I was looking back on all of the entries that I have written, and my first one that I posted was in March of 2011 on this site. What a journey! I am amazed as I read back through the entries at what God had us walk through to get to this point. They were the hardest times of my life as I struggled to follow God on a road that I did not understand and did not want to be on, but that He had planned for me and Tim way before we were even born. This last weekend brought so much joy to my heart. And now I get to share it with you! So heres the journey of the last weekend!
When arrived in Kansas around 12, and we were going to see the kids until 4. Tim and I were both exhausted after taking a red eye flight that landed at 3 a.m. our time but it was 6 a.m. minnesota time. There we had a three hour layover before we got on our plane to Kansas. I slept about 4 hours altogether and Tim had slept about 1 hour, but when we got to Kansas we were so excited we couldn't sleep. So finally the moment arrived when we got to meet the kids! Their foster mom told me that Shannon was a little scared and in my heart I was so worried the kids wouldn't want to go with us for the weekend, and I was trying to trust God to make their hearts ready for us. Their social worker took us into their play room area, and we waited for them to get there with our hearts racing. Then, I could hear their little voices walking towards our room. I was sooo excited and nervous and I wanted to jump out of my seat and hug them but thought that probably wasnt the best idea. TJ and Shannon ran right up to us and they had made a special book of pictures of them from the past year and were so excited to show it to us. Before we knew it we were all on the ground playing and throwing them up in the air, and even little Jessie started warming up to us and wanting us to throw her around too. There was lots of giggles and laughter and it was amazing! The kids loved the gifts I made for them, and all weekend took their blankets with them everywhere we went. TJ was ready to go with us right away, wanting us to take him to Burger King and making it clear he was ready to leave now haha. So we loaded them up and off we went! We found our way to Burger King and went out to the play area, and to be honest, it was crazy! We had not gotten any napkins, and the kids apparently hate to be dirty. They were spilling things and getting things on them and freaking out and Tim was running back and forth to get more and more napkins. Its funny now though. We went back to the motel room and played and the kids went to bed. On Saturday we woke up, ate some breakfast at the motel (grabbed plenty of napkins this time), and we got to facetime with my parents. The kids loved them! We headed to the zoo and it was so amazing! Shannon started calling us mommy and daddy right away which felt so nice to hear. Her and Jessyca loved us, but they especially loved Tim! When we were in the car Shannon would say, "daddy will you hold my hand?" which he did everytime while he was driving. Jessyca loved Tim to hold her and cuddle her and it was so sweet to watch. TJ on the other hand loved me! He was always wanting me to hug him and play with him and hold his hand. It was so special! He would watch me get ready in the morning and we would hug in between my morning tasks lol. At one point at the zoo, TJ had to sit down for a little bit and was SCREAMING and Jessie was exhausted and was SCREAMING and it was CRAZY! We held strong though and worked through it. On Sunday, we were planning on going to the space center, but everything was closed and it was freezing in Kansas. So we went back to the motel and hung out pretty much all day. It was hard having 3 kid locked up inside with no naps and nowhere to go. We came up with some fun ideas to entertain them, a dance party, throwing bouncy balls around the hallway, things like that. But the time we had together was so special throughout the craziness. We had a lot of laughter, hugging, smiles, and giggling and also screaming, crying, time outs, and kids arguing. Talk about being thrown into parenting right away haha. Monday was our last day, and Jessie had to leave early because she had a drs appointment. We were getting her ready when the fire alarm at the motel started going off, and all of the sudden we had a bunch of motel staff in our room helping grab the kids and their jackets and blankets and shoes and getting us all out of the motel. Their was a fire in the laundry room. So we sat in the car waiting to go back into the motel, and the foster mom came and got Jess. Jess was crying because she didn't want to leave us and she was in the foster mom's car with her hands out to me screaming. It was so hard :(. We took the older two kids to a different zoo and walked around some and played at the park, then had lunch before we had to take them back. TJ kept asking me if he could go on the plane with me, because he wanted to live with me and see me everyday. It was so hard to leave them. Shannon also asked if she could come with us. I sure hope things move quickly because I want them here now. As Tim and I were driving back to the airport, we all of the sudden were missing all of the constant fighting between the kids in the backseat. We miss them so much, we cannot wait til they are here and they get to meet everyone! Their foster mom said we can talk to them on the phone until the happens, which is great! Thank you all for your many prayers and support! I am so thankful for the many text messages and all of the love that we received while out there and even now! It been such a journey and it has been so amazing having so many people share it with us!!
When arrived in Kansas around 12, and we were going to see the kids until 4. Tim and I were both exhausted after taking a red eye flight that landed at 3 a.m. our time but it was 6 a.m. minnesota time. There we had a three hour layover before we got on our plane to Kansas. I slept about 4 hours altogether and Tim had slept about 1 hour, but when we got to Kansas we were so excited we couldn't sleep. So finally the moment arrived when we got to meet the kids! Their foster mom told me that Shannon was a little scared and in my heart I was so worried the kids wouldn't want to go with us for the weekend, and I was trying to trust God to make their hearts ready for us. Their social worker took us into their play room area, and we waited for them to get there with our hearts racing. Then, I could hear their little voices walking towards our room. I was sooo excited and nervous and I wanted to jump out of my seat and hug them but thought that probably wasnt the best idea. TJ and Shannon ran right up to us and they had made a special book of pictures of them from the past year and were so excited to show it to us. Before we knew it we were all on the ground playing and throwing them up in the air, and even little Jessie started warming up to us and wanting us to throw her around too. There was lots of giggles and laughter and it was amazing! The kids loved the gifts I made for them, and all weekend took their blankets with them everywhere we went. TJ was ready to go with us right away, wanting us to take him to Burger King and making it clear he was ready to leave now haha. So we loaded them up and off we went! We found our way to Burger King and went out to the play area, and to be honest, it was crazy! We had not gotten any napkins, and the kids apparently hate to be dirty. They were spilling things and getting things on them and freaking out and Tim was running back and forth to get more and more napkins. Its funny now though. We went back to the motel room and played and the kids went to bed. On Saturday we woke up, ate some breakfast at the motel (grabbed plenty of napkins this time), and we got to facetime with my parents. The kids loved them! We headed to the zoo and it was so amazing! Shannon started calling us mommy and daddy right away which felt so nice to hear. Her and Jessyca loved us, but they especially loved Tim! When we were in the car Shannon would say, "daddy will you hold my hand?" which he did everytime while he was driving. Jessyca loved Tim to hold her and cuddle her and it was so sweet to watch. TJ on the other hand loved me! He was always wanting me to hug him and play with him and hold his hand. It was so special! He would watch me get ready in the morning and we would hug in between my morning tasks lol. At one point at the zoo, TJ had to sit down for a little bit and was SCREAMING and Jessie was exhausted and was SCREAMING and it was CRAZY! We held strong though and worked through it. On Sunday, we were planning on going to the space center, but everything was closed and it was freezing in Kansas. So we went back to the motel and hung out pretty much all day. It was hard having 3 kid locked up inside with no naps and nowhere to go. We came up with some fun ideas to entertain them, a dance party, throwing bouncy balls around the hallway, things like that. But the time we had together was so special throughout the craziness. We had a lot of laughter, hugging, smiles, and giggling and also screaming, crying, time outs, and kids arguing. Talk about being thrown into parenting right away haha. Monday was our last day, and Jessie had to leave early because she had a drs appointment. We were getting her ready when the fire alarm at the motel started going off, and all of the sudden we had a bunch of motel staff in our room helping grab the kids and their jackets and blankets and shoes and getting us all out of the motel. Their was a fire in the laundry room. So we sat in the car waiting to go back into the motel, and the foster mom came and got Jess. Jess was crying because she didn't want to leave us and she was in the foster mom's car with her hands out to me screaming. It was so hard :(. We took the older two kids to a different zoo and walked around some and played at the park, then had lunch before we had to take them back. TJ kept asking me if he could go on the plane with me, because he wanted to live with me and see me everyday. It was so hard to leave them. Shannon also asked if she could come with us. I sure hope things move quickly because I want them here now. As Tim and I were driving back to the airport, we all of the sudden were missing all of the constant fighting between the kids in the backseat. We miss them so much, we cannot wait til they are here and they get to meet everyone! Their foster mom said we can talk to them on the phone until the happens, which is great! Thank you all for your many prayers and support! I am so thankful for the many text messages and all of the love that we received while out there and even now! It been such a journey and it has been so amazing having so many people share it with us!!
