Parenting Style..

I've done a ton of posts about everything foster/adoption related, but I thought maybe this would be an interesting topic. Obviously everyone has their own parenting style. Chris & I are by far definitely independent parents. By that I mean we raise & encourage independent children. There are a ton of ways & examples so I'll go over a few. First I'm OK with my babies getting bumps & bruises. Yes, I said I let my kids get hurt. To make it worse when they fall down I don't jump up & run to them instilling fear at the slightest twinge of pain. I know, I'm horrible. My reaction to their tumble teaches them THEIR reaction. If I jump up & freak out they think "oh, I should be freaking out about this" even if it doesn't hurt. If they fall & cry, of course I go to them, but not unless they cry or are hurt. Our kids are 9, 5 & 4, guess what? They don't cry or whine over shots, not even getting blood taken. We have never held our children down for shots, instead we talk to them, give them a chance to compose their feelings & make the choice which is much less traumatic & puts them in control. We also don't believe in co-sleeping. Please do not think we are letting our babies cry it out. We are investing the time to teach them to sleep alone & find comfort in themselves. If that means we go into the room to soothe them 20 times a night, that's what we do! We invest that time in our children instead of putting them in bed with us. Our current foster baby is almost 5 months & currently sleeps through the night & has for nearly a month. She sleeps alone in her crib every single night. This same baby has never been allowed to cry for more than a minute. I could show you a million other examples & reasons we are raising independent babies, but I will tell you the reason I think so many parents are NOT. I personally believe (this is where stuff gets controversial) that many parents are raising co-dependent children to stroke their own ego. It makes them feel good when their toddler cries for them & they can run in & save the day. It feels good to the ego when you can just sleep with your baby & your baby "needs" you. It feels good to the PARENT to be needed. But what they do not understand is it doesn't feel good to a child to constantly NEED a parent to be happy, content or confident. To be taught you can't be happy without that person. What happens to these dependent babies when their parents can't be there? When will they ever learn to think for themselves? When will they learn to solve their OWN problems? Don't get me wrong, I am there if they actually get HURT, or to praise them on their accomplishments & to cheer for them when they get it right. I am raising the leaders or tomorrow, not the hand holders of the next generation. With independence comes CONFIDENCE. My children are confident & don't look to me for approval to do things, instead they are the fearless explorers that leap without hesitation! It shows in their interactions & the way they take control when things go astray . They don't wait for me, they don't wait for approval, guidance or hand holding. They figure it out, they use critical thinking & do it themselves. So yes, it feels great as parents when our babies need us. But PLEASE think about how it feels to always NEED someone else to be happy. We are here to guide our children through life not carry them through it.

Here we go...

There have been so many changes lately! Number one is our sweet baby's case is looking like she will be going home to her daddy or a relative. We know things can change quickly & nothing is set in stone, but deep down I think she's going home. Once again it is bittersweet. I love seeing her daddy step up & fight for her & do the work it takes. It's not easy for any parent to be alone raising a child, much less a daddy with a baby girl. As much as we would love to keep her as our own forever, I'm proud for him & she deserves to be fought for!! We are thinking she will be moved to a family member sometime after Christmas while her dad finishes his case plan & we are happy to keep her. Regardless of where her case goes we know it's meant to be & we have no control. We are just going to enjoy her, love her & be here for her.

So, so sweet...

What can I say, this baby is so, so sweet! She is mellow, calm, undemanding, happy, content & just perfect. She has the biggest deepest eyes that are just full of wonder & when she stares at me I just KNOW there are great things in her future, wherever that may lead her. We obviously are still in the VERY early stages of her case & we, again, have no idea where it's headed. I haven't even had a chance to talk to her case worker about where her parents stand, the probability of them working their case plan, or what they are or are not going to try to do. We never in a million years thought we would have 3 girls, and one little boy, but if this is what God has planned for us....I'm OK with that! Meanwhile we are roaring toward Christmas so fast. Its such a great time for us & the kids. We just love baking, shopping & spending much needed time together. Chris always takes vacation around Christmas so we can really just soak it all in. We are all looking forward to that.

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice.........

You guessed it! On Thursday we were SO blessed to bring home a beautiful baby girl from the NICU.

 

 She is so strong, such a fighter & an amazing warrior! She has fought through SO much & overcome so many things. I know the world holds amazing things for her, wherever her future leads. I can't say much on her case except it looks optimistic with the exception of one hurdle. We are already SO in love with her & it just feels RIGHT. It is such a good fit & it just feels so natural & easy. Its a feeling we had with each of our other adoptions. Meanwhile, I ask you to say a prayer, not for us or this special baby, but her mom. My heart breaks for her past, her present & her future. Please say a prayer for her to know what amazing things she can still do in this life, the difference she can make & that she finds the strength to make her dreams come true. 

She needs a miracle. 

Bittersweet.....

And just like that it's all over. We handed over our foster son for the last time today & after 8 months there are no words except that it was very bittersweet.  We're happy him for, proud for his momma & have no worries for his future. But it stings. I have cried so many tears I can't count. Giant, burning, blinding tears. I know people think we go into this knowing this isn't our child & we should be prepared. But the truth is they're wrong. When we bring a child into our home it's to love them 110%, the way every child deserves to be loved by a parent. Not with a guarded heart. It's just like telling a pregnant mom her baby won't make it. Does she love it less? NO!! She loves that baby so, so much. She tries to prepare her heart, but you can never prepare a parent's heart to say goodbye to their child. We loved our foster son the same way. We loved him as much as any Mommy & Daddy have ever loved a child. I'm not sure where our future will lead. Right now we're just taking a few days/ weeks/ months to get back to where we were & for the wound to heal just a little.

Back to Reality...

Well the Summer has ended & reality is setting in. We had an amazing time with tons of amazing memories. We traveled often & spent so much time with our babies. All 3 kids started school last week! They are in 4th, Kinder & Pre-K! The kids are loving being back in school & seeing their friends. As far as our Foster son goes he will be going home in the next few weeks & we started the transition this past weekend. After a case that took WAY too long, his momma was able to pick him up for a whole weekend. I'm not sure I can put into words what it is like to mourn a child you love so much, but who isn't gone. I know deep down even if we could change the outcome, we wouldn't. She deserves her son & he deserves his momma. We just wish it didn't hurt so badly to hand him over & walk away. I know this is what we agreed to, I know this is what we signed up for. But, it still burns like hell & nothing can stop that.

Summer & Swim...team

This summer we decided to sign all 3 kids up for swim team. If you aren't familiar, the schedule is pretty grueling. Practice is 4 days a week & they have swim meets every Saturday, starting at 7am & lasting into the afternoon. The older 2 kids were able to participate at meets, not Delilah. Technically you have to be 4 to join the team, and they let her slide & participate in the practices to give her a head start. I was so proud of both Tycker & Everly in how far they came. They both became stronger swimmers & made huge gains in their swim times. It was SO exhausting, especially traveling to away meets & doing daily practices with the baby in tow. Overall it was a great experience & I'm hoping we can participate again next summer! As far as Cotton goes, he is still with us, but should be going home next month. It will hands down be one of the hardest things we will ever do, but I am also excited to move past that pain & onto the next chapter for our family! We once again will venture into the unknown, but I know God has great plans for us!

Madness..

I know I've been totally MIA! It's been madness around here! After saving forEVER so we could pay cash, we finally bought a camper! It's our new baby. We've been taking it out every 2-3 weeks. So far we have been to The Highlands & saw the San Jacinto Monument, then Jamaica Beach & we got back today from Lake Livingston. We love the camper because is tiny but it has a big slide out & queen size beds fold out from each end! Our little Cotton is doing well. He is growing so fast & is just such a funny baby. His case is headed to reunification & we have been doing visitations. We are expecting him to go home by August.  

Its getting warm......

We are SO happy around our house to see the first signs of Summer. We are BBQing every night on the back porch while the kids play & enjoying the time we have. The kids are looking forward to the end of the school year & swimming! Our foster son is doing well. He has settled in great & we love him to death. His case is looking like reunification, and he will be going home. It breaks my heart to think about giving him up, but I know nothing will change that. It's something I will have to do, WE will all have to do. He has started visitations with his bio family & I am so happy for him, and them. They deserve it, and he needs it too. We are going to do whatever it takes to make this as smooth & painless on HIM as we can. Meanwhile, we are enjoying these sweet first days of Summer!

Case Updates...

Honestly there isn't much to tell! Our little guy is still with us & there have been no big changes in his case. We are still expecting him to go to a relative, but we aren't ready! We don't want him to leave, we love him so much! We will nickname him "Cotton" here! Currently they are evaluating relatives to see who/if anyone is suitable for him. On top of that his case has been transfered to another new worker who only handles intensive cases. She/He basically handles very serious CPS cases & therefore has a much smaller case load & can spend the time his case really needs. Cotton is doing so much better & is really starting to bond. He is learning & growing so fast, and making so much progress. I'm so proud of him & how far he has already come. I just pray if he is meant to leave they do it soon, before it becomes to tough for him. His memories of his family are fading so quickly.

When all is still....

Over the last couple of weeks I've been asked one question, a dozen different ways. "How do you do it", "doesn't it make you sick", "don't you want to cry"? The answer is easy. We do it because he deserves it. It does make me sick. I do cry. I cry when the chaos is calmed, the kids are asleep or things are still. Sometimes in the bathroom, or in the car or while I work. Whenever they don't need me anymore, I can cry. When I stop to think about this little tiny child, so innocent & pure. I think of him like a tiny ball of cotton caught in a wind storm. We are here to cup our hands around him, to protect him from the chaos as much as we can. We have to calm his world, his fears, his hurt. Nothing can ever change what happened that day, that changes his fate forever. It can never be undone & he will never be the same. We just pray for him. We just pray until the storm passes, the clouds blow by & his fate unfolds, we can be here for him. Nothing we do can change this storm from coming, nothing can stop its wrath. Our only control is over what we let change us & who we are. We only have power over our family, our strength & the love we show this little ball of cotton! So until this storm passes, we will hold on tight.

Anderson- Party of Six

I'm late, I know. But, a little over a week ago we welcomed an amazing little boy into our home. As always I can't say too much. I will say he came into state custody because of brutal, horrific abuse to a sibling. That's all I feel comfortable sharing. His case is brand new, we know nothing. His worker is still reading the initial reports & meeting with everyone on the medical team. We know what led the state to take him from his family & rip him from his whole life, but little else. At this point we don't even have a clue where his case is going. There is a possibility he could stay forever, or could be gone any day. His transition to us was & continues to be VERY difficult. We just ask you to pray for him, and his sibling, during this time. Pray they have peace & most importantly healing to overcome their past. We know this won't be easy & we are prepared as we could possibly be.