Foster2Forever

by

Introducing Our New Son

On December 15, 2009, I received a call that changed our lives. Mostly, it changed the life of this infant boy, only 3 months old at the time.

I fell in love at first sight. A first for me as I didn’t believe in love at first sight before that day.

Our Lil Bit is beautifully and wonderfully made!

Our Lil Bit scared us so many times. Numerous hospital stays and TWO broken arms!

Lil Bit loves his brother, Stinkpot, and asks for him first thing everyday! I love watching their relationship grow.

As our Lil Bit grows up, his smile warms my heart every step of the way!

23 months and 3 days later, he is our son!!! We are now officially a FAMILY!

Thank you for your support over the last two years. Every comment you have made, has made our journey easier.

May God shower you with His beautiful blessings as he has our family!

Much love and hugs!

by

Our Lil Bit Has a Newborn Baby Brother!

In foster care, one phone call can instantly change lives. If you follow Foster2Forever on Facebook and Twitter, you already know that we received that call yesterday.

We are so excited to be adopting Lil Bit tomorrow and are busy preparing for the big day. I was blindsided yesterday morning when I received a call from our caseworker.

“Lil Bit’s birthmom gave birth to a healthy, full-term baby boy that will be released from the hospital tomorrow. The State is giving you the first option for placement.”

WHOA!!! Gulp! A day before Lil Bit’s adoption! A newborn! Another boy! Another probable adoption! Wow! Overwhelming! A decision that can change a life to be made quickly!

I called FosterDad. His assistant answered. He was in a meeting.

“I need FosterDad to call me immediately!”

She was concerned at the tone of my voice. I assured her that everything was fine, and told her about the call. We both laughed and agreed that FosterDad was going to freak out.  She assured me that he would be sitting down when he called back, and I asked her to record his reaction.

His reaction was disbelief and just flat-out overwhelming shock.  I could hear his assistant cackling in the background.

We had a huge decision to make. I reached out to our Facebook friends – you are the best!  I was struggling until I read what Shawn wrote:

“Look back to your post on Nov 10th at 11:43 am.”

That post was related to our situation with Stinkpot’s care and read:

When feeling down and confused, blessings from above can make you soar above the clouds! Thank you, Lord, for your unexpected blessings!

I cried realizing that this baby was an unexpected blessing, and there was a reason for this call.  Thank you, Shawn!

THEN I RECEIVED ANOTHER PLACEMENT CALL!

A caseworker from Austin called later in the afternoon:

We are calling to inform you that STINKPOT‘s birthmother gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and we would like to place the newborn with you.

YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Both my boys become big brothers the same week!  TWO NEWBORNS???  TWO more boys??? Twins!!!

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!! Good thing I was laying down at the time. I AM ONE FREAKED OUT CHICK!

I stammered why I am laughing so uncontrollably.  Fortunately, this seasoned caseworker knew what was going on and promised to call right back.

His instinct was right – the message had gotten mixed up along the way and it was, in fact, Lil Bit’s birthmom that had given birth, not Stinkpot’s.  (I had thought she was in prison.)

A LIFE-CHANGING DECISION

We have a HUGE decision to make! FosterDad felt uneasy about adding the newborn baby to our family given Stinkpot’s current adjustment issues.  I felt uneasy about saying no to this newborn baby when we fought so hard to keep Lil Bit.

I needed to talk to the baby’s caseworker.

She called last night, and I shared our concerns and how much we are struggling with the decision. She understood. Apparently, the State has no other homes lined up for this baby.

My first concern has to be with Stinkpot, and that right now adding a baby may shake up his world  more than he can handle right now at this moment.

I asked to be kept informed of the case.  I feel sick for saying no.

by

Applying for Foster Care Subsidy

We are adopting Lil Bit, our 2-year-old foster boy, on National Adoption Day!!!    Only 23 months and 3 days after that 3-month-old baby was placed in our home.  It took only 23 months…

On Saturday, we met with our State adoption worker. He gave us forms to complete for Lil Bit’s adoption.

The first form is a 4-page Child Information Form, which asks many detailed questions about the child’s personality, eating habits, bedtime and wake-up schedule, development, etc.  This form is mainly useful for children being adopted by a family other than the foster family.  However, we are still required to complete the form.  We completed this form for our Stinkpot’s adoption, over 2 years ago now.

I Actually Go By "Bob Visual Novel" Now

click for photo credit

The other form is the Adoption Assistance Request (Form 2250), i.e. request for subsidy. We did know that a minority or older child or sibling group was eligible for subsidy for medical coverage and Texas college tuition assistance; however, we did not realize that there could be monthly financial assistance to raise adopted children.  The adoption worker also pointed out that our attorney’s fees could be covered for the adoption.  We did not know about these incentives.

In Texas, the foster children eligible for subsidy generally are the harder-to-adopt:

  • Minority children (including Hispanic) over the age of 2;
  • Any child over the age of 5;
  • Disabled children;
  • Sibling groups.

However, even with these incentives, there are over 100,000 children in foster care waiting for their forever families.  Maybe you can adopt?

Thanks to our friends on Facebook for all your support! We are in the home stretch to adopt our baby boy! We will keep you posted as we go through this process…

by

ANOTHER Investigation of Our Foster Home

A few weeks ago, our 2-year-old foster boy, Lil Bit, climbed onto a dining room chair while our backs were turned and broke his elbow…for a second time! Yes, the exact same elbow!  After our 26-hour hospital ordeal, we knew what was coming next….

The following Wednesday evening at church, as we were enjoying a catered meal of smoked barbecue brisket, Cole slaw, potato salad, and Oreo cookie pie, FosterDad’s cell phone began chirping its techno song alerting him that he was receiving a call.

It was an investigator with Child Protection Services: he was at our home!  FosterDad, always the quick-thinker never wanting to miss a church service, invited the investigator to our church to conduct the interview before our Bible study began.  Lo and behold, it was the same investigator!

FosterDad sat in the sanctuary for his part of the interview while I was herding preschoolers.  (With their affinity to climb onto the pulpit, one would believe they would have an early calling to minister.  My personal belief is that it is an act of defiance!)

Finally, we were able to drop the kids off into their classrooms, it was my turn for the interrogation interview.

The interview process took longer than I anticipated so I was going to be late for class; however, to complete the investigation, the investigator had to visit our home.  So much for “Staying in Love” this week.

I drove home, showed him the infamous dining room chair.

“Sir, notice that we have no coffee table in our living room, just a lone rug amongst the sofa suit. That is because our dear foster child is a climber.”

I even showed him how we have the coffee table lying on its side in a closed-off room. “We are doing our best to keep this child safe.”

By the end of the interview, the investigator says: “My daughter is the same age, and she is a climber, too. Just this weekend, I caught her by her shirt before she hit the floor.”

I feel much more calm about this investigation report….

by

Another Investigation

For those of you that don’t follow Foster2Forever on Facebook or Twitter, our family had another traumatic event this weekend concerning our Lil Bit.

Our Lil Bit is 2 years old now, and he is a climber. We have removed the coffee table and end table from our living room for this reason. He is even using his potty chair–as a step stool.  We are constantly getting on to him.  However, we need to grow eyes on the backs of our heads…

On Saturday evening, while our backs were turned, Lil Bit climbed onto a dining room chair and fell onto the tile floor. Onto his previously fractured elbow. Snap!

The Saturday night at the hospital crowd caused us to have a L-O-N-G wait. It must have been “Bring Your Kid to the ER for a Runny Nose” Day at the hospital. (The doctor shared this with me.)  The x-ray showed a much worse fracture than the first – one that would require surgery – that night! At another hospital.

At 11 p.m. on Saturday night, our Lil Bit had his first, hopefully last, ride in an ambulance as he was transferred to Scott and White in Temple.

ambulance-child-seat

Lil Bit had 5 orthopedic specialists working on fixing his little arm. The doctors were concerned about nerve damage that could affect his ability to grasp. After numerous x-rays and consultations, we finally got into a hospital room at 5 a.m. with surgery scheduled for 8 a.m.

Time for a quick power nap!

Did I mention that our other son, JD, was with us? Awake the entire night!  However, he had slept 6 hours before we took him to Temple.

We awoke at 7 a.m. when Lil Bit was wheeled down to the operating room for the 8 a.m. surgery. The surgery lasted 45 minutes plus the surgeons were able to correct the fracture from last time.

Lil Bit slept most of Sunday so he wasn’t discharged from the hospital until last night.  He slept well last night and is playing and laughing this morning.

We’ve reported the injury and now just waiting for the next investigation into our foster home….

by

We Are FINALLY Adopting our Foster Boy!!!

It’s really going to happen! We have set a date for the adoption!

Our 2-year-old foster son, Lil Bit, will officially be ours on

National Adoption Day in November!

national-adoption-day

This has been a very long journey.

We were blessed with our Lil Bit nearly 2 years ago at only 3 months old.

foster-child-adoption-christmas

Then we received the call that he would be moving in with a distant family member with a CPS history (against his birthmother’s wishes).

We wanted to keep Lil Bit safe; and with the encouragement of his birthmother, we decided to fight the system.

Our God performed miracle after miracle!

At 2 years old, he will FINALLY officially become our son!

I can’t wait to show you that amazingly cute face (and eyelashes to die for!)

Thank you so much for your support over the last nearly 2 years!

20110831-093748.jpg

Lil Bit loves to wear Mommy's shoes. Dad doesn't think it's cute.

Hugs,

~Penelope

Romans 8:28

by

Our Foster Child Still Lags Behind

Early Childhood InterventionOur foster child, Lil Bit, turned 2 years old last week!  He has grown so much from that 3-month-old infant brought to us nearly 2 years ago. However, he still seems to be a bit behind other toddlers his age.

Last weekend, we attended a birthday party for his class at day care. All the children in his class have birthdays within a month.  As I was watching the other children at the party, I realized just how far behind the others he actually is.

Although Lil Bit is receiving speech therapy through Early Childhood Intervention, other children his age:

  • Have a much larger vocabulary,
  • Talking in short sentences, and
  • Are in the advanced stages of potty-training.

Also, during the party, he would not let me put him down. (my back is killing me this week from carrying around the 25-pound little tike for 3 hours)

I realize that each child is an individual and develops an their own individual rate.  However, it saddens me for him.

Will he struggle to keep up his entire life or will he eventually catch up?

I realize that God has a perfect plan for our Lil Bit, but I do struggle during the mean time…

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11

by

Our Foster Baby Talks!

Early Childhood Intervention

We have been concerned about our little foster boy. At 18-months-old, our Lil Bit just wasn’t talking.  He would babble, but would say very few words and rarely call for mama or dada. (At 18 months, Lil Bit should have been saying 8-10 words)

In March, Lil Bit was evaluated by Early Childhood Intervention and was markedly behind in communication. An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) was developed to assist us in helping Lil Bit catch up, with an emphasis on speech therapy.

Since then, Lil Bit has had speech therapy twice a month.  Many times, the speech therapist was teaching us techniques to encourage him to talk:

  • Encourage him to say a word when he wants something, such as juice, ball, mama, please, etc.
  • Give him a choice of 2 toys with which to play. “Car or train?” And wait for him to say a word.
  • Praise him enthusiastically when he does say a word, even if it’s not pronounced correctly.

After a few months of speech therapy and working with him, Lil Bit decided to talk! He just started talking. And it’s so stinking cute!!!

  • “Peas!” with his hand on his chest. For Please.
  • “Choo-Choo!” when he sees a train.
  • “Eyeyuyoo!” after I say, “I love you.” Then he gets a big raspberry on his belly. Lots of giggles.
  • “Tee-ta” for his brother’s name. That’s funny.

When I sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, Lil Bit will chime in on “star”, “are”, “high”, “sky”!  And he has musical talent just like the rest of us in the family. Ouch!

He says “Amen” when we sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

And he tries so hard to sing along with “Hey, It’s Franklin”  when the PBS show begins. All that comes out is “spend” & “you” but not pronounced, more like “eeennn” & “oooooo”.

I’m having such a fun time enjoying him!!! These are very proud mommy moments!

What have been your favorite words or phrases your child has said while learning to talk???

by

Our Foster Baby is a Citizen of the United States!

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20th, our 23-month-old foster boy, Lil Bit, became a citizen of the United States!!!am flag light crossThat means 2 things:

We were hoping to finalize his adoption before Labor Day; however, our caseworker balks at that. Does anything ever move quickly?

Our next course of action is to get our new citizen a Social Security card so that we can file an amended income tax return to claim him as our dependent…

I’m Clever

Sway