So in March, we were contacted by a DCFS worker in Salt Lake who said they had a six year old they wanted to place. She wasn't actually in DCFS custody, but it was a disrupted adoption, and they needed a family as soon as possible.
They took our home study, considered us, and within a couple of days, called and told us we had been selected for "B" or Brianna, as she will be called here. We were excited, but just a bit nervous. Certainly an 18 year old was too old to blend into a new family; but would a six year old be too young for us? We are not spring chickens!
However, we prayed and fasted about this, and decided, over and over, that we felt good about Brianna. Our faith and ability to know we can have answers to prayers has been tested to the limit with the past failed attempts at adoption. Can we do this? For some reason, we believe we can.
So, after five weeks of transitioning her, last night after her therapy visit, she moved in for good. We were going to wait a few more days, but she kept asking to come back home with us, and we had heard how bad her behavior had been last week with her family. (It has got to be hard feeling caught between two families, and not even understanding the reason why.)
So after we decided to go ahead and bring her home last night, it was rather bittersweet, however, as she was told she could back to live with us for a really long time. Bittersweet as she at first, happily said goodbye to her adoptive father, who really has been her almost sole support for quite some time. Bittersweet after saying good bye to her dad and driving away, she began crying saying she missed her family. We called him up and talked to him briefly, and she felt better. We will continue to do that as often as she needs, and allow visits as much as long as it is helpful.
I don't think she will be an easy child, however. She is frequently disobedient or likes to take control, but with gentle reminders, she seems to be able to be pulled back into compliance. We are applying our Beyond Consequences training, which has been very helpful so far.
We have already bonded with her quite a bit; she is especially close to Mark, I think because she is used to dads being the caretakers. It's good for him, but I do my share of caretaking too. Bedtimes are sweet moments; we have developed a routine, two stories, a prayer, two songs, usually Twinkle Twinkle, and I am a Child of God. And back scratching. Fifteen minutes, and then she is out.
It's 6:36 a.m., and she just came into our room, said good morning, and said how much she liked being here. She then said, "I like you guys. I like you Karen. Can I borrow your Ipad?" (Lol. I contemplated letting her know she could borrow my Ipad, even without telling me she liked me.) But then she went on, Ipad in hand. "I love you guys." We reaffirmed we love her too.
And we do. We love children! And so far, she's not hard to love. No, I don't think it will be easy. (Okay, I know we are still "honeymooning" here, more than I know probably. I will keep you posted on that!)
We are taking a step back, and a step forward, as we begin the task of raising a young child. Will we do things the same as we did with our biological children? Some things like reading lots of books, playing outside, going to the park frequently. But other things I will try to learn from how our grown children parent: watching closely to see we are consistent and follow through with expectations, getting her involved in sports, or other activities, as she is able, looking for educational activities for her to participate in, and using, we hope, LOTS AND LOTS of patience! Which truthfully, I think I've learned from my adorable grandchildren, more than anyone.
And despite being "new" parents, I hope and pray to be as involved I hope we can stay involved with our grown children's lives, and in the lives of our grandchildren. Which I think we will because we have Brianna to engage in all kinds of life experiences with them. And I hope we can still do some of the things we have come to love: family history, being with friends, traveling, bicycling, art. If that's just not too much to ask.
So here is our new adventure. We hope THIS time, we can succeed. What is success? Just loving her, teaching her, hoping for the best, but not expecting miracles necessarily. However, as my wonderful sister in law who was adopted as a five year old told me the other day, "It's so cool you're adopting her. I hate to think where I would have been without being adopted as a child."
Do we expect miracles? Maybe the miracle is in having someone else to love and to give to and do for, and to become the best WE can be, while we hope for the best she can be. We are grateful for the opportunity.
