WOW WOW! God's timing is CRAZY! (AKA: WE WERE ON A BREAK!)

A lot of you saw our VERY surprising news Tuesday on Facebook - so here's the full story of how it all went down.

We have a new addition. Yes. A new addition. 24 hours after the twins and their Big Sister left our home.

While we are not allowed to share names, significantly identifying details, or pictures at this point, we can officially share that we are now parents of Little Guy, Miss A, and foster-to-adopt parents of The Tank. (The Man of the House's Name. I just went with it.)

The Tank is a year-and-a-half old, birthday in December. He is a healthy, happy, sweet toddler - who almost weighs more than Little Guy! (Which if you know LG, you know it's probably not that hard to accomplish! Sorry, buddy! I'm not on the tall side either!)

I'll back up to Tuesday morning.

I was at the children's museum with little guy and one of his little buddies, spending the day, enjoying their joyful energy. I missed a phone call from our foster-adopt caseworker and noticed that she had left a message. At the same time, she also texted me. She said, "Angela I didn't know that the kids have left your home – when did that happen? Also please call me ASAP about a potential placement."

So, actually, I had heard about two potential placements that we were being looked at in the relatively near past - which is so strange because we still had five kids in our home. Two weeks ago, there was a baby boy who needed a home, but of course we weren't finished with the case and couldn't say yes. Last Thursday, I got a call from a different case worker about a 2 1/2-year-old girl with a baby brother but in this case there were some moderate to serious health issues that I had asked to get some more information about. My husband and I, when we discussed this, were not completely sure that this would be the right time for a case like this, having just been through so much ourselves. The worker did know that we had current placement, but she was willing to hold the kids in a foster home temporarily until we could have them. I had given her the go-ahead to send me some information about the siblings, but hadn't heard back at that point. (I will note that The Man of the House and I only spoke in private about these calls, not wanting to appear especially to Big Sister that we were already moving on and hunky-dory with their departure, even before it occurred.

Now, let me say that The Man of the House and I were not quite confident that we were wanting to continue going ahead with future foster care placements. This last case, especially the last month or so, has been extremely difficult, very stressful, and very draining. We definitely knew we needed a break of some sort, but we had not yet decided if this break would be permanent or temporary.

The last we discussed it, we had kind of come to the conclusion that maybe we would stay licensed and available for a month or so, but at that point if nothing had come our way, we would consider that the sign that we needed to move on and make our break from foster parenting more permanent. We also said that we would be pretty picky and only take a case that seemed "easy" - or at least easier than this last case.

And then here comes this phone call about a placement again.

I found a quiet minute in the museum as I watched the boys play, and called the caseworker back. She discussed with me for a few minutes the twins and their big sister leaving, gauging how were were handling it and recovering. Then, she said that a caseworker would like me to call her about a potential placement for a little boy. The basic info that she knew was that he was about 18 months old and was healthy and that parental rights had already been terminated, but that I needed to call the caseworker for more details.

Now, the fact that parental rights already been terminated really intrigued me, which meant that we wouldn't have to go through a whole foster case, so I agreed to get the number and call the caseworker.

This little guy was removed at birth from his birth mother, for reasons other than substance-abuse, which is why the majority of newborns are removed the hospital. Suffice it to say that it would not have been a good situation for him to go home with the mother at that point. Both the birth mother and birth father lost parental rights last fall. He had to be removed this month from the foster home, in which he had lived his entire life, along with nine other foster children, none of whom are his biological siblings. He had been in the respite care for three weeks, a holding place until in more permanent home to be found for him. The department wanted a foster adopt home, because with parental rights already terminated, they need a home to adopt him.

The caseworker said that the previous foster family is trying to appeal the decision, which made me think exactly of the twins case - and obviously not in a good way. Could we endure another drawn-out, nasty court drama? But, as she quickly pointed out, they are not family, so they do not have the automatic rights that relations would have. Plus, she said the evidence against them and the safety of their home is too great to merit even going through an appeal, in her opinion. She said is confidant that their case will be dismissed pretty quickly, in her opinion. I asked what she meant by quickly: Is that only a few months? Six months? She said, "Oh, no - one hearing, one afternoon, boom! It will be done." In Texas, you can legally adopt a child after they had been in your home for six months, so she told me, "Although I of course can't promise anything, it's sounding as though you will be able to adopt him six months from now."

At this juncture of the conversation, you'll all be happy to know that I did for once actually get off the phone and call The Man of the House. He was at school, monitoring lunch recess. Here is literally what our conversation went like.

...ring... ring... ring...

TMOTH: Hello?

Me: How quickly can you get one of those cribs put back together?

TMOTH: (split-second-pause) What time will they get there to drop the kid off?

He knew. Bam. He was on board. And it was simple as that.

It's so crazy to think that having gone through so much in the last months, that both of us just immediately felt right with saying yes and jumping right into another child's life. God is so good to heal wounds, or at least begin the healing of them, and allow us to find the path that will most be of benefit to Him and to us as we continue to grow.

After the typical pre-placement whirlwind trip to Target with the two boys - promising Icees in lieu of the fun afternoon they wanted to spend at our house after the museum time - I got home. I threw our bin of 2T clothes into the washer along with our boy crib bedding. I grabbed the pieces of the crib from the garage and the mattress, but - aw man - couldn't find the screws to put it back together myself. I was attempting to be hardcore and efficient and have the whole room set up by the time either the boy or my husband got home, but I had to wait and let him put it together. Don't let it be said that I'm not handy, though. I know my way around building anything from Ikea.

His super sweet caseworker brought the little boy over about 6:30 that night. As I said, the new name with which he has been christened for the blog is The Tank. He is an adorable, chubby little ball of curly, dark hair. And, as I said before, pretty big for his age. His personality is sweet, calm and cheerful. He fussed for only about 10 minutes while the caseworker was here. Once we hit bath time after she left, he was completely comfortable and had a great time splashing around with Little Guy in the bubbles. Bedtime was phenomenal; he laid right down and fell immediately asleep. No fussing, no crying. He must've been pretty tuckered out with all the changes.

It all happened so quickly - one minute you're just trying to catch a breath to recover from what's been happening; the next minute, life has totally changed once again. We both felt such a peace in agreeing to this placement, like it was the most natural thing, and completely what we were supposed to be doing, in the plans all along.

Apparently, there was a court hearing to update on the current placement of the Tank that morning, and the judge told the caseworker to find him a foster-adopt home THAT DAY - not even another night in respite care. And someone there in the courtroom - the caseworker didn't know who it was - said, "Call the Ericksons - they just came available again and they'd be perfect." And so the caseworker found OUR caseworker and asked her to pass along the message for us to contact her.

Just so weird to think about how we said we'd only take another placement - a) if it happened pretty quickly and b) if it was pretty "easy". Bada-bing. Someone up there heard us.

So amazing to think about how God was protecting and watching over this little fellow. We had no idea he existed until Tuesday, but He's been in God's care the entire time. There is a plan for him, and whether or not we're a permanent part of it, we know in Whose Hands the story is written.

We all really appreciate your rejoicing with us - and for not saying you think we're crazy (at least out loud!) for taking this on so soon after our last case. God loves to surprise us. Blessed are the flexible, amiright?

Please keep the case in your prayers. We hope and pray for God's will to be done, and the human side of us says, "That means he stays with us!" But, we know to just live in the moment, love each other as best as we can, and leave the ending up to Someone else. We pray for Miss A and Little Guy to continue to be as enamored with the Tank as they have been the past few days - we've all just fallen in love with him. So proud of them for their resiliency as well.

Please also keep the twins and their Big Sister in your prayers as they transition, begin school, and create new connections. We don't know if we'll hear from them someday, but, if we do, we hope it's good news.

Thanks, all!

Saying Goodbye

We had a pretty huge whirlwind of a weekend-plus-Monday.

The twins came back from their visit only in slightly better moods than normal, and it took over half an hour to calm them down enough to put them to bed, once we got the bedtime routine down and actually started the laying down part. The next day, one of the twins screamed "NO" at absolutely everything I said or asked, and the other one hit everyone all morning. Sigh.

At 11 o'clock, two vans pulled into the driveway. We were outside coming in, as we had just made a last-minute Target run. Two caseworkers I hadn't met came up to the door, started helping to load up their things, and that was that.

One twin seemed pretty nonchalant about it, but to her it probably appeared to be just a normal day, with a car ride to somewhere new. The other started grabbing my arm as I was buckling her into her carseat, saying, "No, mommy, no! No go!" She seemed to understand that something was different about it - maybe because she saw us loading all of their clothes and toys into the back of the vans. Big Sister wasn't completely crying, but we both were holding back tears and sniffling hard. I told her several times, "Remember we love you. Remember we love you."

And then it was done.

There was supposed to be a phone call beforehand to tell us what time the kids were getting picked up, but it never came, so The Man of the House was at school working on preparations for the first day of school, which was the following day. I tried to call him when the vans pulled up, but he was away from his phone for those five minutes, and called me back just after they left, so he didn't get to say goodbye.

As soon as the door closed, Miss A burst into tears and we spent a few minutes cuddling on the couch and just letting it all out.

The Man of the House came home for lunch so we could all be together as a family of four. We spent part of the next hour shifting kids' beds around, putting the twins' cribs/toddler beds into the garage. It wasn't a heartless maneuver, but it was cathartic, and healing, to look ahead and get a fresh start, even if it was just the bedroom furniture. We both felt like we needed to do something just to keep moving for a little bit.

The great news is that we can start the new school year tomorrow with a fresh slate. Miss A is excited about first grade, and my husband is excited about his new 4th grade class. Everyone is ready to continue to grow as a family and grow in faith in whatever endeavor the Lord has for us next.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragements. There are so many different emotions floating around our heads - both grief and relief, to name a few. We're confident that we're just where we need to be, that God doesn't make mistakes, and that we did our small part in His kingdom with His little ones for the last ten months.We honestly don't know at this point where our future lies in the foster care world, but we'll put it in His hands.

Second Visit Report

This weekend, the twins and Big Sister all went on a visit together to the twins' grandparents' home. The grandparents recently came to court to ask for custody of all five siblings, as I mentioned before, and the kids were ordered to have all-weekend visits with them on the 2nd and 4th weekends until the next court date.

We were a littler nervous as to how this weekend would go, especially after how the twins reacted when they arrived back at our home on Sunday. The kids have never met these grandparents, as they are the parents of the twins' father who was estranged from them pretty soon after their birth. We also heard that they are almost exclusively Spanish-speaking, and none of the kids actually know Spanish, even though they are Hispanic as well. We hoped for the best.

And when they came home this time, it was a totally different experience. The twins were smiling and laughing and singing like "usual". Big Sister even told us she had a good time, and told us excitedly about all of the places they took them and everything they bought for them to wear, eat, or play with over the weekend.

It seems like it actually was a very good experience for everyone. Bedtime went off without a hitch or fuss from anyone. No nightmares, no tantrums. And, so far, this week has been fairly "normal".

I texted the caseworker this and our opinions on how well the kids were reacting. She agreed that it seemed to be a very good situation all around.

I then asked her what the next step was, if the home study was finished, if a definite plan had been set up yet. She told me that the home study came back positive, with no red flags. The department is ready to move them over there, we just have to figure out a day and get logistics figured out. She thought it would happen early next week. My only issue was reminding her that school starts next week, and it would be best to move the kids sooner rather than later, so Big Sister and the twins' 3-year-old sibling can get situated before the first day of school. She agreed, but said a final date still wasn't certain.

Anyways, this is a big relief to know that, even if our days are definitely numbered with these three, they are going to a place where we all feel comfortable with, at this point. I personally would much rather have them leave us to go to these grandparents, since it went so well, rather than the cousins from whose home they came.

Prayers please as we go through the transition. We have to figure out a way to discuss it with Little Guy and Miss A, so that they handle it with discretion and properly in front of the other three. Big Sister seems happier about the move, and even seems to be looking forward to it, since she got to see some old friends and schoolmates while there. We hope it all continues to be a positive rounding-up of their time here, and looking forward to what's in store next for all of us.

Where the Future Lies

It seems like there now is some resolution, at least for the Erickson family.

The kids' caseworker came over this morning to chat over the weekend plans, especially with Big Sister, and to gauge how she takes the news about her going on the weekend visit with the twins' grandparents.

Big Sister took it pretty well, and was only a little bit quiet, but seemed to have a handle on her emotions throughout the day. She said she was looking forward to a whole 48 hours with her other two siblings. She also seemed a bit curious about these grandparents and how they would be, and what living in their home would be like.

While she was there, the caseworker also gave us some news. She told us that the home study is almost complete on the grandparents. It should be due Monday (the 11th), and as long as there are no red flags, which there haven't been up to this point, the kids will move there next week.

The kids will continue to have weekend visits with the cousins / previous caregivers until the judge makes a final decision as to their permanent placement. We hope, for everyone's sake, that that takes place sooner rather than later.

We were taken aback for a second, of course, for the abruptness of finding this out. However, we are fully supportive of the five siblings being together, provided it's in a healthy setting, obviously. The judge and the department really want the five of them together, and that's not something we can provide.

We will miss them, and it will be incredibly weird for a while to only have two kids again. But, on the human side, there is a lot of relief that at least we're getting off the crazy train of court appearances and delays. I think, emotionally, we definitely need some time to reign ourselves in and recover from the ups and downs that this past year has had for us.

What will the future hold for us as a family? We don't know. We haven't made a decision yet as to whether or not we'll stay in the foster care system and go another round. We are absolutely head over heals in love with our two kids and content with our family. But... we always said we wanted three or four kids. We'll put it in God's hands as to whether he adds more to our group, and when, and how.

Thanks again all, for the encouragement and prayers. God is good, all the time.

First Weekend Visit - Let Chaos Reign

Preamble: I'm trying not to dwell too much on all the negatives right now. Please excuse me if that's what this post sounds like!

The twins went on their first all-weekend visit to their cousins' home - the family who served as their previous caregivers. Before I reflect on that, I'll chat a bit about the lead-up to the visit.

We were asked by the caseworker not to tell Big Sister that the judge wanted her to go on these visits with her siblings. The caseworker wanted to be the one to tell her. But, she was then unable to come that day, and then unable to come the next morning, so on the night before the visit, she asked us to tell Big Sister.

After the little kids were asleep, we sat her down and explained that the family had come to court asking for custody of her as well, that they were willing to work on reconciliation, working through the past issues, and on making sure she felt comfortable in their home. We told her that the judge had extended the weekend visits from 6 hours on every other Saturday, to the entire weekend, and that the judge wanted her to go, but that she would not be forced to go, if she didn't want to. That evening, she reacted very introspectively and calmly. The first thing she said was, "Well, if I go, I get to spend time with my siblings all weekend. And I get to watch out for them and make sure they're okay." We talked a while about having positive expectations, going in with an open mind, how going on this visit would show her own growth and maturity, and that making a fair try could show everyone good steps in a positive direction. We left it at that, and said it was up to her, and she could sleep on the decision.

The next day, though, she was in a pretty major funk about the situation. When we asked her about her decision in the afternoon, it started out with, "I don't know what to do," and then it escalated with her confronting us - "You don't want me here anymore. You're trying to get rid of me. You can't tell me what to do - you're not my parents." We tried to discuss with her that we were just modeling decision-making strategies, that we weren't telling her to go or not to go, that it was her decision, and that nobody would force her to go, that this was the judge's ruling, not ours, etc. But, she was emotionally distraught at this point and wasn't able to continue to calm herself down very well.

Finally, the Man of the House put his foot down and said, "It would not be healthy or a good experience for you to go at this point, with you so upset about it. Let's all just agree that you're not going this weekend, and we'll talk it through with the caseworker about the rest of the weekends." She calmed down and apologized to us both for her behavior, and we expressed to her forgiveness, and that this whole situation just stinks for all of us. It's expected that there will be some very strong emotions and that we all will deal with it differently.

The visits are set from 6 pm on Friday to 6 pm on Sunday.