Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back-Adoption Adventures part one

Tom is just one of my first adoptees.

Do you ever feel like that? It seems like my life is always going three steps forward, two steps back! My husband and I decided to adopt another little girl and attended classes in April of last year. After 6+ months of classes, home visits and paper work, we were told that we were approved, but would need to wait until we got our letter. There were months of silence. I didn't know what was happening and assumed that God had closed that door. So in February, I accepted a position as director of my local Classical Conversations community. I got busy planning for the new school year, became a tutor trainer. I was focused! I had a vision for where I was going!

May comes, Classical Conversations is finished for the year, and summer is upon us. We get a letter...You are now official foster parents! Wait! What???? But God, I thought you closed that door? I moved on! I am happy where I am now! Yes, I still want a child, but I'm awful busy. After talking to Alan, he wants to go forward. We get a few phone calls, but learn quickly that when they need a place for children, they don't wait for a call back! We also had an issue with my cell phone number being wrong on their files.

In June, we get our first placement, a two year old little girl with blond hair and brown eyes. She was precious and a handful. I serious questions about whether I was young enough to have a two year old! She was a handful, mainly because she had no inhibitions and no fear! I know what you are thinking...What two year old does? While it is true that most two year old kids don't, children who come from homes of neglect and abuse have much deeper issues. My first job with any new child is to create a bond. When my little girl was born, she and I bonded by nursing, singing, holding, cuddles, and generally making myself the center of her world. While I can't nurse a foster child, I can feed them, sing to them, hold them, cuddle them, and make myself the center of their world. I did this! We bonded! She didn't even want me to leave her on visits with her family. She made herself part of the family within a month. She knew the routines. I kept thinking, "God, is this our child? Please let her be ours!" Sadly, she wasn't. She went to live with her daddy after 6 weeks. It broke my heart, but I was ready to start over with another child.

More adventures soon!