Adoption – Page 3

The phone calls we have waited on!

December 2, 2017December 2, 2017by Sheridan Johnson3 Comments

phone

Image Credit: here

The past two weeks have been SO busy here at the Johnson household and I have been wanting to post this blog for some time now!

So if you remember the post about the post on our update on our boys and then back in August when I posted an update on our baby girl and how things were going with each of the cases, well things have FINALLY moved forward and we have some good news!!

I will start with our boys: Their legal worker called me about a week and half ago and told us that unless the boys’ biological parents took the case to the supreme court (which they would have to pay out of pocket for–which is highly unlikely) then we could move forward towards adoption!! They estimate that it will be done in a couple of months, and we are SO excited to get things moving along in their case! My mom stated that as of Friday they have been in the foster care system for over 730 days now (Can you believe that? Ugh so sad)!

Now on to our wild child a.k.a our baby girl: Her Adoption worker called me on the day of her placement review hearing on Wednesday and let me know that after I talk to the adoption negotiator (which I did Friday), that the last step is that everything is sent to our lawyer to be submitted to the court and we will get a FINAL adoption date!!! AHHH! It is SO real that God really may give us our Christmas wish for her to be officially adopted before the end of the year! Gosh we cannot wait! We have prayed and had MANY ups and downs with our baby girl in her case, but we knew that God would always put her right where she needs to be. (Oh and an added bonus: She won’t have to be blurred anymore and we can FINALLY announce her new name!!)

So definitely there are some BIG things happening within the next few months (along with baby Johnson coming next month) so definitely keep following along!

Oh and our Christmas cards came in and they are ADORABLE!! I love every single picture and I love how our family changes every year (will leave you all with a preview and I will definitely be posting the full front/back when all of our family/friends have received them) ♥♥
©2017 Sheridan Johnson @Journey with the Johnsons. All Rights Reserved.

Adoption, foster

1 year down! Update on our boys

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017by Sheridan Johnson2 Comments

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!

Adoption, foster, photography

The ones you least expect

November 5, 2017November 5, 2017by Sheridan JohnsonLeave a Comment

foster love.jpg

Image Source: Quotesgram

This past week was another busy one, to say the least. The newest foster baby that we cared for, who is now almost 3 weeks old, had a 2 week hearing last Friday.

His case has been like no others before, since both of his parents wanted to relinquish their rights, right away. They had made multiple statements that they did not want anything to do with baby boy.

Shane and I were praying that God grow our hearts (and fast) to even consider adding another baby into our family so fast! Babies are so easy to love, care for, and nurture that the love you have for them, is almost immediate. We knew that if God placed him in our house, and in our hearts, it had to be for a reason.

Shane took off work to attend the hearing with me, and to run a lot of San Antonio errands (including signing off on a case study for our baby girl that is leading us one step closer to being able to adopt her), and I was SO thankful that he was there.

The hearing of course started 1 1/2 hours later than it was scheduled for, and then in 5 minutes, our whole world changed when the Judge ordered for baby boy to be placed with his Grandfather (who showed up to court) even though he has a domestic violence charge 10 years ago. The Judge said that he would be better off with a family member, and that charge is irrelevant since it was so long ago. The Judge wanted baby boy placed with his Grandpa right away, meaning tomorrow is our day to say good-bye to him.

While it never gets easier, especially the unexpected cases, we know this is all part of the process and that God will watch over these sweet babies after they leave our household. There is never a feeling of “regret” or “what if” when it comes to ending our time with these precious foster children because we know that they were well loved, cared for, and cherished while they were in our care, and that’s what matters most.

Tomorrow is also the day that our precious baby girl Rochelle Elaine Johnson entered into this world, and we truly feel that she is the reason for us wanted and longing to help other children in need, and we will be forever grateful for her. I will also be re-posting a lot of my favorite blogs about her journey tomorrow as well, so definitely keep a look out! She would have been turning 3 tomorrow, if she were still here with us.

I will leave you with some cute pictures of baby boy! We have loved every minute with him.

Adoption, foster, friday, photography

Weekly happenings

October 27, 2017October 27, 2017by Sheridan Johnson3 Comments

long week.jpeg

Photo Credit: Paperblog.com

Let’s just say that this has definitely been one of the longest weeks we have had over here in the Johnson household, for a while! (Right now, I have all 4 kids napping (ages 2 weeks old- 4 years) and I have finally found some time to spend on here.

First off, wanted to let all of blogging friends know that we said “yes” to another precious foster baby boy who was only 9 days old at the day he got placed into our home (Last Friday)! After hearing his precious story of maternal drug use, and the fact that he had no family available to care for him, we were definitely not going to say no!

So with that being said, we had to all of the “initial” stuff for baby boy this week such as his first appointment, his first visit with his biological parents, his first visit with CPS, his first WIC appointment, and his first evaluation with ECI. My Step-Dad is currently on a 2 week vacation, so my mom (who is AMAZING btw) took it upon herself to bring her RV to the RV park 8 miles down from us to help with any and everything this past week. She truly is the best NANA out there! Not only does taking on a new foster child change our lives, but it also changes my parents since they are the ones who help us so much (and they are always willing to love on each and every child that is placed in our home).

This week also included our 18 month old getting her second dose of her flu shot, an evaluation for speech through ECI and meeting with her adoption worker, who will be working with us for the rest of her journey to “officially” becoming a Johnson! We can’t wait!

Also my 3 yr old and 6 yr old foster sons had their dental appointments, and they both for a “B” for their dental reports, which isn’t too bad considering the terrible dental habits they grew up having in previous homes.

This weekend also consists of me working all day tomorrow (while Shane goes and takes the older boys to go do their monthly visit with their older brother) and then on Sunday we are driving down to the Corpus Christi area where we get to see my niece and nephew since we haven’t seen them in so long!

Hoping to end this long week with a great weekend! Oh and only 14 weeks left of this pregnancy!! We cannot wait to meet baby Johnson!!♥♥

I will leave you all with some of the happenings of this week! Hope you all had a fantastic week!