Plus One

Last week I got a call from a fellow foster mother and friend, to find out that she was in the hospital after having surgery the night before.  (Heidi, I promise that I won't tease you anymore about how loopy you sounded on the phone!  Ahhhh.. pain killers!) 

 She had fallen while caring her foster son, and she broke her one ankle and sprained the other.  She's looking at weeks of Couch Arrest, followed by weeks with a walker and therapy. 

She asked if we could take on their youngest foster son, who is 3 years old, because she just can't take care of him in her condition.  Of course, we said yes, and he is now sharing a room with Luke.  (This match up is already paying out dividends by limiting how late Luke can stay up now in his room-BONUS!)

Little Man is a sweetheart, and after a heartbreaking farewell to his foster Dad when he was dropped off, he has done extremely well and demonstrates a resilience that many kids would struggle to carry off.

Camille has already latched onto him, and they are best buddies now who love to play with the wooden Thomas the Train set and Monster trucks.  

Being drug around on the wooden floor-super fun!

Camille, Quinn, and Little Man

  It's wonderful to have a little guy in the house again!  The unrestrained energy that a little boy channels is energizing even to me and I LOVE IT!  Of course, with little boys comes stepping on leggos, balls being thrown in the house, and sticks mysteriously showing up in the house under the guise of being a pirates sword.

But it's all good! 

I only hope that we are able to give Little Man a strong feeling of security and being loved so that he is comfortable and happy being here with us.  The emotional roller coaster that is the foster care system is hard on these little people, and no matter how resilient they are, it leaves it's mark on them.  So our job is to soften the hurt, ease the emotional ups and downs, and be a soft shoulder to cry on and a soft lap to be cuddled on.

Welcome to our home, Little Man.