William's 1st Birthday Party!

Yesterday we celebrated William’s first birthday party!  I know it is always said how unbelievably fast the first year goes by but I can honestly say that it is truly unbelievable!  His party went so well and we are yet again left blown away by the love of all our family and friends who came and celebrated his special day.  We had such a fun and exciting afternoon and surprisingly had no meltdowns given it was the typical naptime.  Wills had a great time with his birthday cupcake getting blue icing everywhere yet didn’t leave a crumb to be had after!  Unfortunately my camera lens broke so many of the pictures Brian took came out super blurry but I still treasure them and more importantly all the memories that were made!  
































































































This is what happens when you forget to take a picture of your kids all together before the party....here is what happens when you try to get one after.....to say they were tired and ready to nap once we got home would be an understatement!

Where Are We?

Where are we?  Great question!  As for blogging?  We've been crazy busy doing life here and I haven't made time to sit down and post in some time.  As for our foster kids, well I've been hesitant to post anything as the new year came with many big events in our kids case that were rapidly happening and up in the air.  Now that things have settled down and we are more "secure" in our current situation I figured it was time for an official update!  



Trial to terminate and sever parental rights occurred in December and the judges decision was made in court in January.  The judge terminated parental rights to all the birth parent(s) and the 30 day appeal period began.  We were relieved to find out at the end of the appeal period that no appeal was filed by any of the parties so a "matching" meeting was set for end of February.  While we waited for the "matching" meeting the kids adoption worker had us start to update all of our paperwork and get things in order to start adoption proceedings.  By chance we are up to renew our licence which happens every 2 years so we are killing two birds with one stone by updating our licence while also doing updated necessary paperwork for the adoption.


We can officially say after the meeting that we have been "matched" as the adoptive family for N and E!  We can let out a sigh of relief after 17 months on this roller coaster as they are "on hold" for us to now finalize their adoptions!  We have to wait for the next adoption subsidy workshop at the end of this month, negotiate and come to an agreeance with the subsidy, then we can submit everything and get our finalization court date to officially make N and E ours!  We were told we can expect to likely finalize come May with our timeline so not too far out!  We are excited to finally make tangible progress to giving the kids the permanency they deserve.


As for happenings at home we have been doing some renovations to the basement, reorganizing a lot of the house, gearing up to play room switcharoo with the kids, and just living life one day at a time.


Wills turns 1 this month (unbelievable!) and party planning is in full swing.  He is coasting but hasn't caught on to independently walking yet.  His personality has really come out and he has such a sweet disposition.


E is a talking machine going between real words and a lot of babbling noises.  She is the definition of spunky and sassy and my reason for endless prayers for patience and understanding each day.


N has gone from my hardest to easiest child almost overnight (see above who has taken the crown!).  This whole terrible 2's thing has been nonexistent with him.  He has gone from a toddler to a boy just like that.  I have seen so much growth in many areas in him just since Christmas.