There are more?

So I told you about G and how he will likely be going home soon. And we talked about W and how he will go home if his mom can get her priorities in order. But I haven't told you yet about Z number 2. I mentioned a few posts ago that there are 3 boys in G's family. We got G and his oldest brother last February. On that same day the middle boy went to live with his dad (he is also a Z and from this point on he will be the one I'm referring to when I say "Z"). Confused yet?

Well, last November, when Z came for a visit with his mom, he had several bruises on his face and body. The caseworker was very concerned and asked me that day if we would take Z if he ended up being removed. I told her we would, and then I called Nathan and explained the situation to him. He said "did you tell her we would take him?". I was glad we were on the same page about this.

A couple days went by and we hadn't heard anything. I had the feeling that Z was supposed to be with us and had had that feeling for a while. So I called the CASA (court appointed special advocate) and left her a message asking what was going on with things. I didnt hear anything back from her either so we just waited "patiently" for a few days. A few more days went by and I got a call from the caseworker. She said she knew I had said we would take Z as a foster placement, but she wanted to know if we would consider adopting him. What!? Adopt him?! Of course we would!! I couldn't believe she was saying this. She went on to say that they were going to request a court order to have Z removed from his dad's custody and wherever they moved him this time, they wanted it to be for good. She said they would likely get the order in a couple of days.

We weren't sure what to do, it looked like a pretty sure thing that Z would be coming, but we had learned our lesson in that department when it comes to DCS. We talked to the girls about things and got as much ready at home without doing anything drastic, just in case. The next day, I got the call that he was for sure coming. Our licensing worker called too and made sure we had everything in order. She also was going to have to change our license to include 3 additional children instead of 2. She also reminded me that this was still a foster placement despite what the caseworker had said. I guess she wanted us to stay realistic about the situation. That would be the responsible thing to do after all. :)

We went into crazy mode again. We called everyone, got everything together, and hurried up at work to get home. The caseworker brought him by around 2 in the afternoon. My mom came over since Nathan couldn't get off work yet. He came in and looked around. He saw G right away and said "Bubby!". I tried to give him some space and just be near in case he needed something. He was the most skiddish kid I had ever seen. He didn't cry much, he just kept his distance from mom and I. He tolerated us picking him up and was happy to let us make him a snack. We made him some food and he couldn't get enough. He ate and ate. Not only did he eat what we gave him, he grabbed all he could hold and hoarded it until he couldn't eat any more. I just tried to keep his hands full and be there for him.

It wasn't long before the girls came home from school. We had talked to them about the possibility of Z coming, but the final decision had happened while they were at school. They were so excited to have a new brother in the house and he was excited to see other kids to play with. Z seemed to be more comfortable with the kids, rather than with me.

So, once again, our family had another dose of instant growth. We had gained a sweet, but shy and scared 2 1/2 year old who barely talked, weighed 23 pounds, and was nearly the same size as his 15 month old brother. It was a hectic day, but all in all, it was good, it felt right.