, it's up to them). If they haven't met those requirements, they were warned that an adoption plan would be formed at that time and parental rights would be severed. 12 months that the family caring for Baby Bug may have to wait to know what the outcome will be. That's a long time. I suspect that, if the parents do what they're asked, they'd get her back before then. Time will tell.

I met Baby Bug's parents at this hearing and I'm glad I did. Mom is pretty. Dad is a big man (not heavy, just big and very tall). I introduced myself to them (first name only) during a break and offered them pictures of Baby Bug that I had taken and made copies of for them. The pictures really broke the ice and they were very appreciative to get them. They thanked me for the kind gesture.

At the end of the hearing, Baby Bug's dad made a point to come up to me, shake my hand and say, "Thank you for all that you're doing. Please take good care of my baby girl." I assured him she would be well taken care of.

So, it looks like we'll have Baby Bug through Christmas, maybe longer (it's all still so up in the air). I must admit, I'm relieved. I like knowing for sure that she's safe and loved and when we have to give her back, I'll always wonder how she's doing. Now, there is a slim chance that we'll end up being able to adopt her, but I'm not counting on it. Her parents seem pretty determined to do what's necessary to get her back and that's a good thing, if she can be safe and cared for.

Tonight I got boxes of baby girl clothes (0-3 months) out of storage and did a load of laundry. There are so many cute outfits in there that family members have given me over the past couple of years. There were lots of tiny pink outfits. I do believe I like pink! :)

That's all for now. Time for me to get some sleep before that next night feeding!

I'll keep you all posted!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Baby Bug, foster children, fostering, placement call

I've just finished feeding and changing this cute little Baby Bug (our nickname for her at the moment) and she's hanging out in my lap. I thought I'd take a quick minute to give you all an update but typing one-handed will take some time.

This little girl is the sweetest baby. She's mellow, only crying when she's hungry, really. I can't remember for sure if this is right, but at 3 weeks old she seems to be smiling in response to our voice. I don't think it's just gas. She's such a teeny tiny little thing. She's got quite a bit of dark hair and her eyes seem hazel, although I know she's way too young to know for sure what color they'll be. She has a cute little button nose and long fingers.

Baby Bug arrived with a diaper bag containing newborn diapers, an unopened container of formula, a bottle of medicine to treat thrush, 2 pink blankets, and the yellow sleeper she was dressed in. That's all the CPS worker could get her mom to put together before they took Baby Bug away. Unfortunately, everything smelled like smoke. We took the diapers and formula out of the bag and then set the bag outside.

Thank goodness we saved all of Snuggle Bug's baby stuff. I got out some bottles, a couple of newborn sleepers and my favorite sleeper gowns, as well as a couple of baby blankets. I undressed her, checked her over, and then re-dressed her in clean clothes. I'd forgotten how squirmy little ones are at this age and I fumbled a bit to get her diaper and sleeper on. I took the sleeper she arrived in and put them in the washer. I braved an outing to Target yesterday with both Baby Bug and Snuggle Bug (it went well) and I bought Baby Bug more diapers and some baby socks to keep her feet warm.

Oronzo and I are getting in to the swing of night time and daytime feedings. In the beginning of her stay with us, Baby Bug started out only drinking about an ounce of formula at a feeding. She slowly worked her way up to a couple of ounces and even 3 ounces once or twice. This latest feeding she surprised me by sucking down 4 ounces in no time flat!

She came to us with a bit of a diaper rash so we've been treating that with what we always used for Snuggle Bug, Aquaphor, and it seems to be helping. I'd forgotten how often little ones need to be fed and changed. Good thing I bought those extra diapers!

Oronzo and Snuggle Bug took her to her doctors appointment yesterday and we learned that she doesn't actually have thrush (I'm glad we took the CPS worker's advice not to administer any medication until after she had seen our doctor). Our pediatrician told us to throw out the thrush medication that was brought with her.

We learned that Baby Bug weighs 6 lbs even (somewhat troublesome considering we think she weight 6 lbs, 11 oz at birth 3 weeks ago). Our pediatrician is concerned with that weight loss and wants to see her again next Thursday to weigh her. She's 19.5" long and her head circumference is 36 cm.

There doesn't appear to be any bruises or injuries anywhere on her body. The pediatrician did notice the stiffness in her limbs and said that's often a symptom of a drug exposed baby (even though she tested negative at birth, her mom admitted to doing drugs during the first 4 months of her pregnancy). There's not a lot that can be done about that.

Snuggle Bug is really enjoying having a baby in the house and is very gentle. He likes to "help" us feed her, adjust her blanket, and talk to her. He even sat on the floor next to her infant carrier and "read" her a book. And Oronzo told me that Snuggle Bug was quite protective of her in the doctor's office. He didn't like that the doctor was making her cry during the examination and Snuggle Bug walked up to the doctor and scolded him, saying, "Stop! Not nice!" and then turned to Baby Bug and asked, "You okay, baby?"

Yesterday was a flurry of activity. My phone ran off the hook. I had family members calling me. I played phone tag with the CPS Investigator a couple of times, I spoke with our agency, and I spoke to a woman from a state-run child protective agency that I'd never heard of before.

Several people are interested in checking on the welfare of Baby Bug. Per the request of the CPS worker who delivered her, we had Baby Bug checked out by our pediatrician right away. The CPS Investigator stopped by on his way home from work last night to check in on her. The woman from the state-run child protective agency is stopping by today at 8:45 a.m. to check her over. Our Foster Care Specialist is coming at 10 a.m. to do an in-home visit. We were warned in training that once we had a child placed with us we'd have a lot of strangers coming in to our home. They weren't kidding! We don't mind though. We know that all of these people have the interests of this little angel in mind.

After investigating the circumstances of Baby Bug's parents all day yesterday, the CPS Investigator assigned to this case finally connected with me on the phone around 5:00 p.m. He told me that he's confident that the decision to remove Baby Bug from the home was a sound one. There is evidence of substance abuse in the home and neglect of Baby Bug as a result. We suspect she wasn't being fed or changed on a regular basis.

We have been informed that it's very likely that an extended family member, from the mother's side, will step forward and request to take Baby Bug while her mother works her case plan. We learned that the 2 previous children that this mom had taken from her were adopted by extended family. Although we're sad to learn that we probably won't have a chance at adopting her, if that's the way things turn out, we are encouraged that Baby Bug has extended family that loves her and wants to care for her. I know if there were someone in my family struggling, I'd do everything in my power to take the kids in and care for them while things are being sorted out.

There's a Team Decision Meeting being held today at 10:00 a.m. and we've been told that Baby Bug's family, CPS, and a judge will be sitting down to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the family and to decide whether Baby Bug remains in custody of the state, in our home, or if she's allowed to be transferred to an extended family member.

An extended family member would have to pass a modified home study (not a rigorous or time consuming as the one we passed) but if that worked out, they could have Baby Bug in their home tomorrow, this weekend, or early next week. The CPS Investigator said it'd be Tuesday at the very latest but probably sooner.

So, it looks like we won't have Baby Bug here with us for very long. Oronzo and I are a bit sad about that but we're both grateful that the CPS Investigator has been very upfront with us about the situation. It's better that we know right away than have things drag on for months before we learn that the extended family will be taking her in.

While we have her here, we're making sure her basic needs are being met (food, clothing, diaper changes) and we're showering her with affection...holding her close, singing/talking to her, kissing and stroking her soft hair and cheeks. She really is very precious! Her little squeaks and coos are adorable!

Okay, that's all for now. Thank you to all of you who left such sweet comments on my post yesterday. Forgive me if I don't respond to them individually. We're a bit preoccupied at the moment. :)

I'll keep you all posted on what we learn from the Team Decision Meeting later this morning.

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Baby Bug, foster children, foster-to-adopt, fostering

We've just received our second placement call from our state agency at 11:30 PM! If you remember, our first placement call didn't pan out.

I'll tell you what I can about this most recent call.

There's a little girl, just 2 weeks old, who is about to be removed from her mother's home (unless the mother flees before they can get to her as she has in the past) because her mother has a on-going drug problem. The baby tested negative for drugs at birth but the mom is still using. Apparently this mother has had her parental rights terminated for 2 other children for the same reason. The baby will start out as an emergency receiving placement but may move in to a foster-to-adopt placement. It's too soon to tell.

I've been told that a CPS worker is on her way to remove this baby girl from her home. The CPS worker has to have the police meet her there. It may take a couple of hours for it to happen.

The CPS worker will call us on her way to our house. The baby could arrive at our house by 1:00 AM or so!

Once she arrives, we have to call and leave a message for our Foster Care Specialist, letting her know the time the baby arrived. Then our Foster Care Specialist will arrange to come to our house for a visit within 72 hours.

So, now we wait to get a call from the CPS worker to see if this baby girl is coming to our home tonight. It depends on what the CPS worker finds when she arrives at the last known residence for the baby's mother.

I'll keep you all posted!

Edited to add:

We have a tiny baby in our house as of 1:30 AM! She's so precious. Although she's a day shy of 3 weeks old, she's a bit small, weighing about 6 lbs., 8 oz. We're going to try to get her in to the pediatrician later this morning. The CPS worker that delivered her to our home is worried that she's a "failure to thrive" baby and wants a doctor to look her over!

Snuggle Bug woke up with the commotion and came out of his room to see what was up. I introduced him to the baby and he asked, "Where baby mama go?" I explained that the baby's mommy and daddy couldn't care for her right now so we would be taking care of her for a while. He wanted to touch her feet and put her blanket on her.

I managed to get Snuggle Bug back to bed, promising him he could see the baby again later this morning. Oronzo's cuddling with the baby right now. We're not sure how long we'll have her, but we'll take good care of her while we do.

I think it's going to be hard for me to sleep but I probably should try!

More later!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Baby Bug, foster children, fostering, placement call

Well, we've received a call from our state agency. Unfortunately, it wasn't great news!

Remember that 1st placement call that I mentioned about two weeks ago, for the 11 month old little girl? Well, we were told today that we were not the family picked to receive her.

Oronzo and I weren't particularly surprised by this news. In fact, we would've been quite surprised if we were picked out of the 30 other families, especially considering we weren't even officially licensed at the point that our homestudy was reviewed. I suspect that a family who has been waiting longer than us was picked, at least I hope this is that case.

Still, I can't help but feel disappointed that we weren't chosen. I know, God has the right child in mind for our family and we need to be patient. I'm trying to keep that in mind.

Each time that the phone rings, my heart races a bit and I wonder, 'Is it the agency calling us with a placement?' So far, we've received no further placement calls.

And so, we wait. Thank goodness we have Snuggle Bug to love on! He helps to keep us smiling with his fun antics.

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, placement call

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly! We've received our first placement call yesterday morning, and we're not even licensed yet! Let me back up a bit and explain.

To begin with, I hadn't gotten around to telling you all that our application reveiw has been put on hold a second time due to incomplete information! I got an email last Friday from the state employee, Martha, who's reviewing our application. She explained that there were three things our licensing agency didn't provide her with and also that there's a Federal Law, The Walsh Act Check, that our state has suddenly decided to enforce! What this means is that we have to have another background check done in the state that we lived in 3 years ago, in addition to all the checks we had done in our current state of residence! We were told this can take 3+ weeks to get this information back!

This past weekend was a rough one for me. I was feeling angry, frustrated, and down right discouraged that our licensing agency had dropped the ball yet again, causing us unnecessary delays! I shot an email off to the director of the agency expressing concern over the way our application has been handled, outlining the facts of the delays, and I asked for her response.

Monday, I got an email from the Program Director we'd been working with telling me that she'd taken care of everything on Martha's list, except for the additional background check. For that, she emailed me the form and instructed me to fill it out, have it notarized, and send it to another state employee. That was all done by yesterday morning.

I got an email back from the director on Tuesday, basically apologizing profusely for the frustrations we've experienced and telling me she'd be looking into it further with her staff.

Now for the good part, at about 10:00 a.m. yesterday morning, I received a phone call from our agency. A foster care specialist, Amy, who we're meeting for the first time tomorrow was calling. I immediately suspected the worst, that she was calling about something else that was going to cause us even more delays.

Imagine my shock when she told me she was calling about a foster-to-adopt placement! I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and started jotting down information as she shared it with me.

Now, obviously I can't share many of the details of this case with you, but I will tell you that the call was for an 11 month old girl who's been in foster care since she was 2 months old. The foster family she's with now is only willing/able to handle straight foster care and now that this little girl's mom has stated that she wishes to relinquish her rights (she's denied the visitation rights that she was given) the state is moving her from a foster only to a foster-to-adopt case plan.

Amy warned me that there'd be a lot of homestudies submitted for this little girl because she is young, Caucasian (we could care less about that but it's important to others), and has shown no signs of developmental delays. She has some dietary restrictions but they're pretty minor. That's it.

Amy also warned me that our homestudy could be set aside because we're not yet licensed (although we may be licensed by the time a decision is made on this little girl) and we haven't met the state requirement of 240 hours of foster-only before being eligible for foster-to-adopt. Amy did say that sometimes they overlook that requirement so it could happen, but no guarantees.

I made a quick call to Oronzo and asked him if he wanted our homestudy submitted for this little girl and he said, "absolutely!"

I called Amy back and told her to go ahead with submitting our homestudy. We know it's a long shot but Amy thought it was worth the effort. She said that even if this one doesn't work out, it gets our homestudy out there for review by those that make the decisions on placements so that the next time around they'll be at least a little familiar with us.

So, now we continue to wait. We wait for the additional background check to be done. We wait for the review of our application to be finalized. We wait for our license to come through. Most importantly, we wait to hear news on this little girl. Amy said we probably wouldn't hear anything for a few weeks.

Oddly enough, now that we know we can receive placement calls even though we're not totally licensed, I'm feeling better about the waiting.

So there you have it, news of our very first placement call! Your prayers would be appreciated. Yes, this situation is a long shot, but miracles do happen. We have a little miracle named Snuggle Bug tucked into bed safe and sound right now, so there's hope in this case as well!

I'll be sure to keep you all posted as I hear more. As always, thanks for your ongoing support!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, Homestudy, placement call

Well, I have another update on our efforts to adopt again.

That private adoption lead that I posted about at the beginning of the month hasn't materialized into anything solid. In fact, my neighbor told me that, although the baby's mother and father wanted to make an adoption plan, the baby's maternal grandmother is encouraging them to keep the baby. My neighbor said she's not sure how it will play out in the end.

I told my neighbor that if there was any doubt about placing the baby for adoption, then they were right not to rush into that decision. I told her that I have no problem with the fact that the maternal grandmother wants to try to make it work. I told my neighbor that if the entire family made the decision to place the baby for adoption, then we'd be interested in talking to them but otherwise we didn't want to put additional pressure on the baby's parents.

So, that private adoption lead probably isn't going to pan out, and I'm okay with that.

We still have not heard back from the state on getting licensedfor foster-to-adopt. It's taking much longer than we were lead to believe it would but what can we do? All we can do is continue to wait.

In the meantime, we've gotten an email from yet another employee of the agency we went through. It seems they'd like a Foster Care Specialist to meet us and get to know us in preparation for our getting licensed. I'm not sure why we have to do this song and dance with another agency employee but I guess we'll make an appointment for her to come out and meet us next Friday afternoon. She wants to meet us at our home. ((sigh))

I'm reminded yet again that by going through the state in our attempts to adopt a second time we have to get used to having strangers in and out of our home checking up on us. The tough part is knowing that this will possibly be the case for 12-18 months after we're placed with a child! Yikes!

But, despite the endless wait and the feeling like our private lives are constantly under a microscope, we're committed to this path of adoption. We've gone through so much already that we're not turning back now.

Your ongoing prayers would be much appreciated!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, foster-to-adopt, fostering

Yesterday I saw an email in my Inbox that was titled, "Thank you for your wonderful blog!" Now how could I resist opening something like that? :) I get a lot of spam and usually delete most of it, but the subject of this email caught my attention.

The email was from Veronica and she let me know that she's read my blog and decided to link it on their website, BabyNamesCountry.com under the Mother's blogs section. Thanks, Veronica! I'm honored.

After visiting that link, I browsed through other parts of the blog. If we're lucky enough to get another baby soon through adoption, we'll need to decide on a name. I love baby name books and this website is even more fun!

I clicked on their About Project section and here's what I found:

Hello and thank you for visiting our site! BabyNamesCountry.com is dedicated to Baby Names and their Meanings and Origins.

When you are expecting a baby there are a lot of details you should take care of - the nursery, a car seat, bottles, sleepers, burp cloths. The most important detail, which will have the greatest impact on your future child's life, is the name you will give him. On our site you can find more than 20,000 Baby Names from all over the world and we keep adding new names to our database.

BabyNamesCountry.com is owned and operated by Veronica and Daniel Russell. The site is non-profit.

This site is dedicated to our son Gregory, who died 4 years ago from a serious illness. He was just 2 years old. We loved him very much, and miss him greatly. The pain of the loss and memories of him will always live in our hearts. Now we have an adopted daughter named Caroline (Name Meaning: Little and Strong). We are very happy and love her very much.

We hope our site will be helpful to you in finding a perfect name for your baby
and the name you choose will bring only happiness for your baby in the future.

Good luck in your baby name search!

Sincerely yours,
Veronica and Daniel Russell

So if you're in the mood to look for baby names, be sure to check out BabyNamesCountry.com. I'm sure Veronica and Daniel would appreciate you stopping by!

Labels: adoption, baby, baby names, bloggity goodness

Well, I have an update of sorts on our efforts to adopt again.

If you remember, our application was finally sent on 4 September from the agency to the state for approval. We were told that it would take anywhere from 3-5 weeks of waiting. It's been a little over 4 weeks now and we're still waiting!

We've been told by the agency that they know the state has received our application and it's been assigned to someone because a lady called them asking for clarification on part of the paperwork. So, we at least know that our application isn't floating around in la-la land. It's on someone's desk. We just don't know how long it'll be there.

Ironically, we may have a lead for a private adoption!

This past Saturday I was out walking with Snuggle Bug and we stopped to chat with a neighbor that was out with her two teenage boys (Snuggle Bug loves playing basket ball with these older boys and they're so nice to him).

As the boys were playing and Sherry and I were chatting, I thought it'd be good to tell her of our efforts to adopt through the state, so she wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly had a baby, out of the blue.

When I told her she said, "I didn't know you were looking to adopt again! You should've told me! I know a young girl that's pregnant and probably looking to place her baby!"

Sherry went on to explain that a family friend of theirs, an 18 year old girl, is pregnant with a boy and is due to have the baby in December. She is living with her grandmother and feels that she isn't prepared to raise a baby and is talking about placing the baby for adoption but isn't thrilled about going through an agency.

Sherry asked if I wanted her to talk to their friend and see if she is interested in talking with us. I told her we'd absolutely be interested. I told her we'd be happy to call her or even meet with her in person, whichever she feels most comfortable with. Sherry's going to talk to her soon and get back to us.

I have no idea if anything will come of this lead but if something does, we'd go for it! And more than likely, we'd continue on our course with the state as well (we've gone through too much to just drop it all) and try to adopt a little girl as well. I've always said I'd be okay with three children and Oronzo feels the same way.

Please keep us in your prayers and I'll keep you posted. Thanks!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, foster-to-adopt, fostering

I have some exciting news to share! Our application has finally left the agency and has been sent on to the state, as of Tuesday this week! Hooray!

I'm sure the agency released our paperwork just to get me out of their hair! I was pestering them with phone calls and emails at least once a week. I was going to resort to bribery (showing up with a plate of warm brownies) if it took much longer but this past Tuesday morning when I emailed the boss of our licensing agent to ask how much longer, she emailed me back rather quickly to tell me they'd just sent out our application packet that morning.

So now, we have to wait 3-5 weeks for the state to approve our application and formally license us. I'm just going to expect the worst (that it'll take the full 5 weeks, maybe even a week longer) and hope for the best (that it'll only take 3 weeks).

I feel better now knowing that it's totally out of our hands. I could pester the agency to prod them along, but I really can't pester the state.

So, in 5 weeks or so (God willing) we will be eligible to receive placement calls for emergency receiving situations. Once we get our required 240 hours of strict foster care, then we can receive foster-to-adopt placement calls as well!

Keep us in your prayers if you don't mind. This has been a long haul already (we started this process back in April, after months of contemplation, prayer, and research). We're ready to expand our family! I can't wait to see Snuggle Bug in the role of a big brother! He's going to be great!

One last note, isn't the image I'm using in the post adorable? I saw it first on Donetta's blog and then found it on the CWO Scripture Tags. They have a lot of other cute ones there, go check it out!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, adoption paperwork, expanding our family, family, foster-to-adopt, fostering

Last week I posted about our FAILED home inspection which Oronzo had to deal with himself, since I was in Florida on business (thanks for all the supportive comments, by the way). Well, we passed the follow-up home inspection!

This past Saturday Oronzo went to Home Depot and got the hardware required to make the required changes.

Tues morning our agency licensing agent came to our house and confirmed that the changes had been made. She initialed those areas on the checklist left by the state inspector and took the paperwork with her to submit to the state.

Tuesday evening, Oronzo undid everything that he had done to pass the inspection because we refuse to violate fire code and put our family at risk by blocking our exits in 2 bedrooms in case we are trapped because of a fire! Thankfully, our home won't be inspected again for another 3 years.

So, now that we've passed the follow-up inspection we're in the waiting stage.

We've done everything we could do to complete the process of getting licensed. All of our paperwork has been completed and turned in. All background checks (financial and criminal) have been completed. Oronzo and I have had our doctors give us physicals and sign off on the Physical Statement form. Our 5 reference letters have been sent in to the agency by family and friends. Our home has passed inspection. Our interviews have been completed and the licensing agent has written up her home study report.

All that's left is for our licensing agent to submit everything to her boss for review. Once her boss approves everything, it all gets forwarded on to the state. We're told that it can take 30-60 days for the state to decide whether or not to license us. I guess that means we could be licensed by end of September.

Once we're licensed, then we are required to complete 240 hours of strictly foster care before we can even be considered for a foster-to-adopt situation. This is a new state requirement.

We can get those 240 hours by providing respite care to foster children for foster parents that need time off or are traveling and are unable to take their foster children with them. Or, we can accept an emergency receiving placement (where very little info is known about the situation of the child that is placed with us).

I think we'll probably accept an emergency receiving placement because a situation like that could turn into a foster-to-adopt scenario, whereas a respite care placement would not.

So, there you have it. We're waiting. I'll keep you all posted. Your prayers would be much appreciated!

Labels: adoption, adoption #2, expanding our family, foster-to-adopt, fostering, home inspection, Homestudy