WEEK #1 (And so it begins...)

So our first week as real life bona fide parents has drawn to a close, and as we once again catch our breath, let us fill you in on some of the stories, incidents and feelings that have surfaced over that time period.

We were able to meet our children for the first time on Friday evening, March 17th. Jill and I were absolute nervous wrecks by the time we reached their foster home...the fear of the unknown was overwhelming as we visualized the scenario over and over again in our heads of how our first meeting would go. We can only imagine what was going through the kid's head when they found out their "new" family was on their way to meet them. But fortunately for all of us, the fears we all had were all but gone when we were greeted by Vera and Rayana with open arms and hugs. Ricky was a bit on the shy side when he met us, but warmed up to us in no time at all. There was a lot of excitement between all of us as they asked us a million questions about anything they could think of at the moment...and basically we got to know each other the best that we could in such a short amount of time. After a few hours of playing and chatting, we made arrangements to spend an entire day with them, which was to happen two days later.

And somehow we got duped into taking them to Chuck E. Cheese's, which would have been my absolute LAST choice to take a group of children who are just getting the hang of us (and vice versa). But surprisingly enough, they all did great. Yes, it was a bit of an undertaking, but everyone had a great time, and it ended up being less painful than I would have thought (speaking from past experience). The rest of the day was spent doing a bit of shopping as we wanted the kids to take part in decorating their rooms (and they have cool taste even!) - we just wanted them to feel as in control of this HUGE "move" as they possibly can.

Anyway, the transition process is moving very quickly (almost TOO quickly), but we're making everything work the best that we can. Their rooms are now ready, which is more complicated than it sounds (factor in painting and furniture building); we successfully traded in our Volkswagen (sniff, sniff) for a a fairly "uncool" minivan (it's all "function over form" from now on); and the kids have been showered with clothes and toys and such from all of the generous people in our lives. It's all coming together as smoothly as humanly possible.

So, stay tuned for next week's log where we'll fill you in their first visit to our house/their first sleepover/and the actual "move" into our house (and probably a spotlight on each of the children so that you can get to know them individually a little better). Until next time...