I have decide to update all of our friends and loved ones on our adoption process via my blog so that I could cover you all at once and remember important details. We were presented with the opportunity to be considered for Jonathan, a 5 year old Caucasian boy on August 22, 2008. We were told that the case workers may be looking for a home school family for him since he is not integrating well into kindergarten and daycare. He has been in the same foster home since he left his birth mother's cousin's care at the age of 3. He had been shuffled from his birth mom to cousin and then the cousin abandoned him at a hospital to end her care of him.
His foster parents had planned to adopt him when parental rights became officially terminated, which was in February of this year. As time progressed, however, they began to realize he was not thriving in his daycare environment and really needed the consistency of a stay-at-home mom.
On September 4 we went to Richmond to meet the case workers for Jonathan, along with 3 other couples who were being considered also. Whitney attended with us as she and I were on a return trip from WV at the time. We received a lot of scary information regarding this small child. It seemed as though everyone was desperately trying to find a label to fit his challenging behaviors.
We prayed long and hard, asking for prayers from our church, and consulting with another family who had adopted twins with similar adjustment difficulties, and with his social worker some more. After much deliberating, we decided it might not be in Jonathan's best interest for us to adopt him. Yet... God had decided otherwise and as we again reevaluated and considered, He brought us to realize that Jonathan is exactly the little one God has hand-picked for our family.
I was invited to go to see Jonathan and watch him interact in his kindergarten class on the 19th of September to see for myself his animated eyes and his behavior. He did not know who I was. I enjoyed playing with blocks with him, watching him play learning games on a computer, which he loved, and hang out at a drawing center, which he did not have any interest in. That day, realizing that Jonathan has many difficulties and challenges to overcome, I fell crazy in love with this precious little boy and together our family decided we are committed to loving Jonathan for a lifetime.
Jonathan's social worker met with his foster parents yesterday to let them know they found a family for him. We, or maybe just I, will meet with Jonathan and his social workers at a restaurant on Tuesday the 23rd, where we/I will be introduced to him as his new parents. His social workers are still trying to decide if it would be better for him to meet us together or one at a time.
Thursday, September 25, both Tim and I will get a chance to spend 2 hours with Jonathan. We will then go, perhaps to his foster home, to meet with his foster parents and see where he has been living for the past almost 3 years.
After these initial meetings, we will be meeting with Jonathan at least 3 times per week, working up to an overnighter and to eventually him moving in with us.
We are looking forward to celebrating Jonathan's 6th birthday with him on September 30, and hoping he will be permanently in our home by mid October.
Blessings to all,
Janette
His foster parents had planned to adopt him when parental rights became officially terminated, which was in February of this year. As time progressed, however, they began to realize he was not thriving in his daycare environment and really needed the consistency of a stay-at-home mom.
On September 4 we went to Richmond to meet the case workers for Jonathan, along with 3 other couples who were being considered also. Whitney attended with us as she and I were on a return trip from WV at the time. We received a lot of scary information regarding this small child. It seemed as though everyone was desperately trying to find a label to fit his challenging behaviors.
We prayed long and hard, asking for prayers from our church, and consulting with another family who had adopted twins with similar adjustment difficulties, and with his social worker some more. After much deliberating, we decided it might not be in Jonathan's best interest for us to adopt him. Yet... God had decided otherwise and as we again reevaluated and considered, He brought us to realize that Jonathan is exactly the little one God has hand-picked for our family.
I was invited to go to see Jonathan and watch him interact in his kindergarten class on the 19th of September to see for myself his animated eyes and his behavior. He did not know who I was. I enjoyed playing with blocks with him, watching him play learning games on a computer, which he loved, and hang out at a drawing center, which he did not have any interest in. That day, realizing that Jonathan has many difficulties and challenges to overcome, I fell crazy in love with this precious little boy and together our family decided we are committed to loving Jonathan for a lifetime.
Jonathan's social worker met with his foster parents yesterday to let them know they found a family for him. We, or maybe just I, will meet with Jonathan and his social workers at a restaurant on Tuesday the 23rd, where we/I will be introduced to him as his new parents. His social workers are still trying to decide if it would be better for him to meet us together or one at a time.
Thursday, September 25, both Tim and I will get a chance to spend 2 hours with Jonathan. We will then go, perhaps to his foster home, to meet with his foster parents and see where he has been living for the past almost 3 years.
After these initial meetings, we will be meeting with Jonathan at least 3 times per week, working up to an overnighter and to eventually him moving in with us.
We are looking forward to celebrating Jonathan's 6th birthday with him on September 30, and hoping he will be permanently in our home by mid October.
Blessings to all,
Janette
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