Coming through the storm, is an understatement!
This past year has been absolutely heartbreaking, trying, frustrating, amazing...and yet I am here. I am going to try and catch everyone up.
March 2011: My new son, formerly Sawyer, came into our home. He came with many challenges and trials, and with lots of love. In February, Chris and I were invited to an event for Foster parents in Spanish Fork, an event to look at profiles of children in Foster care who needed homes. We really didn't feel great about going to this event, it felt weird to "browse" the files of kids who needed homes...and say, "no." How can you say, "no," to any kid who needs a home?
It came to the night of the event, and I received a very strong feeling that Chris and I needed to go to the meeting. It ended up being a very stormy night, we finally found a babysitter (last minute), and we drove down to Spanish Fork in a crazy snow storm. On the way down, Chris and I had a candid talk about our goal of going to this meeting. We knew that we financially could not handle a very medically challenged child, we knew that we could not have another sibling group (we already had one), and we knew that the child needed to be younger than Riley. I told Chris, "a 4-year-old boy would be great, age wise, and gender wise, that would be an ideal situation for us right now." So, we both agreed on our expectations, and needed to hold fast to them because we knew that we would have a hard time saying, "no," to any kid.
We arrived to the meeting a few minutes late, listened to the speakers, all were warnings that the children we were going to view tonight were not your typical children...they had many challenging situations that came with them, and they needed to be loved. Our hearts broke, and yearned to help. We sat and looked at the profiles of many children...and I hated even turning the page on any of them, but I knew that the situations were not right for us, at this time. By the end of the evening, Chris and I were both disappointed that we did not "feel" that any of these kids were right for us...we really thought this was where we were suppose to be!
As we were getting ready to end the evening, a woman stood up who worked for DCFS, and stated that she did have one situation that was brand new and it was very challenging...this was not a case for a couple that wanted a "healthy" child. This case was, "a 4-year-old boy who needed a home because he was now basically homeless, again." I can't go into detail about his life, but this boy was described as very challenging, and the couple that inquired about him needed to be prepared for a hard road ahead.
Immediately, without hesitation, Chris and I looked at each other and knew that this is why we were at this meeting. I went up to the woman and stated that, "we were interested in this 4-year-old." She asked us if we were licensed Foster parents..."yes." "Do you have any current placements?" "Yes," we said. She then replied that this situation was going to be so difficult that the adoptive couple would need to not have any current placements. I looked at the woman and said, "we do have a placement, but this placement will more than likely be leaving us within the year, and we are more than willing to help out with this little boy. I feel strongly that we could help." The woman took our name, and said, "we will give you a call if you are considered, but I wouldn't count on it."
Chris and I left the meeting hopeful, but realistic.
At the end of February I received a phone call asking if Chris and I were still interested in this 4-year-old. I replied, "yes." We were again warned that because of our current placement we more than likely would not be chosen and not to get our hopes up.
A few days later I received another phone call, "can you come and meet the committee for "Sawyer?" "Yes, we will be there!"
Chris and I went to the meeting, the meeting was very intimidating, it was a very large group of people asking lots of serious questions and concerns for the care of Sawyer. Finally, the meeting was over and we were very nervous. We were scared. We were confused. We knew that this little boy belonged in our home, but the people scared us to death...we thought, "can we handle this?" We both sat in the van in the parking lot of DCFS, and said, "yes, no matter what. This little boy needs someone to love him, and we can."
Later that day, I received another phone call asking if we could really handle Sawyers situation. I stated, "yes, we can. I feel so strongly that Sawyer belongs in our home." The lady said, "okay, we felt that you and your husband would be a perfect fit for Sawyer. We could feel you and your husbands gentle love, and that is what Sawyer needs. Also, we feel that you, as a mother, are willing to learn because he will need someone who is willing to deal with all of his many challenges." I said, "I believe that I can love this boy with all my heart, and deal with the challenges that come with his little spirit." The woman then replied, "well, would you like to meet him, and then make a final decision that you would like him to join your family then?"
I immediately got off the phone with the woman and called Chris and said, "we need to meet our new son tonight!" We met Sawyer that night, with all the kids, we brought him a little tractor (still has and talks about to this day), and played with him...and sang either "Popcorn popping on the apricot tree," or "If your happy and you know it." He was so cute, and sweet, how could somebody give this boy up? Was he really the "troubled" child we were so scared of? He was this brown little bear and I loved him from the first sight of him.
We meet with him again, the next day and took him to dinner at Carl's Jr. He loved it! He felt so free! He loved the kids, loved the freedom, loved laughing, and loved us. He talked so much! I remember he took his hamburger and poured a whole container of pink sauce on it, and he was so messy, but he was having a blast! The kids played on the toys, and Chris and I felt so peaceful about our decision. The kids loved Sawyer and we loved him.
It was finally agreed, and finalized that Sawyer would come and stay with us. He was to come to our home Friday, March 4, 2011...movie night. It was a very awkward situation, his previous family wanted to drop him off at our home, and they did, and it was so confusing for the little guy. He came from one home (biological), to another (adopted family), to another (shelter care), and now to our home (his forever home). He was so excited to see the kids, and didn't care that he was being left with us. I will never forget, after his previous family left, we all decided to change the stressful situation to a fun situation and go get treats at Walgreens for movie night. It was so cute, we put everyone, all 4 kids in their car seats and headed to Walgreens. I remember Sawyer asking if he was going to stay with us, and Chris and I said, "yes, you can stay with us for as long as you want...even forever." Sawyer said, "I want to stay with you forever." I believe the movie we watched was, "Cars," from Disney. His previous family didn't really let them watch movies, so this was a big treat for him. We all sat together on the couch all huddled up with our blankets. It was a little weird for Sawyer to sit and watch a movie, but he eventually got the idea that we sit as a family and enjoy each other's company. Don't worry...he has since figured it out, too well. Ha.
Through much trial and error, and heartache, tears, and therapy, Sawyer was adopted on December 21, 2011. His new name is Cody Jay Long. I love him, and I am so glad I listened to that still small voice telling me to drive through a snow storm to Spanish Fork in February of 2011.
Cody in March:
This past year has been absolutely heartbreaking, trying, frustrating, amazing...and yet I am here. I am going to try and catch everyone up.
March 2011: My new son, formerly Sawyer, came into our home. He came with many challenges and trials, and with lots of love. In February, Chris and I were invited to an event for Foster parents in Spanish Fork, an event to look at profiles of children in Foster care who needed homes. We really didn't feel great about going to this event, it felt weird to "browse" the files of kids who needed homes...and say, "no." How can you say, "no," to any kid who needs a home?
It came to the night of the event, and I received a very strong feeling that Chris and I needed to go to the meeting. It ended up being a very stormy night, we finally found a babysitter (last minute), and we drove down to Spanish Fork in a crazy snow storm. On the way down, Chris and I had a candid talk about our goal of going to this meeting. We knew that we financially could not handle a very medically challenged child, we knew that we could not have another sibling group (we already had one), and we knew that the child needed to be younger than Riley. I told Chris, "a 4-year-old boy would be great, age wise, and gender wise, that would be an ideal situation for us right now." So, we both agreed on our expectations, and needed to hold fast to them because we knew that we would have a hard time saying, "no," to any kid.
We arrived to the meeting a few minutes late, listened to the speakers, all were warnings that the children we were going to view tonight were not your typical children...they had many challenging situations that came with them, and they needed to be loved. Our hearts broke, and yearned to help. We sat and looked at the profiles of many children...and I hated even turning the page on any of them, but I knew that the situations were not right for us, at this time. By the end of the evening, Chris and I were both disappointed that we did not "feel" that any of these kids were right for us...we really thought this was where we were suppose to be!
As we were getting ready to end the evening, a woman stood up who worked for DCFS, and stated that she did have one situation that was brand new and it was very challenging...this was not a case for a couple that wanted a "healthy" child. This case was, "a 4-year-old boy who needed a home because he was now basically homeless, again." I can't go into detail about his life, but this boy was described as very challenging, and the couple that inquired about him needed to be prepared for a hard road ahead.
Immediately, without hesitation, Chris and I looked at each other and knew that this is why we were at this meeting. I went up to the woman and stated that, "we were interested in this 4-year-old." She asked us if we were licensed Foster parents..."yes." "Do you have any current placements?" "Yes," we said. She then replied that this situation was going to be so difficult that the adoptive couple would need to not have any current placements. I looked at the woman and said, "we do have a placement, but this placement will more than likely be leaving us within the year, and we are more than willing to help out with this little boy. I feel strongly that we could help." The woman took our name, and said, "we will give you a call if you are considered, but I wouldn't count on it."
Chris and I left the meeting hopeful, but realistic.
At the end of February I received a phone call asking if Chris and I were still interested in this 4-year-old. I replied, "yes." We were again warned that because of our current placement we more than likely would not be chosen and not to get our hopes up.
A few days later I received another phone call, "can you come and meet the committee for "Sawyer?" "Yes, we will be there!"
Chris and I went to the meeting, the meeting was very intimidating, it was a very large group of people asking lots of serious questions and concerns for the care of Sawyer. Finally, the meeting was over and we were very nervous. We were scared. We were confused. We knew that this little boy belonged in our home, but the people scared us to death...we thought, "can we handle this?" We both sat in the van in the parking lot of DCFS, and said, "yes, no matter what. This little boy needs someone to love him, and we can."
Later that day, I received another phone call asking if we could really handle Sawyers situation. I stated, "yes, we can. I feel so strongly that Sawyer belongs in our home." The lady said, "okay, we felt that you and your husband would be a perfect fit for Sawyer. We could feel you and your husbands gentle love, and that is what Sawyer needs. Also, we feel that you, as a mother, are willing to learn because he will need someone who is willing to deal with all of his many challenges." I said, "I believe that I can love this boy with all my heart, and deal with the challenges that come with his little spirit." The woman then replied, "well, would you like to meet him, and then make a final decision that you would like him to join your family then?"
I immediately got off the phone with the woman and called Chris and said, "we need to meet our new son tonight!" We met Sawyer that night, with all the kids, we brought him a little tractor (still has and talks about to this day), and played with him...and sang either "Popcorn popping on the apricot tree," or "If your happy and you know it." He was so cute, and sweet, how could somebody give this boy up? Was he really the "troubled" child we were so scared of? He was this brown little bear and I loved him from the first sight of him.
We meet with him again, the next day and took him to dinner at Carl's Jr. He loved it! He felt so free! He loved the kids, loved the freedom, loved laughing, and loved us. He talked so much! I remember he took his hamburger and poured a whole container of pink sauce on it, and he was so messy, but he was having a blast! The kids played on the toys, and Chris and I felt so peaceful about our decision. The kids loved Sawyer and we loved him.
It was finally agreed, and finalized that Sawyer would come and stay with us. He was to come to our home Friday, March 4, 2011...movie night. It was a very awkward situation, his previous family wanted to drop him off at our home, and they did, and it was so confusing for the little guy. He came from one home (biological), to another (adopted family), to another (shelter care), and now to our home (his forever home). He was so excited to see the kids, and didn't care that he was being left with us. I will never forget, after his previous family left, we all decided to change the stressful situation to a fun situation and go get treats at Walgreens for movie night. It was so cute, we put everyone, all 4 kids in their car seats and headed to Walgreens. I remember Sawyer asking if he was going to stay with us, and Chris and I said, "yes, you can stay with us for as long as you want...even forever." Sawyer said, "I want to stay with you forever." I believe the movie we watched was, "Cars," from Disney. His previous family didn't really let them watch movies, so this was a big treat for him. We all sat together on the couch all huddled up with our blankets. It was a little weird for Sawyer to sit and watch a movie, but he eventually got the idea that we sit as a family and enjoy each other's company. Don't worry...he has since figured it out, too well. Ha.
Through much trial and error, and heartache, tears, and therapy, Sawyer was adopted on December 21, 2011. His new name is Cody Jay Long. I love him, and I am so glad I listened to that still small voice telling me to drive through a snow storm to Spanish Fork in February of 2011.
Cody in March:
First time on a Two-Wheeler Bike
Opening Presents that my friends have given the kids, from my "Toddler Shower," at book group.
One of the Presents from the Shower.
My beautiful children before Church. Pardon the blurry pic.
Dad and Cody at the Elementary playground with the RC car.
Grandma and Cody at the Elementary Park.
St. Patrick's Day..the Leprechaun always turns the food green!
Riley eating her green oatmeal on St. Patrick's Day.
Cody on the Leprechaun Hunt we always have every year, he just found a clue to the treasure!
The "treasure" from the Leprechaun hunt. I wish I could show you all the kids, but here is Cody.
Cody and my other foster son were vacuuming our stairs...so cute.
"Our Family"
Brook, you are such an example to me! He looks like he belongs in your family! I am grateful you shared this story with me. I know that somewhere out there is a little girl waiting to join our family. We just have to find her! :)
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