Small Victories

It's been almost two months since I've had an update. It's been a little frustrating over those two months, but honestly not much has happened.

Today, we met with our case worker and she told us that they are still waiting for the company that contracts out the homestudies to send in ours to the state. The lady that did the homestudy over two months ago sent it in three days after she was here. Nobody is sure what the problem is after that. Vacations, approvals, etc. etc. There is really no person to get mad at, call, write.....we just have to be patient. Turns out, nobody from our class is lisenced yet. I feel bad for everybody - not just us. Everybody was so eager and excited when class was over. I know we're still excited.

We did take one class last month that lasted a couple of hours. It was "How to Administer Psycothropic Medication." Every foster parent within e-mail range showed up to our little classroom and it was standing room only. A nurse from CPS did a pretty good job explaining why these kids are on so many medications and it was our responsibility to make sure they should actually be on all of them. Many times, it's a lazy decision to throw another pill on the problem.

But, other than that, there's no news on the western front. Work has been very stressful for Lori and I both. The good news with that is I think we've both made it through a rough patch and we're ready for whatever comes in the summer months.

The quiet two months have us going through fantasy scenerios - Day one - Ikea and Inner Space Caverns (gotta do something fun on day one). Day two - Summer Fun Water Park (We want the kid to like us). Day three - the Zoo (one of my favorite places). Actually....we'll probably space that out over a few weeks. But, we both have places we want to experience with a kid in tow. Two 40-year olds at Summer Fun Water Park is creepy. Throw a kid in and nobody would even notice. We have big plans.....as much as our budget allows us. Even if it's just a short time foster kid, we're looking forward to it.

We went to the Dallas Renaissaince (sp?) Festival last weekend with my brother and his family. Hanging out for the day with three kids wasn't as eye opening as we thought. We're ready. On the way there, Mackenzie, the 4 year old, realized we were getting close and figured out that this looked like something that was going to be fun. I got two comments on the way in - "Uncle Steve - You're a good driver." and "Uncle Steve - You're a good singer" (I was singing along to the radio being goofy). Then, when she wanted to ride the swings and nobody would go with her, I volunteered.

Then I got the compliment that I've been waiting for since she was born. Holding my hand, just the two of us, on the way to the swings, out of earshot of everybody else she gave me:
"Uncle Steve - You're awesome."

We swang until my arms fell off.