Thursday, January 24, 2008

James turns 3!!

Seriously, is this the cutest little boy you've ever seen, or what?

Daddy brings on the birthday cake!

Taylor and PawPaw get into the action!

We had a fun day. I took cupcakes to the daycare and Nathanael got to come to James' big boy class with us. Tonight, we had McDonals chicken Mcnuggets (James' choice), french fries and birthday cake for dinner. Ken's parents and our 2 neices came over. We'll have a joint b-day party for James and Nathanael next weekend.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Firsts

The boys got to enjoy their first snowfall...and we got to enjoy them enjoying it! James and Nathanael sat and watched out the window for a long time...they just kept saying they wanted to go outside. We told them they had to wait until it stuck to the ground a little more bc it was so muddy. That night, we bundled them all up, put them in their new snow boots, and went out on the back porch. We had a fun snowball fight until their fingers were so cold they could hardly move them. They kept pulling their mittens off to make a better snowball!

The next morning we actually took a long walk on our property in the 1/2 inch of snow. It was really pretty. We pulled the boys on their sled and they loved it.

Another first for us...Nathanael cut in FIVE teeth yesterday. Seriously. Five in one day.He had his front 8, plus 4 in the very back. But his 4 pointy teeth plus 1 other just punctured his gums yesterday. He was a little whiny, but not too bad. I couldn't beleive it! Poor little guy.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Grr..

At about 11:30, the Social Worker called and told me they did not sign the papers. Once at social services, they told the SW that they wouldn't sign without the agreement to see the boys. The SW reminded them that they HAD had multiple (like, over 20 at least) opportunities to see the boys, for which they did not show up. The SW also reminded them that social services is not an open adoption agency, and whether they signed the papers or not, their parental rights would be terminated based on their non-compliance. So regarless of whether we adopt the boys, or someone else, they are not going to have visitation. The parents said they were going to the car to confir with granny before deciding anything, and they just never came back.

I called the SW again about 1:30 and they had still not returned. Obviously not going to.

So, it's really not about the visits, it's about them wanting to be in control and saying "I'll show you...we won't sign anything". Whatever. It'll just be 7 months instead of 7 days. Life goes on...

I called granny and she said that the mom came to the car and said she wasn't signing without getting visits, so granny just took her home. Lord knows what alll she told granny.

Hourly Update

The parents did show up at court and told the judge they wanted to reliquish their rights to the boys. The SW called me from the car saying they were on the way to Social Services to sign the paperwork. The parents had two requests: to see the boys 3 times/year and for us to not change their last names. I said NO to both requests. The SW completley agreed with me and told the parents that those were unreasonable requests, but that she would ask me anyway. I told her I would send granny a letter twice a year with an update on how the boys were/what they were doing. Fingers crossed...!

Keep your fingers crossed

The boys visited with Granny, Gracie, Adell (cousins) and uncle Johnie (we're cool with him) on Saturday. It was supervised (by me) in a public place (Imagination Station...a play place). The visit was really fun. They played like crazy and we did Christmas presents. Granny really does love the boys and wants what is best for them, she just makes some dumb decisions. For example, she gave the boys a framed picture of their biological parents. James opened it and said "a picture". He had no clue who it was. Gracie chimed in "those are your other parents." I gently took the frame and said "let's put it away for later so we don't break it." I was a little peeved, but what can you do...?

So, I talked to the social worker this morning. Today is the court date to change the boys' plan from reunification with bio parents to adoption. The SW told me to NOT get my hopes up, but that bio mom had called her yesterday and told her they were really thinking about just signing the boys over at court today. Granny told bio parents that the boys were happy and loved and it wasn't fair to put the boys through all this mess, and to just give them up. So, IF they actually do it, we will not have to go through the termination of parental rights. That's what takes many months. So instead of adoption them in 6-8 months, it would be more like 1-2 months. Now, even if they do sign them over, they have 7 days to change their mind. I'm trying not to be excited, because honestly, if they got high last night, they may change their mind today.

Keep your fingers crossed!