Will you be my Valentine?

We've been a little quiet around here over the last six months or so. I've wanted to write so many times, but it was hard to find the words to say.

Since our Little Lady left us at the end of September, we've had several exciting visits with her! It's only by the grace of God that we're able to continue having a relationship with our girl. We are beyond blessed to be able to visit her, text her, talk to her, FaceTime her....it's simply amazing and we don't take it for granted. 

Here's a recap of the last few months.

Sept. 29: LL moved south to live with her grandparents. 

Oct. 11: We drove down to grandma's house for the day to deliver all of her things. 

Nov. 25-30: LL came to our house for Thanksgiving Break. 

Dec. 14: We went south to watch her sing with the church choir. She had a solo and she did so well! We also celebrated her 8th birthday and met her mom and dad. 

Feb. 13-15: We have our little valentine here at the house for the weekend!!

I can live with this arrangement. I can deal with talking to her several times a week and visiting her every month or two. This is manageable. 

If this had been a "typical" foster placement, we probably would've never seen her again, or even heard about how she was doing. That fact alone makes us apprehensive to take another placement. We know we'll never be in a situation like this again, and I can't imagine what it'd be like if we never saw her again. 

Even still, we know we want to foster again. It could be months or years, but we will do it again. There's still a need, and we can fill it. 

Day 1:

Reunited with her best friend! (Note: I will continue to blur her face to respect her family's privacy.) 

Yes, she put Lucy's collar on her neck. 

She always has so many gifts to open when she gets here...I save a stack of gifts from Bry's mom, my mom, my sis-in-law, and us. She loves gifts as much as Bry does, so this is always fun! 

The beautiful dress my mom-in-law got her for Valentine's! We're so grateful to have so many people who love our girl as much as we do and she is so blessed to know all of you. 

Day 2: 

Shopping at REI. 

Playing soccer in the beautiful, unseasonably warm weather. 

Playing with Laurie Ann before her volleyball game! 

After LA's game, we got all dressed up to go on our Valentine's date! Bry even bought a boutonniere to pin to his suit. 

Wish you could see how beautiful she looked! 

Love!!

Ironically, if we wanted a booth, we would've been able to be sat immediately. But, we wanted to be at the pizza bar, of course! We waited almost an hour, but it was worth it. 

While we waited, Bry and LL were taking selfies on the buzzer. ;)

Dinner was delicious and the company was perfection. 

Day 3:

Our last day together included bagels at Einstein's (LL's request), church, and lunch with the whole family. After lunch, it was a long drive dropping her off and driving back, but it was definitely worth it. Looking forward to our next visit with this precious girl! 

LL's quotes:

- Bry: "What makes you happy?" LL: "Seeing you guys. And burping my ABCs." 

- "Ms. Julie, can you please take out your driver's license? I can't see your portrait."

- "This song is about me cause I used to care what people thought about me. Remember?"

- "Mr. Brian, are we going to play soccer? Cause I brought the perfect outfit!"

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About Us: 

We began our foster journey in mid-August 2013. We finished our classes in October, had our home study in early January, and we were licensed on February 7, 2014. After seven calls from CPS, we received our first placement, a 7-year-old girl (our Little Lady, or LL for short) on April 3, 2014. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our journey through the craziness that is foster care. Most importantly, thanks for your prayers, love, and support. We hope to encourage fellow foster/adoptive parents as we document our ups and downs each day. 

Key Posts:

We are Facebook-Official!

Saying goodbye to someone I've never met

Will you get a white one?

Yup, it's gonna hurt.

Day 1 with our Little Lady

Oasis (post from Brian)

What we tried to build

Why I don't usually write (post from Brian)

Another night in the closet

LL...if you just stumbled upon this blog and you're freaking out because you see pictures of yourself, please START HERE.