Trial Date

       Well last week we went to court for the trial to terminate our girls' parental rights. The best part was during cross examination they basically got one of the biological parents to admit they were unable to care for the girls' needs. This is the same parent that has attended every hearing, the other hasn't shown up since last year even though they are apparently living together. The parent that isn't showing up currently has a warrant out for their arrest. Well when it was all said & done the judge terminated their parental rights. The order is scheduled to be entered at the begining of July. The parents each have 20 days from that date to file an appeal. Once we left the court room the girls' CASA worker went & spoke with the bio parent who attended & they asked if we would send updates on the girls, we agreed. The CASA workers seem to think they won't be filing an appeal. For one, they realize they didn't complete the case plan & the appeal would be denied, but also they would have to raise the money to pay their own attorney this time. The state has been supplying them with an attorney up until this point. Now basically what will happen is CPS will assign us an adoption worker & that person will prepare the girls' redacted or "de-identified" files. These are the big files of everything that led to the girls being in care, along with everything that happened since. There are many things about their past we just don't know & now we will hopefully be able to find out a little more about their parents' past also. Once we read the file & agree to the adoption, we are just waiting for the 90 day period to be over. Once a parents rights are terminated in Texas, there is a 90 day period before that child can be legally adopted. We have an attorney lined up & names picked out. So we're really excited to just breathe that giant sigh of relief & start living our lives with our daughters! (The picture above is my little Tuck showing off a fish he caught with his Daddy!).

So Much Going On...

So much has been going on getting time to post updates is pretty much impossible! I had finals for school, along with everything with the kids its been crazy! The last 2 days have been so busy! That little guy right there graduated from Kindergarten yesterday. He makes me so proud every single day. He is such a free spirit & walks to the beat of his own drum. I hope he never changes who he is for anyone. I try to remember everyday that its a BLESSING to be a parent, not a job. He is a gift to me from God, not my possession to try & control. I hope he always knows I love him for who he is, regardless of his choices, and my love is never conditional on him pleasing me. Then today was my wonderful husbands 31st Birthday. We've been together over 10 years and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else! He still makes me laugh until I snort & is the best daddy I could imagine for our 3 kids. Speaking of our kids, everyone is doing really well. Tuck is turning into such a sweet brother. I catch him doing little things like holding Sissy's spare hand in the parking lot or brushing her hair for her after bath time. Sissy is doing well & is still making so much progress. She is becoming much more talkative, she has always talked REALLY well, but now she holds conversations & is more expressive. She is bonding well and is potty trained. Dee is doing good. She is nearly walking & is 10 1/2 months old already. We have court in 2 weeks for the trial to terminate parental rights & we are so ready! We have names picked out for the girls and just want our family to be final!

One Step Closer....

Well, we had court this past week. We had to be there early & it was a little far so we had to get up super early to get everyone to school & daycare before we headed out. When we got t court they did the initial docket call. Initially the girls' CPS worker & us were the only ones there. We ended up waiting quite awhile to see the judge until the girls' attorney or Guardian Ad Litem as well as there CASA worker (Court Appointed Special Advocate) were there. Only one bio parent showed up & it's the same one who has been to every court date so far, the other bio parent hasn't shown since last year. When it was our turn we all went before the judge & the girls' CPS worker requested the judge schedule the trial to terminate parental rights. The judge asked what her basis was & she basically stated because neither parent had met the service plan requirements. The judge asked the GAL & CASA worker whether they approved of the non relative adoption & both stated they did. The judge agreed & set a trial for the 3rd week in June to terminate parental rights. We are super relieved & ready for the trial. it hard facing their bio parents especially since this one seems to really love the girls, but is just unable to provide for them for various reasons. I've realized there is a large gap between love & ability.

The Past Month...

I thought I would do a little update since it's been SOOO long. Things are going really well & the girls have been home almost 3 months. D is 9 months old now & she is growing so fast. She is pulling up & has started using sign language. Sissy has been making so much progress in therapy & is attachment & she is also doing well potty training. We have court coming up & things are looking good. This hearing will be for the girls' permanency plan & we are praying they move forward to terminate their parental rights. In Texas the one year in custody is an important milestone. There has to be a final decision made on the case by this point, either to order the girls to be returned to their parents or to allow the adoption. We also have a nice vacation planned soon & we are really looking forward to getting away with our little family. We're super anxious for court but we have faith that there is a plan for the girls' lives & ours. Not only have we made the journey down this path but we're taking our family with us, which is probably the hardest part . All we can do at this point is pray everyday that we can accept whatever the future holds! ( The photo above is a little sneak at the kids' easter photos).

Just a little past the 2 month mark...

I thought I would do a little update since it's been SOOO long. Things are going really well & the girls have been home almost 3 months. D is 9 months old now & she is growing so fast. She is pulling up & has started using sign language. Sissy has been making so much progress in therapy & is attachment & she is also doing well potty training. We have court coming up & things are looking good. This hearing will be for the girls' permanency plan & we are praying they move forward to terminate their parental rights. In Texas the one year in custody is an important milestone. There has to be a final decision made on the case by this point, either to order the girls to be returned to their parents or to allow the adoption. We also have a nice vacation planned soon & we are really looking forward to getting away with our little family. We're super anxious for court but we have faith that there is a plan for the girls' lives & ours. Not only have we made the journey down this path but we're taking our family with us, which is probably the hardest part . All we can do at this point is pray everyday that we can accept whatever the future holds!

We're FOSTER parents?...

Since things have been so crazy, getting posts done has been pretty difficult. Since today is the 1 month anniversary since we brought the girls home I figured I would post an update. I can't even believe its already been a month! We took new family photos yesterday including the girls. Because the girls are still in state custody we are not allowed to share photos of the them. We wanted to get pictures done even though we haven't finalized because by the time we get to finalize & actually share the photos the girls will have changed so much. Lets just say that photos of 5, is WAY harder than photos of 3! I started thinking the other day.....we are actually foster parents. We ended up here completely by accident. I never thought that we could "do" it. Being a foster parent is one of the most challenging things I have ever done in my life. I am amazed every day at our ability to love these girls with the knowledge that we may not get to keep them. Never in a million years did I think we could get up every day & raise two children that we could one day have to give up, but day after day we do it. Of course we are still terrified but we have to just live our lives with our kids. The girls are doing really well and are settling in. The infant has been getting much happier over the last couple of weeks & I am really happy to see her settle in. The toddler has been showing some signs of grief. To be honest I am actually relieved. The first 2 weeks she didn't show any sadness, which is a large indicator of an attachment disorder. I think it just took her a little more time to realize they aren't going back and she has started to grieve that loss. I think she will do just fine in the long run. The grief is a positive sign that she had an attachment to her previous family and actually feels that loss.

How things have been going....

Well the girls have been home with us for 2 weeks tomorrow. We are starting to settling into a little bit of a routine & life is kinda going back to normal (notice I said kinda?). We signed our official "foster to adopt" documents this week. These documents basically name us as their foster parents. We are currently waiting on May to come when the girls have a permanency hearing before the judge. We were initially under the impression this court date was to do a trial to terminate their parental rights, but we have found out its to make a decision on whether or not to go ahead with a trial. We are super anxious for May to come & find out whats in store for the girls. At this point we know there is a possibility their families could get their act straight & regain custody so were cautiously optimistic. The chances for that are slim since the girls have already been in state custody so long & no one has completed the services the judge is requiring & they aren't showing an interest in them either. We are really just trying to enjoy every day we have with them & live in the moment. The girls are adjusting well & moving right along. They seem to be OK with attending daycare while we work 4 days a week.