In 2013 we were told that the chance of ever having a biological family was slim to none. Almost that would take a miracle for it to happen at all. It was a hard pill to swallow but we knew that Heavenly Father must have another plan for us because we both knew in our hearts that there were children out there that were meant to be ours. After taking some time to look at all of our options, we kept an open mind to adoption and the possibility of a donor of some sort. All processes were so intimidating as they were all so time consuming and costly!! In the fall of 2013, my sister in law took in a 9 year old foster girl and opened our eyes to a whole world we knew so little about. Watching her work through all of the struggles and new aspects of life as a foster parent, we decided it was something we should look into. We met with the intake coordinator at RISE family services in April of 2014 and started the process to become foster parents in May of 2014.
We worked hard over the summer to prepare our home and our hearts for the adventure ahead. We had many discussions as to what we were open to and what we thought we could handle. We decided that we were willing to take a child from 0-8 years old, boy or girl and we were open to taking in a sibling group. We completed our training classes and were officially licensed as a foster family on August 22nd 2014. The weekend was the longest weekend of our lives as we waited to be placed on the "open beds list" Monday morning.
Monday, August 25th, rolled around and I left for work early in the morning anxious for 8am to roll around when my phone would start ringing! At 8:30 am I received the first phone call. Unfortunately I missed the call and had to call them back. The woman on the other end told me she had a sibling group of 4 that needed placement, however the 9 month old and the 2 year old had already been placed. My heart sank as I realized that I was too late. She told me she still had the older sisters to place, an 8 year old girl and a 6 year old girl. The thought of it intimidated me to no description. But, with the training I had received I knew that just because I said I was willing didn't mean that DCS would choose me to take the girls. I hesitantly told her we would be willing and she told me to keep my phone close and wait for another call. At 10:30 that morning I received the second call, we had been placed with the two sisters and I would receive another call from the case manager to set up a drop off time. My heart dropped as a realized that in less than 24 hours I was going to have 2 little girls in my care. I called Jimmy with apprehension and excitement to tell him the news. He immediately started to cry, nerves, excitement and anxiety filled the air. We knew we were ready for this but were so nervous at the same time.
All day long I waited for my phone to ring to tell me to leave work, but no call came. I got home and made sure everything was ready, although was losing hope that they were coming. I contacted my RISE agent and she told me that if I didn't hear anything by the end of the night to let her know and she would place us on the list again on Tuesday. The high I had been feeling was slowly fading as I was realizing it may have been too good to be true. We went on with our night as normal and had some friends over to eat dinner and swim. At 8:00 pm, while in the pool, my phone rang! I answered in slight disbelief, but was excited to hear on the other end that the girls were in the car and on their way! The transport agent told me their names, Hilary and Haylee, and told me they were tired and hungry. Again, the pounding of my heart began as I quickly gathered my thoughts and decided what to do next. Our friends were filled with joy for us and told us to let them know what happened as they gathered their kids and left.
About an hour later, another call came in, letting us know they were still on their way but Haylee was complaining of itchy legs. The transport agent wanted to make sure we had some sort of cream or benadryl to help with that. My first clue that I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was! We quickly ran to the corner to grab some supplies and pulled back into the driveway just in time. A small white sedan pulled up to the front of our house and an older woman stepped out of the drivers seat. Next, the back door opens and a cute, small blonde girl steps out looking worried and apprehensive about coming up to us. Her sister slowly followed behind her, dark hair, missing front teeth. Her eyes were moving quickly as she took in the scene and spotted us, waiting with a smile near the front door. Immediately my heart leaped, an automatic love for these two sweet girls was emerging from inside of me. I held my stance and waited for them approach me. We offered to help them with their stuff but they carefully and kindly denied. They followed Jimmy into the house as he offered to show them where they would be staying. I stayed behind a little to get the necessary information form their transporter and sign the necessary paperwork. I could hear them laughing inside as they toured our home. My heart swelled with an overwhelming love for them and my sweet husband as I listened to their laughter. Information was exchanged and the transporter left, leaving us alone with these two helpless little girls.
The first words out of Hilary's mouth were "I only packed enough clothes for two weeks, because I am only staying here for 2 weeks! Then I am going home to my grandma's house." I smiled and told her that was great and asked if she would like me to help her unpack. She accepted and asked if she could have something to eat. I asked them what they would like to eat and Haylee excitedly answered that she would like "BASKETTI AND MUSHROOMS!!" an odd request from a 6 year old, but I gladly obliged. While I cooked up some quick dinner, the girls bathed and came out to eat. I had taken the next day off of work and played the rest of the night off mellow. The girls finished their dinner and fell asleep watching a movie together in their bedroom. As I turned off their TV and tucked them in, I smiled, knowing my life had forever changed because of those sweet girls.
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