Slow Down

I talked to Agency Worker again yesterday after she had a chance to talk to her supervisor. It seems that we all got excited and started rushing things. Our timeline was all wrong. It now seems that it will be two or three months before the girls can come live with us and there are a couple of reasons. The first is that CPS just doesn't move that quickly. They have processes and paperwork, and with a new caseworker coming on it will be even longer. The second reason is that the girls won't be ready to leave their new foster mom that quickly. They'll be receiving devastating news on Monday and will need their foster mom to comfort them. They'll need to get used to the idea of being adopted before they are moved.

I also discussed with Agency Worker my fear of not getting the girls at all. She said that usually CPS will listen to the recommendations of the agency who is fostering the girls, but it is still possible that other families could submit their home studies for the girls. If that happens we'll be competing for them just like for any other children. This is hard to accept after basically being promised these children, but after having all night to dwell on it I feel better today.

So all my plans for getting them before school starts are out the window. If we do get the girls, we'll be well into the school year, and I won't get that week of quiet time with them that I really wanted for all of our sakes. Agency Worker also told me that it is still possible that they will offer other children to me, in case we don't get the girls. This stuff is very difficult on the heart.

Everything is in God's hands. He will bring us the right children for our family, at the right time. I know that, but it's so hard to wait. The extra two or three months will actually be a relief because DH & I can get a few more things done before they join us. Daughter's birthday is coming up soon, and I'll be able to devote more attention to that, plus DH & I usually take a weekend away in August that we were going to miss. Those are good things.

Agency Worker also told me that we might be able to do some respite care for the foster mom and keep the girls overnight a few times and we could all get to know each other. That might even help our case with CPS if the girls already know us and are comfortable with us.

I had heard that this would be a wild roller coaster ride, and it certainly is.