Baby Bop is our two year old foster boy. He came to us as an ESH (Emergency Satellite Home) placement. This means that he wasn't matched to our family for long term placement, but was put in our home while the state figured out what to do. He had been in another foster home with his two older siblings but that had not worked out for one reason or another. Because it looked like Baby Bop would be sent to live with his father in a few weeks, we continued on after the ESH (30 days) period ended. I figured that he didn't need the trauma of yet another foster home.
After a soap opera of twists and turns, yesterday his bio-parents relinquished their parental rights. Baby Bop is now available for adoption. Since our adoption home study is already completed, the adoption process will probably take less than 9 months. A year ago, I would have never guessed how this would end.
One of the moms at preschool (we go to a parent participation program that meets once a week), asked if we were going to tell him he was adopted. I just had to laugh. He is a teeny tiny Hispanic boy who might reach 5' 5" if he's lucky in a household a fair-skinned Amazon women. I'm 5' 11" and my 14 year old daughter is already 5 ' 10". My husband is nearly 6' 3" and has blond hair and blue eyes. I told her that I thought the "cat was already out of the bag."
I admit there is the tiny part of me that wonders if we are depriving him of growing up in a short Hispanic family where he would have blended right in. In the end, I decided that as far as he is concerned I am his mother, this is his family and the rest doesn't matter.
However, we do keep contact with his two older siblings who are still in foster care. As luck would have it, they are being adopted by a family who attends the same church we do, though in a different city. I think it will make it easier that they will grow up with the same values and expectations.
Baby Bop's social worker said that we could include pictures of Baby Bop in our Christmas cards, etc. so here he is.
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Technorati tags: foster care, parenting, family, children
10 comments:
Don't be silly. What you look like doesn't matter. You care for him, and he cares for you. That's what makes a family, not how someone looks.
Just think -- you'd never even question placing a left-handed person with only left-handed families even though left-handedness is probably a much bigger day-to-day issue. :D (Left-handed scissors.. trying to figure out how to write.. where to sit people at the dinner table...)
So, his sibs "Barney" and "BJ" are with another family in the same denomination? WOW.
I'm so glad to "meet" little Baby Bop. And I wouldn't worry about the colour difference. For whatever reason this matching family had to be broken up and now Baby Bop is part of a beautiful mosaic at your place. :]
Of course he will figure out he's adopted LOL! One time, my friend and I were out with our two kids who were born on the same day. Except her child was black and the waiter looks at my blonde boy and her dark child and goes... twins? And he was serious, if a bit ditzy.
:]
LOL
Congratulations!
Our family is licensed to do foster care but I am a little afraid of the whole process. I'm trying to deal with the fear of the unknown!
He's a cutie!
Congratulations!!!!
I think Baby Bop will have the most important ingredient in his family, LOVE. And love comes in all shapes and sizes.
Congratulations! I hope the completion of this process is as smooth as possible for your entire family.
Ahhh....he is loved. What a cute, happy face.
Congratulations!
awesome. congratulations to all of you.
We have two unrelated, adopted from Foster care, children and two biological children, and guess what? We are called a family! They are growing up knowing that they are adopted (we have open adoption agreements with both biological parents, so that would be hard to hide) and we are loving on them and being parents to them. We are not EXACTLY the same, and we're a family!
I don't always understand everything about the two children I gave birth to, so I don't expect that I will always understand my other two children, either. But I will always try to understand them all.
Congratulations to you! I am so happy you all have each other. He's gonna be a fine young man, cause he's got a mom who loves him. Congratulations to Baby Bop!
Congrats! No one cares about looks and if they do, they don't matter!
He is absolutely precious. Congratulations!
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