"I just had the thought pop into my mind that I am supposed to take the little boys you promised to babysit (she had no foster kids in her house at the moment) because you are going to have those girls."
John came home from work and I filled him in on all that was going on. I told him what my friend had said and he replied, "I just had that exact thought as you were talking." Then he told me that he was open to this idea. He's always been the more open one. I am the one that has been very hesitant to have school aged kids. I am a homeschooler in both senses of the word. I was homeschooled and I now homeschool all my kids. As such, the public school system is unfamiliar territory to me and that makes it scary. I don't know how it works and I have enjoyed not being tied to its' calendar and rules. You can't homeschool foster children, so taking school aged kids commits me to using the school system. This has nothing to do with my thoughts on schools today or anything of that nature. I know the school here is supposed to be a good one. It's really more the unfamiliar territory thing that makes me hesitant. I also have been afraid that in keeping my children home, but sending off the foster kids that they may feel rejected. Will they feel like I keep my "real" kids home with me and send off the ones I don't love as much? Will they understand that it has to be that way? Will they understand why they have to come home and do homework while my children get to play? I don't want to cause any rejection issues for kids who are already hurting. So taking in babies and toddlers kind of avoids all that.
I continued to pray. I told the Lord I would do it if he wanted me to but that the thought of it scared me. After the kids were in bed (this all happened last Saturday evening), John decided to get on Craigslist and look at vehicles. He had been watching for months for a 9 passenger Suburban and had not seen one listed. We hadn't realized they are not very common. So imagine his surprise when he gets on Craigslist and sees that a 9 passenger Suburban was just listed less than one minute from the time he entered his search query. That kind of blew both our minds. We decided we would go look at it the next day. We went to church the next morning and as I got ready to go I said, "Lord? Three more?? Do you really think I can handle this??" Immediately Philippians 4:13 came to mind. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The pastor talked about communion and Christ pouring himself out for us. He asked, "Who is Christ asking you to pour yourself out for today?" Okay, Lord. I hear you. My mind was spinning. I asked a few girlfriends of mine to pray. On the way home, I had a conversation with the girls' social worker and got some additional information. We set up an appointment to go see the Suburban at 7pm. After lunch, we were talking about how we were going to pay for this vehicle. John had finally sold the rest of his soybeans from last year, and after all the expenses he had some money left over. This money was placed in his business account and set aside for farming expenses this year. He told me he would need it and to not even think about it. So we haven't thought about it.....so much so that he didn't even remember what was in there. I should mention here that on Saturday, John's monthly business bank statement had arrived in the mail, but he had not yet looked at it. As we sat around discussing the Suburban, he mentioned that he did have some money but he didn't have what was need to cover this purchase entirely and he didn't know how we'd cover the rest. He couldn't remember exactly how much was in there. He suddenly remembered his statement and decided to go look at it. His eyebrows raised and he said, "Oh. I have more than I remember having. Not sure why I have this amount in here, but I do have enough to cover this." So it was decided that since the van was worth more than this Suburban (it's an '04), we could make the purchase now and then sell the van to replenish the account. John wondered if the seller would take a business check from people he didn't know anything about and decided to bring the statement along as proof of sufficient funds.
Nathanael and Micah had a piano recital (future post coming) that afternoon and after that we made the 90 minute drive to go see this vehicle. We prayed along the way. We both had peace about buying it, so we did. The guy was ok with taking our check because he said he would just hold the title until the check cleared and once it did, he would mail it to us. So we drove home with this:
Well, that was one major item covered. Oh, and I had it within 24 hours of telling the Lord I'd need it tomorrow. So now I had my babysitting covered and I had a vehicle that could hold the kids. It was all happening so fast. We both felt like we were supposed to do this.However, there was still the issue of not being licensed to take in three kids. On Monday morning, the social worker was able to talk to some people and use a loophole in the law that allowed them to give us special permission to take in three kids, since we did have the amount of space they require for 7 kids. Another check on the list. I located a set of bunk beds on Craigslist that I thought would work for us but wasn't sure how we'd pick them up because John works pretty late this time of year and I can't fit a bed and my four kids in the same vehicle. The same foster mama friend texted me that if I needed to do anything, she could come stay with my kids. Okay. So she came over and Luke and I went and picked up the beds. That was the last big check on the list. So by Monday night, all major items were covered for us to take in these girls. So much happened in 48 hrs that I couldn't believe it. But there was now no doubt in my mind that we are supposed to have these girls.
They came on Tuesday evening. Their mama and the social worker were with them. (I had given permission for her to come along.) Everyone was nervous and didn't know what to expect. But mom was so thankful to meet us and know that her kids were with a Christian family. She thanked me so many times. (Remember, I was made aware of this situation by someone I know who is close to this mom. So mom had already been told about our family and that the girls would definitely be safe and well cared for with us.And she knew that it is normally very hard to place three kids together. Sibling groups often have to be split up.)
Things are going really well. These little girls are well behaved and I haven't had an issues with them that are uncommon to all children this age. The 1 yr old is super cute and friendly and absolutely adores John. Actually, you can tell that they are all enjoying having a daddy in their lives and everyone is excited when John comes home from work. The 1 yr old wanted him to rock her to sleep the first two nights. She cried when I tried! I had to run out pretty late that first night after everyone was finally asleep and make the 30 minute drive to Walmart to get them some basics. They didn't have much clothing with them and much of it didn't match or was the wrong size. They didn't have enough undergarments to make it a week without washing and they didn't have any long pants or jeans and there wasn't much that could be worn as church clothes either. It was like Christmas here the next morning when I showed them what I had bought them. The older two are feeling much more comfortable already and all 7 kids are getting along really well. The oldest one is a big kitchen helper and always asks to help me with every meal. Unlike my daughter, she doesn't get bored and want to run off halfway through the job. Speaking of my daughter, Hannah is over the moon excited to finally have some girls here. For the first time in our family's history, the girls outnumber the boys! The one Hannah shares a room with is only 4 weeks older than Hannah. These two are already peas in a pod and you would think they had known each other for years. As for me, I'm doing ok. I am not overwhelmed but I do feel the additional responsibility. And it's an adjustment to have a toddler around again. But we are doing alright. I need to figure out a new routine and am having to figure out how long it takes us to do things now that there are so many of us. Getting ready for church should be interesting for this family that already struggles with being on time for things.
Please keep us all in your prayers as we adjust. Please keep their mama in prayer as well. I cannot share anything about her, but she needs clear direction and for the Lord to move in her life so she can have her girls back. She does love them, I can tell. She really misses them and she calls every night at bedtime. Tomorrow we will have our first visit with her. I'm not sure how the children will react when it is time for mom to leave, so pray for that too please.
I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post and I don' think I can post photos, but I will try to keep you as updated as I am legally allowed to. Thank you for your prayers!
