1 year down! Update on our boys

Image Credit: here

On October 31st we celebrated having our foster sons for 1 year! I remember the day CPS dropped the three brothers off at our house on Halloween (with no costumes might I add), they promised us that “trial is in one week and once their rights are terminated you should have the boys adopted in 6 months, if not sooner”. I laugh at this so hard because I felt like they gave us so much false hope about making them officially ours so fast! God definitely had other plans, and learning how to be patient was definitely one of them.

A little back story is that the termination of their biological parents happened back in May of this year. Technically the parents legally have no rights as of right now (meaning that they are no longer allowed to see the boys), but they are allowed to appeal the termination two times (which could take up to 6 months for each appeal) and that is where we are at right now. Both of the parents decided to appeal, so we are waiting for the 180 days to pass to see what this new Judge filed. If this Judge agrees with the termination, then I believe we have to wait another 60-90 days to see if they are going to appeal again before the adoption process can get started.

During these past 6 months the oldest brother of them all (age 8) was having a REALLY hard time accepting the fact that he would no longer see his biological parents, and he couldn’t seem to move forward with the hope of a future with someone else. He started acting out (so much so that CPS and us tried every alternative/intervention for him to help him cope with his feelings) and that his behavior and outbursts eventually led to him being separated from his siblings (ages 6 and 3 who are still in our house) and placed with his old foster parents in Houston. Safety is the number one goal in this house, and if we were having a hard time keeping the other kids safe from him, then CPS agreed it is best to place him elsewhere. I won’t go into great detail because for one he is still in foster care, and two, that is definitely his story to tell one day.

A little update on him: He seems to be doing SO much better with them (he is 10 years younger than the oldest child in his foster home) and loves being the baby of the family. We still do monthly visits in person and weekly contacts by phone, but for now, this definitely seems to be the best scenario for us and our family. I think that he just needed space from all of us to realize that he can get through this time in his life, and I know he is in intensive counseling in Houston to help him cope as well.

As for our 6 and 3 year old, we still have every intention of adopting them both, when the appeals process is complete and they finally are up for adoption. Our 6 year old REALLY wants to be a Johnson, so we definitely hope to make that wish come true one day!

For our 1 yr anniversary we took all the kids trick or treating, and they LOVED it this year, and got to celebrate 1 year being with us, with a few special treats that night!

We hope in the next few months to have all 3 of our current foster children adopted, but only God knows the future of the Johnsons! ♥♥

I will leave you with a few (blurred pictures) of our handsome little boys!