On Christmas Eve morning, our dear friends were blessed to receive not one but two children. They had been through all the necessary classes and steps and were licensed by the state about a week before Christmas to foster/adopt. They were almost immediately given a four-year-old boy but only had him for a couple of days before he went to live with his father the day before Christmas Eve. As the saying goes, when God closes one door, She opens another. Or, in this case, two as it was only a matter of hours before they were asked if the could take two brothers, a 5 month old and a two year old. Being the wonderful people they are, they opened their home and their hearts to these two little guys.
Yesterday was actually the older one's second birthday. To celebrate, they planned an outing to the zoo which ended up also including the boys' three year old sister, who is still in the crisis shelter awaiting placement. Since everyone who knows me knows what a baby nut I am and we had already planned to get together with them, I said I wanted to go to the zoo, too (I love zoos, although not quite as much as I love babies!) Luckily, they were more than willing for a couple more adult bodies to come along and help wrangle babies/toddlers so hubby and I joined them for the day. I was a little nervous about if all the walking/stroller pushing/toddler lifting would trigger any kind of flare but things went really well and I made it through the day with no pain meds and only a few aches.
I did have to eventually turn the carrying of the sleeping baby over to hubby as he is quite a chunky monkey and I swear their weight doubles when they're sleeping! I was starting to feel the twinges in my neck and shoulders so even though I hated to hand him off, I knew it was the wisest course of action. The kids had a fantastic time at the zoo, a new experience for these little ones who have had an extremely tough life so far. It was more than a little heartbreaking to have to return the sister to the shelter at the end of the trip. She's a sweet little girl and I hope they find a placement for her soon. As much as they would like to, there is just no way my friends could handle an instant family of three ages three and under. They're already a little overwhelmed with an infant and a toddler.
Here's the thing about receiving an instant family: they don't come with anything and you haven't had 9 months to prepare for the arrival. My admiration for our friends is boundless. It seems like they're discovering something new they don't have every hour. Luckily, friends have been coming through with donations of baby gear and other items but there is still so much more that they need, especially warm clothes. If anyone is interested in helping out, let me know. I'm happy to coordinate donations for items, gift cards, or baby clothes and items. Right now the baby is just moving up to 6-9 month items (he's 18 lbs) and big brother is in 24 month or 2T. Everything helps and makes a difference to these two little guys. They might have had a rough beginning but ending up with our friends is the best thing that could have happened to them.
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