Another one to love on...

We have been so fortunate with our previous little bonus kiddos that we were a little scared to get a new one. The last two have been so amazing and we fell in love with each of them and it tore us up when they each left. That's hard on us and the kids, but we all agreed that we wanted to keep doing it.

When little man left 2 months ago {2 months ago yesterday, actually}, a piece of our heart left with him. I'm not sure I ever even blogged about it because it was so hard on us all. But time has healed and his grandparents are simply amazing and have kept us in his life. I truly feel like we are all family now and we will be at this little dude's wedding one day!! We have met at the park a few times, and then when we felt like he was ready, he came and spent the night a few weeks ago. Then last week, we got to keep him for 4 full days while his grandparents did their foster care training. Wahoo!!! We had such a fantastic time with him and can't wait to see him again soon. He will always have a special place in our hearts and our home.

When he left on April 1st, we asked for about a month off to just mourn the loss of him being here and to regroup and finish the school year out. Then we went out of town for a week and finally were ready to accept a new child. We had several "almost" placements this past week but I'm so thankful we were allowed the time to devote to little man and not have to split ourselves while he was here.

About 5 hours after he left this weekend, we got a call for a new little sweetie to love on and we jumped at it. Princess P literally JUMPED at it - jumping up and down that "It's a girl! It's a girl!" when we got the call. She is an absolute hilarious little doll. We are having a blast getting to know her and praying for her future as we continue to pray for our other "extended" family members. Our family just keeps on growing.

There is a facebook group called "Walk a mile in my shoes" that raises awareness for foster care and does an annual walk. They posted this today and it hit home:

"With thousands of children in foster care, it may seem like one person can't really make a difference. But don't let the size of the problem paralyze you - just do whatever God is asking you to do!"

We have taken it upon ourselves to help ONE. It truly doesn't seem like much and isn't a "big" thing to take one little one in, but we are up to THREE now and counting. It does add up, and for these ONES, it meant the world at the time. I'm thankful for each of our "ones" - they have changed me and my family for the better. No question. We have been changed. To see my kids love unconditionally, melts me and gives me hope that we haven't screwed them up too badly just yet.  We didn't do this to get something in return but we totally are getting something in return! Having little man cling to my neck and kiss my face off for example...that's priceless.We are growing so much as a family by serving together and doing the hard things together. It's SO worth it.

If not us, then who?