Will Our Nest Be Blessed Again?

This is a nest from a bush in our front yard.
We enjoyed watching the process of the building of the nest, and the babies growing up in it.
The  boys "harvested" it after it was vacated, and we placed it here on our porch. : -)
 

Thanks so much for all those of you who have asked us about where we stand in the foster-to-adopt process of a little 3 year-old boy and a five year-old girl sibling group. 

We just got an update last Thursday, after a two-month wait for an assessment to be done.  This assessment is part of a program operated under a contract with the DSHS.  So it is administered by an "outside" agency that collects data from all the children's care providers and gives recommendations to the state social workers.  This is what was passed on to us by our adoption social worker . . .  "it was recommended that Z. stay where he is until the relative’s home study is completed.  L. (state SW) is talking to her supervisor and other professionals on the kids’ treatment team to find out if they should follow the recommendation or not.  She said they will have a decision hopefully by early next week.  She thanked you for your patience while they figure out the best outcome for S. and Z. "

We were told initially by the state social worker, that the children's relatives were not able to have the children permanently, as the one relative caring for the little girl did not pass a home study.  The other relative, taking care of the little boy, is a grandma, and for whatever reasons, she was not able/willing/approved to be an adoptive placement.  We were also told that the relatives were not able/wanting to keep the two siblings together. This was another reason the state wanted to place them in an adoptive home that would be willing to take both of them, so they could grow up together.  It was also said that the parental rights were being terminated.

So we wait . . . a little bit longer to see if this be God's will for them, and for us.  Thank you so much for all your care and prayers!

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I'm not sure if I have shared this journey much here on the family blog.  So, for those of you who are wondering about this, and for our family's journal sake, I'll re-cap this journey here.

March 10, 2016 - we were contacted by our adoption social worker about this twosome, asking if we would be interested in being their forever family.

March 29, 2016 - The state social worker for S. and Z., along with our adoption social worker, came out to our house, and decided that we would be a good fit for an adoptive placement for S. and Z.

April 5, 2016- We were informed that a customary assessment needed to be done before the children could begin making the transition to our home.  This needed to take place before a 50 day deadline.

While we waited . . . we located a set of bunk beds on CL and got them all ready in a spare room.  We also found a playset on CL and Ted made an awesome enclosed play area right out our back door!  We are ready!

June 2, 2016 - We were notified that a re-decision about their adoptive placement by the social workers would need to happen after their review of the assessment.  Our adoption social worker said, " The person gathering information for the assessment recommends or suggest his or her thoughts on what is best for the child they are looking at.  The state social worker, has the authority to take that recommendation or decline it.  So just so you know, it is not completely unheard of for the assessment to recommend something that the SW in turn does not approve.  Like you, I remember L. talking to us about why the relatives were not viable placement options so we need to get some clarification on if this has changed."