A Family of 6

Our family is expanding. Many of you know that Mommy and Daddy became foster parents so that we could watch a particular little boy that they met through church. We have known this little guy since birth and Mommy fell absolutely in love with his one dimple and big brown eyes. Sadly, his biological parents suffer from severe addiction issues as well as have some troubles with the law. Despite many attempts to get help and meet the goal requirements established by the State Child Protection Services, these two individuals were unable to follow through with their necessary things in order to regain custody of this awesome little boy. But while attempting to make things right, the parents had a little fun and VOILA! this little boy we love so much became a big brother to a little girl who shares his beautiful brown eyes and smile. So what became a passion for one little kiddo grew into two. While we are dissappointed and sad that their natural parents continue to suffer from their addictions, we are excited as well. WHY? You ask? Well.... because we are now their permanent family. Yep. The courts have decided that since these kiddos have been in foster care for two years and no progress has been made by the parents, they decided that they needed a permanent home. Last Wednesday, we became that home. We welcome little Victoria (age 1) and little Jo Jo (age 2) into our family and hopefully in a year or two we will have adoption paperwork that makes it a little more official. It is a long process for parental rights termination which is why there is a delay in the beginning of our adoption process, but regardless, the courts have named us Jo Jo and Victoria's permanent home. Can we tell you just how excited we are? First, Jonah is now a big brother and he is AWESOME at it. Helping Mama with the diapers (yeah, there is three of us in diapers) and makes sure we all hold hands while in the parking lots. I am a big brother again and Jo Jo shares my passion for big cars, trucks, trains, and especially motorcycles. Mommy loves having a girl in the house and Victoria is officially the best dressed pre-walker there is in town. We're talking hair bows, dresses, and pink galore. Having our family double like this is causing some transitional issues but that is to be expected. We are busy and if you plan on talking to anyone on the phone at our house, plan for many interruptions and to shout so you can be heard over all the ruckus. Mommy's very organized skills are coming into play in a major way. She plans all the meals ahead of time, lays all our clothes out before bed, has the coffee pot programmed (very important) and keeps the calendar open at all times. Daddy is great at helping during meal times and cleans up the mess after dinner while Mommy does all the baths. Hooray for us! We are so excited to have our new siblings. We can't post pictures online yet because they are still technically foster children for a little while longer. But if you want to send us an email, we'll be happy to email you back with a snapshot to family and friends. Be patient, it might take a while for Mommy to get back to you (especially if you call) but she'll get there. Eventually. Yep. 4 small kids to blame for that one.