What An AMAZING Day

Today I met my son and daughter.

How many parents get to say that? And it was everything that you imagine it would be like. Amazing. Unreal. Emotional. FUN. Overwhelming. and about a thousand other adjectives that I can find the words for. The powers that be will tell you that I am jumping the gun. But you try to take these kids away from me and see what happens! If something happens and I'm not allowed to keep these two kids, you better have proof that they are going to a better home than mine to get the love they need. I'm certain one doesn't exist. It's everything I could have asked for and more.

Last night I couldn't sleep a wink. I went to bed at 9:30 and thought I got a good nights sleep. I rolled over and looked at the clock and it was midnight. For the next six hours, I tossed and turned the whole time. I finally forced myself out of bed at 6 so I could calm my nerves and not wake Lori. I had a peaceful morning, imagining the morning that was to come. We left at 8:30 in pretty good shape. Both of us nervous, but able to keep it together.

We got to the McDonalds in Taylor and called the caseworker. He was just leaving Elgin with the kids and would be another 20 minutes. We sat quietly in a big booth, trying not to freak out too much. Every open door was them. At one point, a man walked in with two blonde children....but he was holding another baby. He smiled as he walked passed us to the counter. My wife told me to quit staring, but I thought that might be them. He walked passed us and paused for a second, enough for Lori to start standing and saying hello.....then he walked right on passed to his table. We both shared a nervous giggle. After that, I started spying on the parking lot.

Minutes later, I saw another car pull up with three kids in it. This time I was certain. Preston, the kids' caseworker, had brought his own six year old son along.

Meeting Dalton and Bailey for the first time was unreal and life-changing. They had already been told our names and why we wanted to meet them. They were eager to meet us, but then quickly shifted their attention to the play-area outside. We picked up and moved to some tables outside. The first 15 minutes was a blur of activitiy. Handshakes and hellos with Preston through laughter and chasing the kids. We snapped a few quick photos in front of Ronald McDonald to make sure we didn't forget later. A giant game of "you can't catch me" ensued.....and they were right....I couldn't.

After the first round of slides and tunnels, they came over to the table and discovered the blue and pink bag we had prepared the previous day. We knew Dalton liked Star Wars and got him a coloring book with stickers. We got him a transformer car/robot, a Matchbox car, and a notebook to draw in. The transformer car was a hit. Bailey got a little "Petshop" cat, a couple of pony dolls, a My Little Pony coloring book, and a notebook. It was ALL a hit with her.

Bailey - We equally bonded with both kids I think. But what a charmer this little girl is! Cute round faces with the biggest blue eyes I've ever seen. And she is as fiercely independent as any woman. She wanted to order her own food, fill her own cup, get her own katsup, get her own napkins. Nobody waits on this girl! When we asked her if she wanted a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets, her answer was "Both." When we asked her what she wanted to drink, "All of it. A little coke, sprite, dr. pepper, Mr. Pibb all mixed up together" My favorite response came when she was asked what her favorite color was - "I like pink and red and all of them." She doesn't have time to pick a favorite when she can have them ALL.

Dalton - We took plenty of pictures....but it seemed like every time I tried to snap one of Dalton, he was running away from me to the next adventure. He is very intense and you could tell he has carried a lot of the worry for him and his sister. He worried that he's lost something or forgotten something. But, when he isn't worried, he's funny. And - I have to say, I don't know of a six year old that can read as well as he can. He was reading the menu, the play-set rules, etc. just like he was having a conversation. I'm not sure >>I<< read as well as he does. He had the caseworker's son there to play with him and we continued our game of "can't catch me" throughout the morning. We ran the cars down the slides, or "ramps" to watch them jump. Highly entertaining.

The two hours went by in no time. By the end, we were sure. We hope and pray that Preston is sure. We hope and pray even harder that Dalton and Bailey are sure. Lori was a little nervous about taking on two kids. Once we read their psyc. evaluations, she felt a little better about things but still had that concern that the kids and us wouldn't connect. We gave each other the "....and that's o.k" speech on the way in, giving ourselves an excuse if things didn't work out....

But did they ever work out. I'm not supposed to say it....I'm not supposed to even think it.....Lori is avoiding it......but these are MY kids now. If you are going to take them away from me, I need to know that the situation they are going ot is better than what Lori and I have to offer. I will fight for these kids at this point. We're confident that Preston was comfortable with us. We hope he liked us as much as we love the kids. He's been with them since day one. He knows these kids better than their own parents. He wants to see them go to the right family. We hope that's us.

We expect to get a call from the foster mother so we can come visit them next week. We want to bring them some clothes for school. We'll get to take them out to eat and play a little bit. Then, on September 5th, they're coming here to spend the night. I'm excited about that. After that......we're back to the great unknown. School is a factor. I'm ready today, but I know that these kids have been moved around more than any kid deserves to. I don't blame anyone for taking their time at this point. They're in a good place right now. There is too many kids there....but they're in a good place.

Overall, it has just been an amazing day. It has been THE best day of my life. I miss my kids today. I'm a little sad about that. But I'm thrilled that I have the opportunity to be sad about that. Soon, they'll be here all the time. I have to put all my hope into that.