Joy

A little foster update.

We have done a few short term placements and a few respites.  The hubby has finally said ok to taking an "unknown" timeline placement. 

Last week I picked up this baby girl from the ER . . . Isn't she a doll!

 Processing the evening and the following day takes time and quite space.  

We (my sweet neighbor and I) got to the hospital a little after 6pm and got home around midnight.  Baby was OK they just had to check her out (drug exposure, injury etc).  We got home and bathed, fed, diapered, swaddled her and poured as much love as possible into her.  It was pretty beautiful to see it all unfold.

If I had to sum it up I would say for me this is heaven on earth.  I got so much JOY of of being the gap, her momma even for less than 24 hours.  

Waiting . . .  

Homecoming

Life - 2

Gosh is has been a very emotional month and a half.  We went from 6 kids back to our core 4.

Fostering is hard.  In so many ways.  Walking alongside someone with significant trauma is so incredibly hard.  Keeping a kid in foster care for 1.5 years isn't fair. The unknown broke her.  I pray she will be healed.

Saying goodbye to a precious baby that we loved on and cared for for half of her life broke me.  Broke us. 

I am grateful for the journey.  It has shaped me.  It still is.  I am uncomfortable and I don't like it.  We will become stronger for it.  We will heal. 

It's been a month.  I want to jump right back into it but we need time. 

Gold Chains - Surgery

March 1 2019


Not much to say. This was the only photo I took and it was presurgery.  The smile is so forced, she is a ball of nerves before surgery.  We did do happy juice which we will do forever moving forward, 

Everytime she is at the hospital I am reminded of the gift she is to me.  She came to me from the other side of the world.  Her first mom carried her and gave birth to her and I (we) get to raise her to be the best Naomi she can be.  I am so LUCKY!  LOVE my girl to the moon and back a  bizzilion times.

Everytime she is in the hospital she shuts down and gets kinda mad at me.  It's OK.  see note above. 

5 years

Forever Family Day #5

I love remembering this day.  5 years ago in Hefei China we got handed a crazy, inquisitive, tiny, weathered, scared, squeaky (didn't talk), sneaky and beautiful little girl. 

It wasn't easy but I would choose to do it all over again and again for her, for us.  

She was itty bitty.  When we got home from China I bought her 5t clothes at almost 10 years old.

Her siblings were so excited to finally have her. 

She would sneak out of bed and hunt down any phone or kindle she could get her hands on. 

These are some happy parents . . . so so happy!

Now she has about 25 stuffed panda's on her bed

Is gorgeous, kind, compassionate, loving, smart, cello playing, singing and the best teenage daughter I could have ever asked for. 

Except for when she is giving me heart attacks for speeding so fast in her chair or doing some other dare devil act.