Search

March 6, 2012

An Unexpected Gift



One week ago today, I received a phone call that I was not expecting at all. I was sitting down to rest while the kids were napping and that familiar caller ID showed up: our county children's services agency.

The worker explained that there was a healthy newborn baby boy waiting to be picked up from the hospital. (In case you don't know, me and my husband have been licensed foster and adoptive parents since 2008.) We had been on the "do not call" list since the birth of our youngest two years ago, meaning, we would keep our license, but hold off on taking in any more kids right now. (We later found out that our worker had asked to call us anyway because they were really in need of a good home. It was worth a try, right?)

But, God has a way of giving you gifts you don't expect. As the worker told me more about the baby, I strangely felt myself wanting to say yes, but I needed to talk to my husband. I asked the worker for "5 minutes" to decide. Usually, you don't even get that. You have to tell the worker yes or no within minutes of hearing about the child.

Ok, so those of you reading this who haven't fostered--can you even imagine?!

 I don't know what it's like to find you're pregnant, wait nine months, then deliver. But, when you say yes to a placement, I compare it emotionally to finding out you're pregnant and delivering the same day.

There is such a flood of emotion and excitement and scrambling around to get things in order--it is a rush like nothing else. And yes, with each placement (this would be our 6th) I find myself doing "deep breathing" like a woman in labor, trying to focus on what needs to be done, trying to stay calm.

So, after a 5 minute life-changing huddle with my husband, we felt a sense of peace to move forward and I called the worker back to say "yes" we have found room in our hearts and home to take in another baby!

Thankfully, we had kept a lot of baby supplies we would need, and we quickly found the infant car seat, called the babysitter to stay with our boys while we rushed to the hospital with excitement to pick up our new little guy.

And he is so sweet! Thankfully, he is healthy and doing great. The boys were really excited to meet him and of course, there is a lot to adjust to--including late night feedings (yawn!) But, overall, the transition has been pretty good. We are glad we said yes and will love him as long as he's with us.

So, when you sign up to foster/adopt, you sign up lots of things--you sign up for your life to be flipped upside down, for an amazing adventure, for incredible opportunities, for a roller coaster of emotions, for being exposed to the sad life situations the kids and mom's are in, also, to be a support to those mom's as much as possible. Of course, it is really hard. And yes, it is worth it! 

I hear so many people say "I couldn't foster. I would be devastated when they left". But, if we never took that risk, we would have never met our two beautiful sons, or the three other kids we were able to help in so many ways and safely send to their permanent homes.

Of course it is sad to say goodbye--we foster parents aren't "super humans", but God really does give us the strength when we need it!

So, with all of that being said, you might guess that ReMadeSimple will be moving at a slower pace than it was before. I'm pretty sure I won't be doing any huge projects over the next few months. I do have some fun and easy spring craft ideas I'll be trying when I can and sharing. And our kitchen remodel on a budget is coming up that I'm so excited about (that we are hiring someone to do and also doing a little bit ourselves.)

And I'm dreaming up how to paint and tweak my upstairs bathroom in the early summer (when baby is sleeping more through the night and I have more energy).
I have some tangerine bathroom inspiration on Pinterest I'll be sharing as I dream up ideas and catch some rest while I can.

Until next time,




26 comments:

  1. AWESOME! What a total blessing to you and this sweet boy both! My sister took home her first foster baby {five week old} on Monday and God willing, he will be her forever baby!?! Definitely when you give love...you never regret it! I'm giddy with excitement for you!!! XO, Aimee!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Aimee! I love hearing about others fostering/adopting-so happy for your sister! -I'll say a prayer for her and new baby. I agree, when you give love you don't regret it!

      Delete
  2. Weee! I'm so excited for you. What a great feeling. I can't imagine what that phone call with your husband was like! My heart swells for you... hopefully someday we'll be in a position to do the same :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sarah!

      Even though were weren't expecting the phone call, it was really exciting. It is of course and adjustment, but I feel a lot of peace about it still. Hope you'll be able to foster/adopt someday too!

      Delete
  3. That is so awesome. We have been on an adoption list for about a year and have contemplated about doing foster care as well but wasn't sure if we could do it. Thank you for your story

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment! Wishing the best for you as you take the journey toward adoption!

      Delete
  4. Awwwe, the world needs more people like you guys! Take your time and enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's so sweet. Glad you could take him in.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This makes my heart happy! My God-brother and sister were adopted through foster/adopt. I remember so much excitement, heartache and then the love of a new family during the whole process. It has it's moments of hardship, but in the end I think it is totally worth it. So glad for people like you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Shannon! So glad you were able to see the good in all of the process with your family members and accept them in and love them!

      Delete
  7. Awesome! When I was growing up, my parents were foster parents for several years. We fostered 11 infant/newborns and three school-age kids. My mom is in her 70's now, and she still gets letters from some of our kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paula-That's amazing! So nice to hear your mom gets letters from the kids-she must have made a really good impact on their lives!

      Delete
  8. I'm bursting right now with emotion - excitement for you, fear for your lack of sleep and 3 young children, God's warmth that wonderful people like you exist to help out in these situations. Enjoy every moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heather-thanks! Somehow the lack of sleep hasn't been as bad the second time around-my husband is really helpful and we take turns with the night time feedings and I pace myself one day at a time :)

      Delete
  9. Kristina-how extremely excited for you and your family to have this opportunity! And you amaze me with your grace and willingness to answer God's call on your life. Wish I lived closer so I could share in your joy of this baby and meet him. Loving the pictures on fb as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kim! I appreciate your support! We really are blessed to have this opportunity and only by God's grace can I do it! I wish we lived closer too-maybe someday we could take road trip to visit! Miss you!

      Delete
  10. What a blessing for you, your family,... and of course that little guy. God bless all of you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What an amazing blessing...I have a huge heart for people who do foster care and the children that enter their homes. My parents have done foster care for the last 13 years or so and have had nearly 30 children come through their doors. They were fortunate enough to also adopt two boys, biological half brothers, as babies. They are now 12 and almost 10.

    Enjoy your new little one!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kaeley

      I appreciate your heart,--that's amazing about your parents! And they sound like us-we adopted two bio brothers as babies!

      Delete
  12. Good luck and don't worry about the blog too much! Family comes first and that is the most important thing. It's nice to hear these kinds of things compared to all of the yuck that goes on in the news and the world... gives me faith that there are good people out there still!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jess,

      I agree family always comes first! And yeah, the news is really negative-they forget about what good is going on-I am fortunate enough to know several amazing foster/adoptive parents in my community doing the same hard work to help kids out.

      Delete
  13. My youngest daughter is a sophmore in COLLEGE. We are considering fostering children/child. Both our daughters were adopted and life continues with challenges. I have time, resources and a desire to impact other children in their life, but worry over the change in my independence. Yep, I'm over 50! How about some advice from you as a young mother. It's hard to believe that I can't remember anything but the wonderful times of childhood...I didn't mention teenager years :). We made it through fine...there are always some bruises and bumps!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's really cool that you were able to adopt and still desire to impact children's lives-I can understand the loss of independence though too-I know of a retired nurse that loves fostering sick babies and nursing them back to health. But maybe if you knew of a foster parent you could become a backup provider for them to get a break every now and then? I know I really value people willing to do that for me!

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.