Stretched

We got our 10 day notice yesterday that our trio is heading home.

A few days shy of 6 months.

It's incredible to look back on this half year journey. They came to us late one night as a temporary placement while the agency looked for a long term placement. We said we wouldn't take 3 kids - we would only do one at a time. Less than 24 hours later, we claimed them as ours. I couldn't let them go. I couldn't let them relive a new home all over again. I couldn't pack up their clothes in that trash bag and ship them out.

For 6 months I have loved them like my own. I have gotten up in the middle of the night and rocked a baby, wiped up puke, rubbed backs and bellies, went to numerous doctor appointments, brushed teeth, wiped tears, gotten the best hugs, played with cars, made lots of puzzles, rediscovered preschool loves, and cried over the stress of it all.

I'd do it all over again. And I will, with another child.

This time with these nuggets has stretched us as individuals and as a family. We doubled the amount of children in our home and that has caused some sharing of attention and space. We have had to live with uncertainty for a long stretch of time - nothing in Foster Care is a "for sure". And our once quiet house has turned into a non-stop noise machine.

We are going to take the next couple of months to devote on our bio kids and each other as a couple. We will refocus and do it all over again because... well, that's what we've been called to do.