Our First Home Visits

So our weekend ended up quite a bit different than we anticipated at the end of last Thursday.  The plans were to have our half day visit on Friday and then we’d move to an overnight next weekend.  Well, we found out during the visit on Friday they were going to make us do an additional full day visit and we couldn’t do it on Saturday.  We planned to do it on Wednesday of next week. After more discussion, they changed their minds and let us do a full day on Saturday! That means that we can possibly do our overnight on Tuesday night and bump our full weekend to next weekend when Scott is off which will be our last visit before placement!  Which means…it could be as early as next week that he comes home!

And let me tell you, after this weekend, we are full on ready to hit the ground running with him.  The visits really could not have gone any better.

Friday we got on the road and almost immediately out of nowhere he told us he wished he was already with us.  At home, he was ready to hit the pool and thank you, Lord, it wasn’t raining!  But, thanks to the rain the night before, the water was freezing.

We all suffered through for awhile, buoyed by our enthusiasm.  He’s a great little swimmer, but he was a shivering blue little swimmer by the time we were done.  We all got on the trampoline and later he told Scott no one had ever bounced him like that before.

After we finished swimming, I let the guys play PS3 while I cooked some potato soup for lunch.  Emma set the table and set the game of LIFE up and we played that while we ate. I said grace before dinner and loved being able to thank the Lord for him and his visit so we could hear it.  Around our new table, no less. He gobbled the soup down and asked for seconds.

We had to get him home by then and again, he told us on the way home he wished he was already with us.   As we were leaving his house, he yelled from the front porch, “Bye, Mom and Dad!” He ducked in the house and his foster mom and I shared shocked faces and smiles. Wondering what he would call us was a big question mark for me so to see him already making the transition on his own on our first home visit was just amazing.

We went home Friday not thinking we’d seem him until the next week, but by late Friday evening, we’d gotten approval to get him Saturday as well.

We were all excited!

Saturday went a lot like Friday.  Of course he wanted to go swimming first.  The water was much warmer so we were able to stay in longer.  He laughed when Emma and Lexi did all their silly stuff, we played games and I just about died when he climbed in my float with me without a word and cuddled up since he was cold.  He is very comfortable with affection and I love it.

After swimming, the guys went to Walmart to buy him an extra remote so they could play PS3 together. He scooted up right beside Scott on the couch and the two of them played while the girls played on the computer and I made some salsa.  It was like any other Saturday and yet, better than ever.

After I got the salsa done, we headed outside for a family game of soccer.  Guys against girls and we were clueless. We managed to get the hang of it and had so much fun.  I loved pushing Scott around and running around with the girls too.  I can’t even remember the last time, or any time, we’d actually played a family game like that together. No surprise, but the guys won.

After soccer, we introduced him to croquet.  He liked that too and was a natural. He didn’t know the game by name, but after I started describing it, he said he’d seen it on Spongebob. Is that not adorable?

By then, it was time for dinner and I cooked spaghetti while everyone relaxed.  We decided to play Uno while we ate.  We were still playing after dinner and the girls were talking about me and referred to me as Mommy. He followed suit and  in his reply to them, referred to me as Mommy too.  I took it in stride, grinning while we kept playing.

We had to take him back after dinner.  We were able to sit and talk with his foster parents.  I’m telling you, they are AMAZING.  They are a wonderful Christian couple with two grown children.  They’ve been taking him to a great church in the area and she even told me he accepted Christ a few months back. I got chills up and down when she told me.  They’ve been doing devotionals and teaching him how much God loves him.

You can tell even with his manners how well they’ve done. He puts the seat down in the bathroom, helped set the table and put his dirty dishes in the sink without being asked.

I am so, so thankful for all the hard work they have done.  I feel almost too blessed.  Like, it’s supposed to be hard, but you’re making this so easy for us!

Sunday we went shopping for his room.  We got some sports-themed bedding and decorations to go with the blue walls that he already loves.  And oh my goodness, we went into HomeGoods and did you know there was ONE sign with some balls on it and do you know which name was engraved on the bottom of it? His name!  The only one in the whole store like it! Can you believe that?

The girls are both doing amazing with him too.  The three of them even packed in the back row of the van together on the way home on Saturday.

His foster parents told us Saturday they believe God hand-picked our family for him.  I just feel totally blessed and amazed at what God is doing–what he’s done. He’s so good.