The Waiting Place

If someone told me that I would love children enough to adopt them and make them ours forever and that I could also be okay if they move on to another home, I would not have been able to imagine that place of mind. Yet, here I am. It is less than two weeks until termination, and I am amazed that the kids seem content, safe, and even happy in this space of waiting. My husband, I feel entirely content too. I don’t know how to explain it, except that I trust God will work out what needs to happen.

We have six foster children from a family of eight. Some hope to be able to be adopted with their younger siblings that do not live with us. We would love to adopt the six that live with us, which would make us the parents of 10 kids! That is a staggering thought. Nevertheless, it works. We love them, and they all get along so well. Yet, if some of them end up being adopted with their younger siblings, I am okay with that too.

We have been getting all eight kids together for playdates and sleepovers a few times a month, and we hope that will continue even if some of them transition to a new adoptive home. While we wait for the termination of the children’s parent’s parental rights, life continues. The kids are sleeping over at their younger siblings’ foster family’s house tonight, and their little brother will be spending the night here tomorrow night. On the weekends, we have gone hiking as a family. On weekday afternoons, the kids scoop snow off the trampoline to play dodgeball on it. In the evening, the kids play basketball in the house with my husband and tease each other in a fun-loving way that evokes laughter from everyone.

While I would like to know what our family will look like a month or two from now, so we can make travel plans for summer, I don’t want to rush the gift of being in the present. Yesterday, for example, I took the kids through the car wash, and the wonder on their faces and giggles were like children on their first ride at Disneyland! Last night the little one that snuggled up close to me when I read made me feel like her “real” mom. It was a tender moment. Whatever lies ahead, I don’t want to miss any of these memories.