Our first

We have had our first placement for over a week now. I am not sure if we will get to adopt, but I sure am attached to these three sweet faces. It amazes me how in such a short amount of time I can already love, protect, and feel as these kids are my own.

We have three precious babies. For legal reasons I cannot name names or post pictures. I can however tell you that we have a 3 year old boy, a 2 year old girl, and a 1 year old boy. They are siblings and so beautiful. So here is our story on how we came to know our "littles".

Thursday evening June 23rd we receive a phone call from CK informing us of a sibling group of 3, ages 1, 2, and 3 and asking if we were interested. I immediately said yes and hung up the phone. Those not familiar with the fostering process need to know that at this point other families from other agencies are being called simultaneously. After a brief period of time CPS makes the final decision on which home the kids go to. From the time I said yes to the time of the phone call confirming our placement was 15 minutes. In this 15 minutes we prayed. We prayed that God place the kids in the home they need, that if that home is ours we will gladly accept. We also prayed for provision. We were prepared for one child. For some reason throughout all of our training we had it in our minds we would get one child at a time (silly us!). So I specifically said, "God, you know what we have and what we don't. What we need to take on these kids. You know how much we have in our bank account. We are trusting that if you need these kids in our home, that you will provide for us." After 15 minutes we had our answer. By 11 o'clock that evening we had in our hands 3 lives hand picked by the creator Himself. Out of all the families called that night, He trusted us with them. WOW! What an honor. The next morning when I got up I made a list of everything we needed for these kids. I prayed over the list and by that evening we had all but one item on it (we have said item now). God is faithful, very faithful.

The next few days were very difficult for us. Being thrown into parenthood with children pulled from all they know was well...hard. I began to see this through different eyes. Through how God sees us. That Sunday at church Pastor Joe preached on EXACTLY what God had revealed to me the night before. I love it when I hear God correctly and then it is confirmed through another. I began to see these kids as we are to God. To God we are pulled out of our sin and muck and given a new opportunity. We are given "clothes" of righteousness, safety, hope, we are cleansed of our past. The list goes on and on. Often when we turn to God we cannot shake our past. In the same ways our precious littles do things because of their past, so do we. I must show them grace, patience, compassion, love, understanding, discipline, etc. All of the many things God shows us while we are becoming new. I am also to show this biological family grace and forgiveness. I am to show them redemption. I want them to get these kids back, I have no desire for them to fail and not have their children returned. I am being a good steward over their children. A safe haven for them so they can get their lives back in order.

My prayers have changed. My attitude and view has changed. These children need to see Jesus. Not only through Dustin and I, but through their parents. My prayer is that this family becomes whole again, that these children be in the best place, that God decide the best place. Not a judge or CPS, but the almighty God who put us over their lives for this season, also be the one to heal a family, restore it, and bring about a wholeness.

These kids may or may not go up for adoption. I will love them as though they are my own either way.