First Placement Update

I've gotten several phone calls and emails asking how is it going with Z?  That tells me I'm not doing a very good job here on the blog.  :)

Has it only been six days he's been here with us?  Feels like much longer than that, but maybe its just because we've seen him regularly since we first met him on March 20th.  There's so much to tell and at the same time not much at all.

So much because it has been a very involved process, but not much because, outside of the social worker realm, there has been very little "drama".

Right now we are just dealing with what I would consider to be typical stuff....typical anytime you have a new roommate, or spouse, for that matter.  No, we don't take a new towel everyday and leave it on the floor after our 25 minute showers.  Yes, we all bring our own plates to the sink when we are done eating. We need to be a little quieter for a bit while Aiden in napping.

People ask me how the kids are doing.  This question always confuses me a bit, probably because I spend so much time in my bubble world.  Why, they're thrilled to have another person around, of course!  All three of them are of the-more-the-merrier mindset.  More people = better party...duh.

I am so confident that this is God's plan for us, which helps me when I start wondering what we've done.   For instance, my 2 year-old is now saying Dang! which is Z's go-to word, that is already used less than when he got here even though I haven't said a word about it.  Actually, Aiden says Dang...Mom, I said dang!

There is SO much to teach him and a great deal of it will just come by example...what he sees and hears and feels here in our home.  Things like letting girls go first or not interrupting adults are foreign concepts to him.

So is marriage.  Funny story...the other day the social worker was asking him about a book he is reading.  She asked if he had also seen the movie.  Excitedly he answered, no, but Shaun....her boyfriend...is going to take me!  Yes, my boyfriend of 21 years now.  :)

It broke my heart to drop him off at school last Wednesday, his third school this school year.  On my walk home, alone, I cried.  None of this is fair.  He is one of SO many children who are asked to do big, scary things through no fault of their own.

We are unexperienced, imperfect people trying to care for this broken boy.  We will surely make mistakes and not do every thing exactly like we should, but he will undoubtedly be covered in prayer.

He's loving church and is quickly making friends there.  We enrolled him in baseball, which he'll be starting soon.  Actually, he and Shaun went to the batting cages today and Shaun said he's a natural.  He also came back with a brand-new glove and is quite pleased with himself.

Its going to be great watching him grow and change...for now, we're just taking it one day at a time!

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

James 2:14-17