As most of you know, we had a foster placement on Friday afternoon. Two little boys - 3 years old and 20 months old! Although we were asked SEVERAL times by both CPS and Buckner if we thought we could handle 3 kiddos 3 and under, we were confident that we could! FALSE! JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL...the first 24 hours were the most stressful 24 hours I've EVER experienced. I literally cried for the first day and a half and most of the time felt so overwhelmed that I couldn't get off of the couch. Chase and Zoren were awesome by stepping in and taking over the house. Something that I would normally be doing. These poor little boys! They are really not any more trouble than any other kiddos their age. It was totally not them...it was me! Of course a lot of if was very selfish. We had a great vacation planned for the weekend and then off to my mom's for the week. We still brought them on our mini vacation, but I felt so restricted trying to keep up with all 4 kiddos! Needless to say, it ended well then we headed home. Today has been our first NORMAL day at home. Chase had work today but I'm off all week so that helps to set a schedule for the boys.
We managed to all wake up and get breakfast on the table. I miraculously managed to get all 3 kids to sit down at the table for all 3 meals and they actually ATE their food. Amazing! I also got them all down for naps, played outside, snack time, played with flash cards and still kept my house from falling apart and most of my sanity intact. By the time Chase got home, I thought I was going to pass out! All kids were bathed and in bed by 8:30 (well....except for the little girl sitting next to me now WIDE awake)!!! I'm so tired. I don't think I give enough credit to stay at home moms with multiple children!
HOLY MOLY!
The boys have a visit with their mom tomorrow morning so I'm curious to see how they are when they get home! I know their mom is probably missing them more than they know. From my understanding, they have never been away from her and she was very concerned about where they were going and who was taking care of them. The reasons for their departure from her is still a little foggy. The little one has an old burn on his back that was never treated and got pretty infected. He was in the hospital for a couple of days to have it treated so that may have been the spark. He's doing great though - he's such a trooper!
So now at the close of day 3, we've decided to at least make it into next week when they start going to daycare. If at that point, we feel like it's still not something we can handle, then we will let CPS know. We have an amazing Buckner case manager who is very sympathetic to our needs and fears (and kudos to our previous case manager for being a great confidant this weekend when I was losing my mind)!!! This has definitely been a learning experience for all of us. We have a much better understanding of our capabilities and what patience really looks like.
I placed an ISO ad on our local online garage sale Facebook page looking for a car seat and met some pretty wonderful ladies that are also foster mommies! I know that God placed these boys and those ladies in my life for a purpose! It's hard to question things when you know there are no mistakes! I'm also very thankful for the friends in the area who have offered their homes, hearts and ears to me in order to relieve some stress! Oh - and I can't forget everyone that has called and had to listen to me cry like a wimpy baby lady - big THANKS for that!
Tonight I have some specific prayer requests for you:
- for the boy's mom, that she is able to follow plan and be reunited with her babies
- for the boys, that they continue to be comfortable in our home and learn to trust us a little more every day
- for Chase, that he find the patience and compassion I know he has in order to be a role model for these boys as long as they are with us
- for Aubrey, that she continues to enjoy having instant playmates and learns a life lesson along the way
- for me, that I'm able to have patience and sanity to do the best for these boys and love them and keep them safe while in our care
HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
http://operationdodson.blogspot.com
HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
http://operationdodson.blogspot.com
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