Becoming a Family Chapter 8

Matt and I continued babysitting the girls regularly. Every chance we got to spend with them was cherished. Both of us had fallen completely in love with them. But I was impatient. I missed them when I had to go a whole day with out seeing them. I wondered where these relationships were going.

One afternoon, after a few weeks had gone by, without thinking, I just asked. I asked Grandma and Grandpa if they had considered the possibility of allowing Matt and me to care for the girls. I'm not sure why I asked at that moment. I wasn't planning to ask. The words just came out before I could stop them.

And then they responded that they would like us to be the girls' foster parents.

I felt like my head spun around three times. It was too good to be true. They could live in our house? We could see them everyday? We could be their parents? It took me several minutes to comprehend the words. I felt numb and overwhelmed and joyful beyond words.

Matt and I started to pursue our certification for foster parenting with a passion. And we continued to spend time with the girls regularly. They visited our house with their grandparents for dinner for the first time, and Grandma enrolled them in the preschool on the same campus where I teach.

And we finally introduced the girls to my family. My mom and dad were hosting a backyard BBQ, so we took the girls along with us. The girls fit in perfectly with all the rowdy chaos. They had fun playing with all my nieces and nephews in the sprinklers and chasing the tortoise around the backyard. They both felt especially comfortable with my dad. It was so sweet to watch my family reach out to them and love them as much as we did.

Grandma, Grandpa, Matt and I decided it would be a good idea to have the girls sleep over at our house for a trial run. I couldn't wait. I planned out the entire evening and morning down to the minute. Here is the actual schedule:

4:00 swim at grandma and grandpa's house
6:00 feast on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grapes, carrots, applesauce, yogurt, and fishy crackers (their favorites)
6:30 play at the park
7:15 go get frozen yogurt
8:00 bath time
8:30 make wooden beaded necklaces
9:00 movie

We did all the things I had scheduled. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, and I was too overwhelmed to deviate from the plan. I think I actually had the schedule written on a piece of paper in my pocket. That's how scared I was.

They went to bed quietly, and we didn't hear from them until 7:20 the next morning. All through the night, I could barely comprehend that there were two little girls curled up under the covers in the guest room. I checked on them every hour, so I barely got any sleep. I was so nervous they would wake up and be scared. But they made it. We all made it!