Well we're at it again. If you haven't been following us and don't know what I'm talking about, we have baby #5. But let me go back and tell you how he came to us.
Remember 2 1/2 years ago when we got Brock and Avery? Life was turned upside down, but in a good way? Well shortly after we got them, we kept feeling like we weren't done. My only response to that thought was "Are You Kidding?" And I pushed it from my mind because I was so overwhelmed with the emotions and physical drainage of adding 2 kids to our family (oh yeah... and the puppy).
Well last summer as we finalized Brock and Avery's adoptions and took them to the temple to be sealed to us, that little nagging thought started creeping back. It was received better but I still wasn't ready. Avery was just 2 and had (felt like) just grown out of throwing her food and screaming during every meal. She's still a loud little girl but I suppose her screams had turned into words and she could understand us better. Brock was 3 and speaking better, life overall seemed to be calming down a little bit. As much as life can calm down with 4 kids that is.
There was a moment last July when I felt so strongly that I should pray for "our next child". Whoa! That took me by surprise but I did pray for him and continued to off and on all fall though I only had the feeling to do so that one time. I mentioned it off and on to Matt but we were both just feeling like we could breath again after the 2 year whirlwind we'd just been in. Then at the beginning of December I had a very nagging feeling that we needed to call our social worker and see if she had anyone for us. After talking it over with Matt, I called her the next morning.
What happened next is interesting and still a mystery to me. I have to explain to you that when we receive a call about a child, we have a decision to make. We pray about it and talk about it and really try to make the right decision based on what little info we have.
Our social worker called us that same night. She had a little boy, 8 months old, who needed a home that night. However he had an older brother by a year. If you do the math, you'll realize that if we took both of them, we would have 4 children under the age of 3, and all having birthdays within the same couple of months, turning 1,2,3 &4. I absolutely couldn't do it, and it broke my heart. I wanted the little one but also knew they'd want the boys to be together, and they should be. The boys were split to 2 different homes that night. That nagged at me. I contacted her at the beginning of January and they still hadn't found a home for them to be together. I kept praying to know what to do but I just knew I couldn't take both. I figured if they ended up splitting them, I could take the little one but I also knew the thought of raising a child, knowing I could've had his sibling, would tear at me. A couple of weeks went by and I told Matt, I just couldn't stop thinking about them. I contacted our social worker again, on a Monday morning, and she said they had found a home for them to be together. YAY! I was so happy.
There was another little guy our worker called us about in the middle of January. However by the end of the day they realized he had an older sibling that had been adopted so he went into that family.
I don't normally spell out all the calls we get on children but I want to give a realistic picture of fostering. There are children everyday who need homes and as foster parents, we try our best to get the right children into our home. I've also learned that our loving Heavenly Father takes care of His children and knows which ones belong in which family.
The Wednesday (January 22nd) after I'd called about those 2 boys, our worker called and asked if we were ready. She told us about a baby boy born the Friday before who looked like he'd be adoptable. That's about as close as we get to adoptable in the foster world. I talked to Matt, I prayed, and we said yes.
Then my day turned into a whirlwind. I was schooling Michael and Aliyah and that quickly went downhill. I was so excited, frantic, excited, nervous, EXCITED! And I didn't tell the kids. I had to keep it quiet so Matt and I could tell them together at lunch. That was hard! My visiting teacher (neighbor) came for her visit and I stepped outside to tell her our news. She handed me the message to read on my own time and took home a box of bottles and clothes to wash. FINALLY Matt came home and we could tell the kids.
They were thrilled, shocked and EXCITED! and Shocked. You see, we didn't tell anyone, I mean ANYONE we were waiting for a child because, well it just happened really fast. I realize a month may be enough time to tell someone but it was a month of emotionally and mentally preparing ourselves for what was to come.
Around 5pm there was a knock at the door. In walked the county worker with a car seat filled with blankets and a tiny baby buried in there. (Our Angels worker was already here.) I picked up that tiny baby and fell instantly in love. You're not supposed to do that when you foster, well you can and I have, but it makes the heart hurt more when things come up along the way.
Our first few pictures with baby Kinyon.
Matt came home to a new baby that day. This is not the first time. He's always at work when the kids arrive. It's how we roll. We marveled that night, after the kids were in bed, at this beautiful baby boy who, just days before, had been in our Heavenly Father's care. We talked about how one phone call changes lives forever. Our social worker had to choose between us and other parents waiting for a child and she chose us. He could've been sent to any family but he came into ours. It's a miracle and we see God's hand in all these little dealings to get this child into our family.
We can't seem to get enough of him. He's held constantly, all the kids adore him.
The next morning Aliyah and I were downstairs holding Kinyon and talking. Avery came down and sat behind us. When I turned to look at her, she had her arms folded across her chest, her head down and the biggest glare she could possibly muster. If she could put all her thoughts into words, I imagine her saying, "he's still here?!" He was here for 2 days before she decided to hold him. Brock has held him but he doesn't seem to interested in that. He loves to sit next to him and comment on his tiny body. He's really sweet with him.
The timing of Kinyon coming into our family was impeccable. My parents are leaving for 18 months to serve a mission in Liberia. They leave in 3 weeks. They had planned to visit us before leaving and booked their tickets for January 28th. The week before I almost told my mom we were waiting for a baby but I decided not to. I was planning on telling her when she came to visit the following week. As it turned out, I sent my parents pictures of Kinyon the night we got him and got to tell them they were new grandparents. The got to meet him a short week later. Had Kinyon come a week or 2 later, he wouldn't have met my parents for another couple of years. This was a miracle and tender mercy to me and my parents. I'm so glad they got to meet him.
When Kinyon was 11 days old he had a doctors appointment. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20 inches long. This is the first weighing we have of him.
You may be wondering about the name. Kinyon is a name we gave him. It was Matt's great-grandfathers middle name and we had thought about it for Brock's middle name but it didn't quite fit. That was another thought that kept coming to me, our Kinyon is still out there...
Well we've found our Kinyon and are hoping and praying we get to keep him. Time will tell and I will keep you posted as court dates come and go. Our next court date is Feb 24th where they decide if they will go through the reunification process and what that will look like for our case.
We would love and appreciate any prayers offered on our behalf as we work to make this little guy a permanent member of our family.
