I have told the story how we got the girls as a placement before, but it bears repeating sometimes. Last July, I wrote in my journal that I felt God was calling us to take a toddler. I literally wrote that I wasn't sure what it meant and that J.O. would never agree. We had B at the time and sleep was rare, if ever. A few weeks later, I saw a respite request for a toddler on a FB page we are on, and it just jumped out at me. It was for a Wed-Fri and it stated that she went to a daycare during the day. Another CALL family had actually planned to keep her but something had come up and she couldn't. Enter us.
I picked Anna up on July 17th, 2013 and she just stole our hearts. I walked in her daycare and she came right to me and then cried the whole way home. She was scared but immediately attached to me. She called me 'ma' and wouldn't let Trey or Addy touch me. We took her back Friday and I immediately told J.O., I had to continue to see her. We started getting her weekends and then when her siblings came into care at the beginning of August, we started getting her more and more to help out. We totally fell in love with her and honestly I felt she was ours, but there were 2 other siblings I had never even met.
That schedule continued and one day I was driving to B's court hearing in October. Anna was with her aunt, but the aunt had indicated she wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep her. On the way to that court hearing, I just prayed for answers. I wanted direction with B and direction with Anna. That hearing is when we found out B would be transitioning to family over the next month and we started getting Anna more and more.
After B left, we planned a little vacation and when we were leaving we found out the siblings would be moving. We made our desire known to have Anna, but also knew they needed to stay together if possible. When we got home from NY on Dec 7th, we drove straight to the aunts house in the ice and got Anna. We were keeping her until the caseworker had a placement. During the next few days, the aunt decided it was best if the older brother stayed with her and we agreed to take Abby and Anna. We knew it would be a huge adjustment and wasn't sure what was going to happen. They were placed at our house December 17th, 2013.
Abby took so much longer to adjust to us. There was a period of time that it was a possible she may go back with her aunt, and there were lots of times I wondered if that wasn't what was best. She didn't seem to really bond with me. Then, one day several months ago it changed. She chose me over other people and started screaming mama whenever I was around. She is still way more reserved than Anna, but that's just her personality. It was then, J.O. and I wondered if we could possibly adopt both, but we still didn't think it would work out.
Through so many different details and series of events, we found out today, that we are starting the process to adopt. Nothing is final with DHS until the ink is dry, but we know that once again, God is in the details. Is there still loss for the girls in this story? Absolutely. In reality, this is the best possible solution for all, but there is still loss. It is still a harsh reality that our family is being formed, because another family broke apart. However, the girls have a story with God written all over it and one day, I hope they will be able to understand that.
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