A family - for real

Wow - it's been so long since I've posted it's a wonder there's anyone still following...

My Pooh Bear had been taken in October and C had come to live with us. My last post was Mid-December 2009 and I was sharing how we had grown to love her sweet smile... and less than three weeks after that post - our life turned upside down and I've barely had time to breath. Pooh Bear came back. On Jan. 5th as I was wrapping up my day at work I got a call from my husband that Pooh Bear was there - at home. Here's the story. Pooh Bear's bio-mom got herself kicked out of the center she was staying at... since that supervised setting was the only way that she was allowed to have custody of her son, that meant her son (my son) had to go back into state care. Fortunately both bio-mom and the social worker requested he come to us. However, they didn't call us. They called someone who agreed to take care of him, but it wasn't us. So as my husband come home with C in her car seat, there was a state worker waiting at the door with Pooh Bear. We weren't technically licensed for two (although the state quickly took care of that - they are always in need of more homes) and I feel badly for the family that was expecting him - but our Pooh Bear was back! Bio-Mom was determined to do what was necessary to regain custody, but in the meantime we had to learn how to deal with two babies only 6 mths apart. It's been challenging to say the least. After 3 months of dealing with a porta-crib in the living room for Pooh, we finally wised up and realized that the "temporary" assignment was going to be long-term. We moved him in with C and they've shared a bedroom ever since. Our tiny two bedroom home has slowly become overrun with toddler toys and books. We've watched these two both learn to crawl, stand, walk and talk. We dealt with the heartbreak for both of them of having their bio-Mom's say they will allow us to adopt and then unexpectedly and without warning change their minds... I've cried at night, thinking about the children returning to their bio-moms. How do you explain to a toddler? We became a family, but we didn't have a legal safety net to ensure we could stay together - it could be taken away at any time. In a week C will have been with us two years... We loved and laughed, cried and danced with these children and I'm so happy to be able to announce they will soon be legally ours! The state stepped in and began the processing of termination of parental rights with both moms and both moms signed voluntary agreements to allow adoption rather than go through a trial of having their rights taken away. By choosing a voluntary method, they adoption becomes an open adoption and we agree to visits, photos and medical updates so the families aren't simply shut out of the children's lives. There's still paperwork being done to terminate father's rights but hopefully within a few weeks we'll have some adoption dates. I can't tell you the peace that's settled over me knowing their futures are settled. I looked at them this morning, giggling with each other and was overjoyed at knowing they will be siblings forever. So, the tiny two bedroom house isn't going to cut it. We are building a big new house and it should be done in a few weeks. Both kids will have their own rooms. I'm a little concerned about the first few nights, because they are so used to looking over and seeing the other in the crib across the room. I'm afraid they'll be scared to sleep in a room all by themselves - but we'll get through it. We've been through worst...