Easy Peasy

We are in our third day as a family of 4 and everything is going great.

All I've ever heard was how adding a second child to your family is the most difficult transition. But this little guy is proving that to be 100% wrong!

We had another busy day yesterday. I finished up getting the supplies we were needing and we had our traditional Monday Night Dinner at Darlene's. Today we are going to spend a few hours with my Mom in between her flights. So tomorrow is the first day we will have just being home.

He isn't on any kind of a schedule. I'm having a really hard time getting him to take more then 2 oz of formula at a time and by the end of the day he has only drank about 16 oz. I'm hoping it's just him trying to adjust to his new surroundings.

He still only cries if he's hungry, wet, or tired. And even his cry is sweet!

For the past two nights he has slept 12 hours straight!

Amy came over yesterday to meet him and now we are just waiting on Granny Amber to come home!

I spent yesterday morning on the phone with caseworkers and doctors trying to get everything straight. He still hasn't been assigned a worker, but the county supervisor was sweeter then sweet and very forth coming with the information that she had.

The mother is young and is wanting to work the case plan to get him back. This early in the game it's way to early for that to really mean anything. There are drugs, jail, housing, and work issues that she needs to work through and hold for at least 6 months. Parental visits will start next week and be weekly.

So we still have no idea where this is going. It's already hard for me to think about, but I'm constantly reminding myself that God called us to love him for as long as he is with us and then trust in him from there so I'm trying to do that.

And he makes it very easy to love him.

I'm off to attempt to unpack the last of our vacation luggage and maybe even bathe today!

Turns out it grows.

I know, I know.

I'm a horrible blogger. How could I have had a new sweet man in the house for over 36 hours and still not posted a single picture?!?!

Well, here you go:

He is here. 

He is gorgeous. 

He has the best personality. 

He has only cried if he need to be fed. And he just slept for 12 hours straight.

He is perfect.

We're calling him "Baby V" for now.

He had an exciting night the night they brought him into care and, since we were 6 hours away, spent the night with another family Friday night.

On Saturday morning we called to get an update and they told us he was ready for us to come get him whenever we could get back. 

 So we rented a car and cut our vacation a day short.

And even though I may have whined a little bit (how crazy is that?!?! I think I was just really scared!) he was worth it.

We had to drop our rental car off at the airport, have Darlene pick us up and bring us home to drop our stuff off, and then load back in the car and drive an hour away to pick him up.

It was a long day of driving.

When we walked in to get him, and I saw his little self for the first time, all my anxiety and stress melted away.

He is truely perfect.

And if I think I'm in love, I can't even imagine what to call the way this Big Sister feels about him:

According to her, he is her baby. And the Little Man doesn't seem to mind one bit.

Instant best friends.

Baby V is the most laid back baby ever. 

He woke up one time the first night but went right back to sleep when I gave him his paci. 

Then we decided to go to church and run to Atlanta with some friends and were literally gone all day.

The little bugger just hung out in the Mei Tai all day, just a smiling!

He only cried when his diaper was wet and when I forgot to feed him.

Hey, I haven't had a baby in a while, I forgot they eat so often!

We still have zero facts on his situation. 

All we know is he was removed due to inadequate housing and parental drug use. We also know the grandmother's home was denied for him due to unsafe conditions.

He had a heart surgery when he was born, but is perfectly healthy now. 

He may need to have another surgery around his second birthday, but we are praying for that not to happen.

Just like Josie, he came with next to nothing. He did have a carseat and a couple outfits along with enough diapers to last quite a while.

On the way back from the beach Andrew looked at me and said, "Remember we are working a case plan. Let's try not to get too attached."

But that proved to be impossible.

One look at him and I was smitten.

I know that I am supposed to pray for God's will to be done in this situation, but let me be honest, I'm praying we get to keep him.

I know that is totally selfish since he does have a mother out there.

I used to think that loving Josie was all I could handle. When they placed her in my arms, my heart was just too full.

It turns out, the heart grows.

I'm hoping to hear from his case worker in the next couple days and will hopefully have a better idea of what's happening then.

Prayers are appreciated.

We've Got News!

This little family of 3 is about to be a foursome!

After over a year without any calls from DFACS, they called!

We almost rented a car and headed home right away, but there are a few details with the birth family still being sorted out, but he should be with us within the next couple days.

A sweet little 6 month old baby boy!

Yup, a boy.

Which is slightly humorous since we were so sure we would end up with all girls. But we are more then ready for some snails and puppy dog tails around the Pope House!

He had his first hearing today to grant the state with 24 hour custody and his case will go before the judge a few more times this month with an official case plan presented at the 30 day hearing.

Right now he will strictly be a foster placement. The caseworker warned us that it looks like the family is going to be doing a lot of appeals so there will probably be lots of court dates.

I spent the first 30 minutes after the call being excited and planning everything I needed to get done.

Then I went into panic mode.

I went through scared, to this is crazy, to what are we thinking, to what about Josie.

And then I remembered that God is the one in control. That He called us to love every child that came through our doors as if it were our own until He showed us the rest of the plan.

So that is what we will do.

I'm trying my hardest to leave it in God's hands. It still seems very unreal that I get to care for a baby in a couple days! That part of fostering I will never, ever get used to.

No 9 months of prep here!

Of course I will keep you all updated. Right now I'm asking for prayers to calm my nerves and for God to protect this sweet little boy until he is safe and sound under our roof.

Family Shots

Before our rushed exit from Myrtle Beach, Amber took some great shots of our family.

Hopefully our last pictures as a family of three!

That Amber. She makes us look good!

It's Almost Over

Why is it that the months before vacation DRAG by and then the actual vacation flys?

We only have one more full day before we pack it back up and head back to reality.

Not that my reality is all that different then my vacation life.

We spent the morning riding bikes and bumming it at the beach.

I think seeing Toy Story has revved up Josie's imagination. She spent the morning having a pool party with her "guys" (a tiny Dora set she found).

Then we spent the afternoon at Barefoot Landing for ice cream, merry go rounding, and cow herding.

I'm off to stuff myself with Oreos. Since vacation calories don't count I need to eat all I can before we leave!

Date Night

We've spent the past 144 hours with our families doing lots of family things.

It's been great, but it was time for a little one on one time to be spent however we wanted.

And since the guys and gals don't exactly spend their free time the same way, we decided to have a different kind of date night.

Andrew made sure to wear his "I love my wife" shirt so there wouldn't be any confusion.

And since David spent some time playing footsy with Andrew there was room for confusion.

We did meet up for dinner before we headed on our seperate dates.

David and Andrew went to see Iron Man. It was that or a long walk at a local park.

Amber and I did what we do best. Shopped.

We all headed home around 10 and ended the night with an exciting game of Dominos.

I can't believe vacation is almost over. We have a lot more fun to cram into the next couple days, but I'm pretty sure we will get it all in.

Be Little A Little Longer

I've always felt small standing next to the ocean.

I think it's magical.

And seeing Josie standing there, looking so tiny, took my breath away.

I spend a lot of time with Josie. I hear her talking all day long. But yesterday, with the waves crashing in the background, I really wanted to listen.

We talked about whales and sand. We looked at shells and followed a lady in a purple shirt.

Josie tells stories that are hilarious.

It was a perfect moment.

After her nap we took her to see Toy Story 3.

If you know me, you know I didn't cry. But the thought of Old Baby ending up in a box in the attic did get me sniffling.

I know I have lots of time before I have to deal with her trading in her crayons for a laptop but I'm sure when that day comes I'll look back and wonder where the years went.

She's already growing up so fast.

Slow down Baby. Mama needs you to be little a whole lot longer.

She Sells Seashells

Hunting for seashells is one of the activities on our Summer List and since we are at the beach we were able to cross that one off.

Yesterday morning Josie and I walked over to collect some for her room.

I had a great plan to use the ocean and the shells to teach her about how majestic God is.

But as usual, Josie ended up teaching me.

When we first started our walk I was telling her to find the ones that weren't broken so we could display them when we got home.

"Look for the bright ones that don't have rough edges."

Josie kept picking up broken, dirty, rough shells. I made her drop the first few but then she looked at me and said, "but this one is bewtiful too Mama."

And she was right.

It got me thinking about how we try to display the things in our lives that are clean and crisp. Well put together.

We turn away from broken people and turn our noses up at the dirty parts of people's lives.

Of our lives.

And I realized that when God told us we have to have, "Faith like a child," he wasn't just talking about faith in Him. A child's sees people for what they could be, what's on the inside. Outward appearances just don't matter.

The rest of our walk, I let Josie pick up the shells that she found beautiful.

And when I put them all together it really is a perfect display.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Clean shirts are for sissys.

Soakin' It Up

It's not very often that we get Andrew all to ourselves for 7 days straight and we are soaking up every minute of it.

And soaking up plenty of sunshine, sand between our toes, and salt water up our noses.

Josie has finally decided she isn't scared of the waves and the water is so warm it's perfect for wave jumping.

Josie gets him during the day and at night we get to go out.

Yup, Amber had the bright idea of bringing her 16 year old cousin to babysit! We will never take a group vacation without Abby again!

It's so hot we can only be at the beach for a couple hours before it is just too dang hot. This afternoon we took a little family walk and about sweated to death. Josie got a cupcake then we headed back.

Andrew and David went on a kayak adventure. David just showed back up without Andrew. Turns out he forgot he would have to paddle back as far as he went! Don't worry, David is on his way to pick him up!

This has been one of the most relaxing vacations I've been on. I haven't turned my phone on at all and am trying desperately to stay off of Facebook. Everyone is getting plenty of naps and down time but we still are doing the things we want to. Add in lots of family time and Double Stuffed Oreos and everyone is having a great time!

That's Pretty Good For Us

Last night we all went out to dinner to celebrate our 8th anniversary.

Andrew scoured the Internet and found a perfect place for dinner. A restaurant on the pier with excellent reviews.

Turns out Andrew put a little too much faith in old Yelps Reviews.

Clue Number One:

David called to make a reservation and inquire about the dress code.

Answer?

"We don't take reservations and men can't wear tank tops."

Clue Number Two:

Hour and a half wait, but 20 open tables.

Maybe this guy should have been Clue Number Three.

Even with all these subtle clues, we were still excited for our Fine Dining Experience. Must have been all that sun.

We hung out on the pier while we waited.

Twenty minutes later we were informed they were out of potatoes. When Amber ordered her meal the waitress rolled her eyes and said, "That's gonna take a long time to make."

And she wasn't lying.

I had to laugh when she handed me my plate and told me to "be careful cause they had all been on the warming plates for awhile."

Like how I balance sensible nutrition with my fried stuff?

FYI I didn't touch the veggies. Veggies are not for vacation.

The food was not delicious and our server was less then excellent. At one point she leaned in to Andrew and asked if he had a gun so she could shoot herself. Nice.

The whole thing was so strange we asked for a 10% discount to make up for the long waits and not great service or food.

After convincing the server we seriously wanted her to ask the manager he came over and told us that we did not have to wait and that our service was "actually pretty good for us." Before we could answer the man turned on his heels and walked away.

Turns out he was the owner.

After we waited another 10 minutes for our bill, we headed out.

Somewhere between the mother with 10 children without shoes and the long line of "gentlemen's clubs" Amber pointed out we may be a bit outside our idea of fine dining!

Not sure how we missed all that on the way in!

It was one of those anniversary dinners that I will never forget!

We will be dining in North Myrtle Beach for the rest of our nights out!

We followed it up with some indoor mini golf where Amber and I schooled the guys, then headed home. We were all asleep by 11:30 cause that's just how we roll!