Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

My daughter said that their caseworker got in touch with them and let them know that Ronald, the 9 year old, and the one they had been the most worried about having trouble with the transition to a new home, had told her something pretty cool.  She wanted Chelle to know about it.

Ronald said that "June 17th (the day they are to come permanently) is going to be the most awesome day of my whole life!"  Isn't that neat???  We are all ecstatic to hear that coming directly from him! 

As for Thomas, I think he isn't used to such a boisterous family.  He told Chelle that her family was "Crazy, man.  Just plain CRAZY!!!"  But I could tell he loved every minute of the craziness!  

My little granddaughter is adjusting well to the idea of having cousins the same age and older, too.  We were worried this would be a problem, but she really liked the boys, and had a great time with them. 

Looks like we are on the way to one big, happy family!  The only thing that comes even close to being a Mommy is being a Granny!  

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Things have been so busy that I haven't had time to let you all know about the visit with my new grandsons!  Tuesday night, after working at the shop, Mike, BJ, and I drove to Chelle and Josh's and got to meet the boys for the very first time.  It was an incredible visit, and they are incredible kids!   I love them to pieces already. 

Ronald is the oldest, and is 9 years old and a 4th grader. He is the more serious of the two, but definitely likes to laugh and have a good time.  He is most definitely the big brother, and looks out for Thomas, who is 7 and a 2nd grader.  Thomas is a bit more laid back, and not quite as cautious in making new relationships yet.  He is a little snuggle-bug, and loved to sit on my lap and snuggle.  He even asked if he could sit by Grandma Kathy during the meal! 

We had a great BBQ with us, Josh's mom, brother, and sister, along with Chelle, Josh, and the boys.  My oldest daughter was also there with my granddaughter Nova.  I think Nova was a bit unsure about things until she actually met the boys, since she has always been the oldest in the family, that will be a hard spot to give up.  Thomas is 2 weeks younger than her, but basically the same age, but Ronald is 2 years older.  She seemed to get over her qualms really easily though, and the kids had a fun time playing.

I bought the boys water guns.  Was that a dumb idea or what?  Let's just say it made for a unique bonding time with their new Grandma Kathy.  Despite defending myself with a huge black umbrella, they managed to drench me so badly that I had to borrow clothes from Chelle and throw my own into the clothes dryer.  But the boys thought it was great fun, so it was well worth it.

We watched movies that night late, and decided to spend the night.  I teased the boys about taking over Granny's bedroom, and they thought that was very funny :-)  I am now back on the couch when we visit.   Oh, well, it is worth it to have 2 wonderful grandsons. 

The next day we had a bonfire in the yard, fished, and went out on the pond in the rowboat.  Ronald was a bit afraid of the bugs that are everywhere in the country, but loves to fly cast, and is very good at it, too, for never having fished before.  Thomas is gradually getting the hang of it.  They loved the bonfire and wanted to stay longer, but they had to fly back to Delaware till school is out.  They'll be back to stay on June 17th!!!  

Chelle and Josh have found out that there is a possibility that the boys two younger siblings have not been adopted as they were originally told.  They are seriously considering looking into adopting them as well, if that is truly a possibility.  Their names are Isaiah and Destiny.  Please pray that the Lord will lead everyone to the right decisions where they are concerned, and also that the Ronald and Thomas will make a good adjustment to their new home and new parents next month. 

As soon as BJ has time to get the pictures off my camera, I'll post some pictures of me and my grandchildren...all 3 of the ones who are still here on this earth with us!!! 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

I am so excited to think that it will be only a short time before I get to meet my foster-to-adopt grandsons!  Ronald and Thomas will be here to stay after their school is out the first week of June.  Michelle and Josh are already planning for the summer with “their boys.”  They are so very excited, and have such wonderful plans to make the summer a wonderful bonding time for them and their new sons. 

 

The road to finding their new children has been long, and we are so very glad that they have found their first sons!  God’s timing is so perfect.  It was frustrating to see things go more slowly than we had hoped, but the children they had looked into previously, and had already found homes, were simply not the right choice.  God knew all along that Ronald and Thomas were “the ones” for our family.   It’s hard to believe how much Chelle and Josh have fallen in love with these boys in such a short time…since before they had even met them.  They just “knew” that this was meant to be.  We hope that the boys will realize this, too, and be able to make the big adjustment with as little trauma as possible. 

 

We have so much to be thankful for.  Chelle and Josh’s own caseworker that they have been working with has been such a blessing and such a help in finding our new grandchildren.  Add to this the wonderful ladies who helped out in Delaware, who know and love the boys and wanted to be sure they found just the right home---this is the system working at its finest.   These are all truly dedicated women, and I’m so thankful for each of them.  Without their help, this match might not have happened, or not happened as quickly as it has.  Thank goodness that the social workers who overstep their bounds are few and far between, and that most are just like these women and the departments that they represent!  Can you imagine taking the time to personally fly these boys all the way to Ohio to visit with their new family?  That’s dedication because Ohio isn’t exactly the vacation spot of the country J

I bought the boys Cub Scout handbooks, and hope that I’ll be able to help them work on their Scout things as I have my own sons.  I just can’t wait to be able to shower them with love and be a doting Granny to them!   The hardest part will be knowing that I have to take it slowly and that it will take time for them to adjust to a new home and a new family.  I just want to jump right in and be their Grandma!!!  Can you tell I’m excited???  LOL  

Chelle and Josh are busy rearranging their work schedules so that they can be with the boys nearly all the time, and also checking into schools.  They hope to have them attend school in the town that they attend church at, since they know many, many of the teachers and counselors in that district.  Ohio has interdistrict enrollment, so hopefully that will work out for them. 

 

While they were here to visit, the boys had fun boating and fishing in the pond, hiking through the woods, and sitting around a campfire in the backyard at night.  Chelle and Josh have a neat 38-acre wooded property that is just the perfect place to bring up boys of this age.  They also went putt-putt golfing, and got to climb a fire tower at one of the state parks nearby.  They can’t wait to have their new Uncle Doug help them catch turtles by the pond.  Of course, they also loved the video games, perhaps a bit too much, Chelle said.  I remember the days when I had that problem with one of my own boys…. only that “boy” was my husband!  LOL 

She was so excited to see how well mannered and polite they are.  They even took their plates to the counter after the meal without being told, so their foster family has taught and grounded them well. Another thing to be very thankful for.  Chelle asked them if they had chores at their house, and they reluctantly admitted that they did.  They loved to be able to take turns saying prayers at mealtime, and were surprised to learn that they were not permitted to say God unless they were talking to Him or about Him.  She said they caught on to the rules of the house really quickly. 

 

These sound like such wonderful kids!  I am thanking God everyday for the wonderful social workers who helped bring them into our lives, for the foster family who has raised them so well up to this point, and for my daughter and her husband who are so willing to adopt children with special needs and make a wonderful childhood for them.  And I’m also thankful that the boys seem to be willing to give us all a chance to love them.  Exciting days are just around the corner! 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Well, not HERE here, but at my daughter and son-in-law's house.  They arrived this afternoon by plane from the state of Delaware, and will be staying until around noon on Friday.  The adoption caseworker flew out with them, and the boys will be staying alone with Chelle and Josh till it's time to go back. 

Thomas was very eager to come, but Ronald was not quite as sure about things.  He had found Ohio on a map, and now realizes how far away from his foster family and school friends he will be.  It will be a big adjustment for everyone.  City to country, one family to another, black inner city to a nearly all white rural part of Ohio, a small family to a very large one, noise all the time to complete silence other than listening to the corn grow, and so much more. 

 

Chelle said they would play it by ear as to whether Mike and I get to meet the boys this trip or not.  We don't want to overwhelm them!  But I hope that we will get a chance.  I bought them each a Cub Scout handbook for their age group to take back to Delaware with them, since Josh is planning on getting them involved in Scouts this summer.  I signed them "Love, Grandma Kathy."   I hope they will be willing to accept the love that this grandma has to offer them...

 

Please pray that this visit goes well, as that will make the transition so much easier for everyone involved.  Especially pray that the Lord will give Chelle and Josh the wisdom and guidance they will need to parent two older children.  (Ronald is 9 and Thomas is 7.)  The boys will be here permanently as soon as their school is over for the year, sometime the first week of June. 

 

 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Chelle called, and it is official.  The committe unanimouslym and in just 5 minutes, approved her and Josh to be the foster-to-adopt family for Ronald, age 9; and Thomas, age 7.  They are 4th and 2nd graders, and will be coming to our family from the state of Delaware as soon as their school is over for the year.  Their adoption caseworker says that the people working on the placement asked her where on earth she found people like this, and to please find them some more just like them.  Makes me proud to be the mother of one of them, and the "other mother" to Josh.  I'm glad that these people could see that they will make incredible parents for these boys.  I can't wait to meet them!!!  They will be staying here for a week during their school's spring break, and Michelle is so excited, and Josh is already quite the proud Daddy.  I haven't met them yet, but I love them already!    Ronald (9) is in the back, and Thomas (7) is in front. Thomas has very mild cerebral palsy and equally mild learning disabilities.    AREN'T THEY CUTE???   My daughter Chelle in a picture taken by the adoption caseworker when she and Josh made their trip to Delaware to meet their boys.  Ronald is on the left, Thomas on the right.  Thomas may not have my genes, but he most definitely shows in this picture that he has lots in common with his new grandma---look at those arms across his chest.  Doesn't Chelle look absolutely radiant?  My husband says that she was glowing so much they didn't need a flash to take the picture :-)   I wonder when schools in Delaware get out?  I hope it's BEFORE Memorial Day and not after! 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

I am so excited to be able to tell you that Thursday is the day!  The boys' caseworker will be presenting Chelle and Josh as the only family in the placement hearing.  We are nearly certain this is going to go well, as the boys have already been told, and so have their foster parents and their school teachers.  Chelle and Josh have even started to receive school records and letters from the boys' teachers!  We can't believe that the adoption caseworker would have told all these people unless she was certain this would pass all the hurdles that you have to jump over in the foster-to-adopt program. 

It has been decided that it will be best if the boys finish school in Delaware, but they will fly here to Ohio the first week of April, during their spring break, to stay at Chelle and Josh's place.  We are all so very excited. 

Although I still can't share pictures until this is official, I know you will agree with me that these boys are adorable.  They just look like you want to hug them and squeeze them, but my son has warned me that at the ages of 7 and 9, they will NOT want a new grandma treating them like little kids.  So I will have to contain myself :-) 

Please pray that this goes smoothly and that no monkey wrenches get thrown into the proceedings.  Josh and Chelle already love these boys after their trip to Delaware, and consider them "their boys."  We can't wait to have them here as part of our family, and shower on them the love and security that they have missed so far in their lives.  

 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

As you know from a previous post, my daughter Chelle and her husband Josh drove out to the state of Delaware from Ohio this past weekend to visit with two little boys that they hope to have become a part of their family.  They had a great visit both with the boys and with the adoption case-worker.  Josh is already proudly talking about “my boys!”  They are so anxious to start building a playground set and a climbing tower in their yard for them, and to decorate the bedroom now that they know they will be having boys and not girls. 

 

The boys are R, aged 9 and in 4^th grade, and T, aged 7 and in 2^nd grade.  T is the same age as my granddaughter NovaLynn.  The boys were told by the caseworker that Chelle and Josh would be their new family, and they were very excited about it.  The youngest one was ready to go home with them right on the spot J  I’m not sure he realizes fully what that all entails yet. 

 

It will be a big adjustment.  The boys are African-American, and in our area of Ohio, there are very few other African-American families.  A family right down the road from Chelle and Josh have adopted several children, and that will be nice for both families, as I know at least several of their children are also African-American.  Another adjustment will be going from inner city living to a completely rural area.  We literally live out “in the sticks” here.  Chelle and Josh live on 38 acres with a beautiful pond, and mostly wooded area, which I hope the boys will grow to love, and it is a great place to camp, swim, and explore.  Of course, they will also have to leave their foster family, their school and their friends.  

 

The caseworker plans to fly out here with the boys sometime in the next couple weeks to spend a couple days.  Chelle and Josh could have the boys as early as mid-April.  It depends on whether the panel decides to move the boys before school is out or after it is over. 

 

I can’t wait till this is official so I can tell you more about it and show you pictures of my “almost” grandsons!  Isn’t it almost more than coincidence that this all is falling into place the week that Ellora was with us???  I truly think that she is helping find just the right brothers and sisters for her family. 

 

The hardest part of this adoption journey is convincing people that Chelle and Josh are doing this for the right reasons.  So many think that they are trying to replace Ellora.  They don’t realize that this had been their plan long before Ellora’s birth.  So they are just doing exactly what they had always planned to do.  I guess that people will think what they want to think, but I sure wish that people would listen when you try to explain things to them. 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

My daughter and her husband will be celebrating their daughter Ellora's birthday tomorrow---she would have been 1 year old.  It seems like just yesterday that Ellora made her entrance into this world.  Chelle and Josh will be going through her things for the first time since her death, and just remembering the joy that she brought to us for those 10 special days last March. 

 

Then on Saturday morning, they will be leaving on a trip to the state of Delaware to visit the two boys that quite possibly will become my next two grandchildren.  There have been so many ups and downs on this adoption journey, and I hope and pray that this one will stay "UP."  My son-in-law is already calling them "my boys," and is excitedly looking at playground sets and climbing towers that he can build for them, and planning to be a Cub Scout den leader. 

 

Josh was so nervous on the phone the other day.  He frantically said, "What on earth do you DO with a 7 and a 9 year old boy???"  He is thinking it through too much.  I think it kind of freaked him momentarily to find out that the social workers were actually going to let them have alone time with the boys on the first visit. They hadn't expected that, so it was a surprise.  My son said the answer was simple---they want to eat and play :-)

How I wish I could have shared all the rest of the stories with you all, but there are privacy issues, and also my daughter didn't want to get family members all excited about something before things were pretty sure.  There were some pretty sure things before, that ended in disappointment.  But this time, it looks like things may finally fall into place!!!

 

The boys are 7 and 9 years old, are African-American, and really anxious to find a permanent home.  They are adorable!!!  I can't wait until this is a "for sure" so I can give you their names and show you their pictures!!!  They are so adorable, or as my youngest son says, "handsome would be the proper term at their age."  But they are CUTE!!! 

The youngest has mild Cerebral Palsy and mild learning disabilities, but is coming along well.   The oldest wants a "real family" desperately bad, and keeps asking his social worker if they have found him a real home yet.  I want to be their grandma so badly!

 

Chelle and Josh will get to spend a couple hours alone with the boys on Sunday after meeting them with their case worker first, then they will get to spend Monday alone with them, too.  Then they will drive back home on Tuesday.  Yours truly will be running the shop for them, and anxiously waiting to hear what the DCS has to say.  We are hoping that they will let the boys come for a visit here during spring break. 

 

My only living grandchild, sweet Nova Lynn, is excited to finally have cousins.  They will be near her age, too.  She will be 8 in May.  At school she loves to play football with the boys, so having boy cousins will probably suit her just fine.  That little stinker is the one who sold me the Samoas that I warned all the Blubber Bloggers about.  I have to walk 20 minutes before I eat each cookie, and she thinks it is just so funny.  Wait till she gets to be an old granny who is overweight, and can't in good conscience eat a Samoa! LOL 

 

I'm so excited that Chelle and Josh gave me their permission to share with you about the boys, R. and T.  Please pray with me that this time what looks like a sure thing turns out to really be a sure thing.  The fact that they will be meeting on the week that Ellora was with us almost seems like a sign of approval from heaven that this is meant to be this time.  Maybe Ellora is helping to see that she has brothers and sisters to help mend her Mommy and Daddy's hearts.  Josh says, "We need them, and they need us.  We need to be a family." 

 

Me with my beautiful little Nova Lynn.  She was only 4 in this picture, and had just cut her own bangs, as if you can't tell.  This was taken at my mother and father-in-law's 50th anniversary.   

And this is me with my precious little Ellora Faye.  I'm pointing to her little "pout face" mouth that looked identical to the one her mommy had when she was little.  I treasure this picture, because it is the only one I have of the two of us together.  The baby green blanket is one that I was crocheting for her, and hadn't finished yet at the time she was born.  I quickly finished off the end when they took her out of the isolette, and wrapped it around her, so she could die not only in her mommy's arms, but wrapped in the blankie her Granny had lovingly made just for her.

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Chelle and Josh heard back from the phone conference about placement for Malik, the little 7 year old boy that I wrote about earlier.  They were picked as the "back-up family" for him.  I know that Josh in particular was smitten with this little fella, so it was a bit of a disappointment for them :-( 

However, the family that was picked ahead of Chelle and Josh is from Colorado, and has to move to Ohio to adopt him.  So we are wondering if there might still be hope that something doesn't work out.  Please continue to pray that the absolute best thing work out for all involved, especially Malik. 

 

We have still not heard anything back from the 2 little girls who had one last family member step forward for consideration, so that is still a possibility. There is also a baby in NICU in California, and a baby that is still going through breathing treatments from preemie complications in one of the Carolina's that are possibilities that we would love your prayer on, too.  Other home studies have been sent out other directions, as well.  All of them need your prayers.

 

My goodness, and I thought a grandma had a lot to worry about when expecting the usual way!!!  This is rough! 

 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

 

 

Please pray for this little boy, whose name is Malik.  My daughter Chelle and her husband will be having a placement conference on Thursday of this week, in hopes that they may be chosen as his adoptive parents. 

Malik is the little boy that my son-in-law first fell in love with when they first started to look through children's files.  Isn't the picture adorable?  This little guy loves school, and wants to be a school teacher!  He also is very interested in learning Russian and learning about other cultures.  They say that he loves the outdoors, as everyone in our family does.  (Can you tell by the iluvtheland board name, or by all the Boy Scouting tales? LOL)  He also is quiet and shy like Chelle, and loves to read.  He also loves to play sports.  He is a 2nd grader right now. 

 

This little boys mom is incarcerated, and his dad is a convicted sex offender and has no visitation privileges with his son.  He has been in foster care for quite some time, with various families, and they also tried to place him with his grandmother.  That did not work out, as she disobeyed court orders and let him be with his father, who physically abused him. 

 

It's amazing that Malik has turned out so well after all of this in his young life.  We hope that he may be a part of our family soon, and have parents and grandparents, and other extended family that he can count on to be there for him forever, and also so that he can learn the love that God has for him, if he has not known this already. 

 

As always, the important thing to pray for is that the Lord's will be done in this.  I know that He has just the right child in mind for my daughter's family, and also for Malik.  May this match be made in Heaven if it is to be. 

 

But I must admit, after my son-in-law Josh first told me about Malik and showed me his picture, I have adored him, and wanted to be his Granny!  

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Chelle and Josh had their interview with the county next to ours on Wednesday about fostering to adopt the two little girls that I have been telling you about----Kyilie (3) and Lindsey (1).  The interview went well, and now it is just a waiting game. 

 

One last family member has come forward as a possibility for placement.  If this one does not work out, there is no one else in the family left.  The mother does not want the children. The father has been seeing them the past couple months, but has stated that he would like to see them adopted, as he knows that he can't care for them properly. 

 

These parents are very young.  Also, the dad can't read at all, and the mom only on a 2nd grade level.  The children had no schedule at all---no mealtimes, no bedtimes, and went around the house holding a sippie cup of coke or KoolAid, while dragging around a bag of chips.  That was their mealtime.  At the time they were taken into state custody, they had to have their heads shaved after 12 hours of trying to remove the head lice would not get rid of them all. 

 

The 3 year old thinks she is the mother of the family, and calls the little one "My Lindsey."  Chelle says they are adorable, with chubby little cheeks and brown hair. 

 

I hope and pray that what is best will happen to these little girls, whether it be placement with this family member, or with my daughter.  It is hard to imagine that this family member could want them too badly, or they would have come forward long before this.  But I guess that time will tell...

 

Chelle and Josh are also inquiring about a little boy named Malik who is 7, and wants to be a school teacher and learn to speak Russian.  His report sounds very favorable, too, and his case worker has been in touch.  Also an infant that is dealing with preemie respiratory problems in South Carolina is up for placement in March, which will be the anniversary of Ellora's birth and death (Mar. 10-20, 2005).  This child is also one that is being considered for placement with my daughter and her husband. 

 

So many children, and so many decisions that will need to be made in the weeks ahead.  And I imagine that they will be hearing from even more case workers about even more children, as they just started to hear back the past couple weeks. 

 

Please help me pray for wisdom for Chelle and Josh, as well as for those who are responsible for making the placement decisions for all these babies and young children.  I know that God has just the right family planned for them, and I can't wait to find out who I am going to be Granny to next! 

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Wow! The New Year rolls around, and all of a sudden Chelle and Josh are being flooded with information about children to take in for either foster care or in the foster to adopt program. They were certified for fostering/adopting way back in September, and had really expected a placement before the holidays, but it wasn't meant to be.

We are betting that the agencies didn't want to uproot children at that time of year, and that lots of staff was away for the holidays, because just this week the ball has really been rolling. Besides the two little girls I mentioned yesterday, Kyilie and Lindsey, they have heard from Hamilton and Cuyohoga County. The little boy that they first fell in love with on the AdoptOhio website, Malik, is still available and they were contacted about him. Also a little preemie with some issues. I don't remember the name of this little one. I imagine they will hear more as the month goes on.

Chelle and Josh may end up like the Old Woman in the Shoe. All of a sudden agencies are finally starting to contact them right and left, and when you see the pictures and hear the stories, you want to take each and every one of them and love them up and kiss away the hurts life has brought to them.

I am so excited about this! Please continue to pray that the Lord leads them to just the right child or children. And pray for this grandma, as I will be helping to care for them and teach them when Chelle is on bedrest during her upcoming pregnancy, which she hopes will be in the spring. I'll be one busy mom and grandma!

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

I wanted to let all of you know that my daughter Chelle and her husband Josh will be interviewing for a foster-to-adopt placement next Wednesday! We are all so very excited about it. The children are the two little girls that I had you all pray about earlier, before the holidays. They are Kyilie (3) and Lindsey (1). They are sisters, and are white/Caucasian, with no known developmental delays either physically or mentally. It sounds too good to be true, as the Chelle and Josh had given up hope of finding the "perfect" baby. They, in fact, had decided that they would take any race or ethnic background, and in fact would like to take in a child that had delays related to prematurity issues.

The state does not have permanent custody of them as of yet, but they say it is very promising, as both the mom and dad have not been showing up for the parenting classes or interviews required to reunify the family, nor have they shown up for most of their visitation times with the girls.

My biggest fear is that Chelle, and our whole family, has been through such a loss already when Ellora died, that it will be very hard to part with these little girls should the state not get custody, and Chelle would lose two more daughters. How would she be able to handle this? She thinks that it is worth the risk.

She and Josh will also be trying to conceive again in March. She will be considered extremely high risk, due to her PPROM pregnancy of last year with Ellora. She will have weekly check-ups rather than monthly ones, and a cerclage placed at 12 weeks. Then bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy. So I will get to be "super-granny" again and help care for her business, and take care of her, and if the foster placement goes through, help care for two little girls, as well!

The placement is not a certainty. We don't know if there are others being interviewed for the placement or not. I know that Chelle has a very strong feeling that these are the children for her and Josh right now, and that she feels it is God's nudging for them to go through this interview and take in these precious little ones who have no real home.

I ask that you join me in prayer that God's will be done in this placement, and that regardless of the outcome, Chelle and Josh will remain strong in their faith, and keep their trust in the Lord. Of course, we pray that the Lord's will coincides with our own hopes and dreams for their desire to have a family, and to serve the Lord by taking in children that others want to "throw away." May God grant their heart's desire...

Posted in The Adoption Journey for Our Future Grandchildren

Chelle and Josh had a call from their case worker this past week, asking them if they would be interested in fostering two little girls, in hopes that they would become available for adoption. Their names are Kylie and Lindsey, and they are 3 and 1, and come from the county that our little town is in. We actually live 1 mile over the county line from the county they are in. So I am wondering if I "know" them or have seen them.

Apparently they were removed from their home due to gross neglect. It took 12 hours to try to get them lice-free, and then they had to end up shaving their poor little heads :-( The parents are not coming to the parenting classes, or even showing up for their visitation days, so the state is trying to get permanent custody.

It is certainly not a sure thing that my dd and her dh will be able to have these children, as they are "normal," young, and white---the most sought after children in adopting. But they are hoping that this may work out. My worry is that if it does, how it will end. Since the state does not have permanent custody yet, the parents could change their mind, and my Chelle could lose two more daughters. It scares me to think how she would be able to handle that after Ellora's death.

On the other hand, the state is trying to find these little girls a "forever home" with a family that lives fairly nearby. It just might be that these little girls are the answers to all of our family's prayers. Wouldn't it be a wonderful Christmas present for Chelle to hear for certain that one of the many, many places they have their homestudy submitted to has a placement for them?

Please remember Kylie and Lindsey in your prayers. Regardless of whether they become a part of our family, they need prayer that either their own parents grow up and learn to be a Mommy and a Daddy, or that they are able to be placed in a loving home where they will be taken care of and loved the way they should.