My Houseful

Day 1:
It was full of nerves mostly.  I was so blessed to see 3 of the cutest little guys get out of the caseworkers truck. They are ages 6,5, and 2.  Dogs came from every direction to greet them (My neighbors dogs were visiting for awhile. They like to say "hello" sometimes) and the boys were nonplussed by the excitement.  They were excited to see Cyrus and Olivia and vice versa.  I never expected what a blessing it would be to have Cy and Liv be the ones to chat the kids up and show them around.  They were wonderful built in ice breakers.

*Side note... I will not be using the boys names for confidentiality reasons.  I will just call them Frank, Middle, and Little

I talked to the caseworker while the boys investigated from top to bottom.  I learned quickly that Little loves buttons, light switches, door latches, and moving! Middle has a very sweet temperament and was eager to receive any form of positive attention from me.  Frank was more quiet but seemed to be a bit of a detective.  He was very determined to know how things worked around here.

Ryan came home shortly after they arrived and spent the rest of the day helping me to acclimate all the new family members.  He was wonderful and I cannot praise him enough.  He was kind, soft-spoken, clear about boundaries, fun, helpful, inviting, creative, welcoming.  The boys were nervous of my bearded beast at first, but by the end of the day they had taken to him like ducks to water, and this is good because we all like ducks (you will see why later).

All the kids spent time on the very popular trampoline, they visited the chickens, and dogs, admired the pond, tramped through the woods, and even got a tractor ride very similar to the picture I have posted on this site.  It was an exciting day.    I got to rock and sing Little to sleep and as he laid his head on my chest I knew if the Lord allowed it, I could definitely see myself loving these 3 forever.

To be honest some sadness kicked in for the boys when the sun set.  To them coming here is not a dream come true, it is their own personal tragedy, and I grieve for them.

Day 2:

As the kids got used to their setting some of the polite edges wore off.  Cyrus was a bit overwhelmed at a couple points, Middle had bouts of extreme despair even with only minor corrections happening, Frank was quite... well... frank, about the fact that he was angry about all things he deemed unfair and , and Little decided he wasn't going to eat.  Olivia was there.  My headstrong, fiesty, darling, was kind and helpful, and pleased to join in whatever fun she could.  Who knew?!  Things got so much better when my conquering hero arrived and the whole family literally lit up! The boys were excited to see him and he had all 6 of us laughing at his crazy duck noises (he is an excellent sneezing duck).

I am not disappointed.  I had prepared my heart over and over and over again for the imperfection of it all.  I know this helped me take today's hiccups in stride.  By the end of the day Cyrus was once again the benevolent leader, Frank was grinning, Middle was coming in for snuggles and story time, and Little actually ate!  I snuggled and loved on Frank and Middle and yes, I got to rock and sing to Little again.  I love singing Jesus loves me.  The boys don't seem to know who Jesus is.  How blessed am I to get to share the life and love of Jesus with these boys?!  THAT is my dream come true.