If the shirt fits, put it on.

This past weekend was wonderful! It was so great to finally meet our kids and get over that initial awkwardness of the first meeting. We went down to Houston on Friday and met the kids first thing Saturday morning. We played with them at their house for a few hours where B.J. sufficiently got beat at Super Smash Bros and I put together Lego race cars, dressed Polly Pocket, and did a puzzle. We left from there to walk to the park. The foster dad came with because K was hesitant to go with us. He held her hand on the way and by the time we got there, she felt comfortable enough to play sidewalk chalk with me and H. D played Frisbee with BJ for a little while as did H. From there we went to McDs where they proceeded to scarf down their Happy Meals in 5 minutes tops. We are obviously not going to have the same eating issues with had with the other two siblings we watched before. After lunch, we left them for the evening and picked them back up on Sunday for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. In my mind, this was going to be the true test. Would they want to come with us again or would we be dealing with tears and clinging to the foster parents? See, our kids have lived with the same foster parents for 2 years and are very bonded to them. But praise God, breakfast went off without a hitch and they were excited to see us again. On the way there, there was a tickle war going on in the back seat and it was great to hear them laugh. H loves to talk and she is one funny kid. I could tell she was trying to connect with us and test us to see what our response to her would be. BJ talked to D more than I did and he is looking forward to a fishing trip, so BJ will have to plan one for the weekend they are up here with us. K was more shy than the other two, but she held my hand the whole time and was happy to sit in my lap while I played checkers with H. So overall, the weekend was great and easy. It was what I would picture a normal day with three kids would be like. Granted I know that they were on their best behavior, as this is a time of uncertainty for them too, and I know that it won't always be this easy. But it was nice to not feel overwhelmed from the first meeting with them. This coming up weekend we are going down again and this time, we get to have a sleepover at the hotel with the kids. H is really looking forward to it. (I am sure the other kids are too. She is just the most outspoken of the bunch and doesn't hide her feelings much.) She wanted to come with us last weekend, so I'm sure she'll enjoy more time with us. She loves sleepovers, she said, so I hope we don't disappoint her. We are excited to spend more time with our kids. And they are definitely our kids. We all have light brown/blonde hair and blue eyes. And according to H, her and I have the same face. :) And I think about the people who have to match kids with parents and realize they are really good at their jobs, at least for us they were. The kids were able to look at our photo book before they met us and I'm pretty sure H memorized it. They were asking us about our parents and my sister. And playing the piano. And fishing. And other things from that book. I love that they want to know us as much as we want to know them. Love it. They just fit with us. They are ours. H said jokingly that she thinks her real mom stole them from us and we are just now getting them back. Because they are supposed to be our kids. Because God really knows what he is doing. It hasn't hit me yet. The fact that I am seeing God's word fulfilled. The fact that He is giving me the desires of my heart. The fact that I am going to be Mommy to three kids in less than a month. I am sure at some point I will have this emotional release (i.e. become a blubbering mess) of all the tension I have lived under for the past three years and will realize and feel how good God is. Today I was asked if I am trying not to bond with the kids too fast. And I think maybe I am. Not intentionally, but subconsciously. Last time I bonded with kids, and thought they might be mine, I lost them and I'm sure a part of myself is in protection mode. Please pray that God will help me to "love like I've never been hurt." Because I've seen them and know they need me to. And I need to for my own good. Many of the people reading this asked for the kid's sizes and such when we get them. I promised I would post those when I got them. I am by no way asking for you to buy the kids things. We can handle it. But I also know that sometimes God speaks to others to be a blessing. Ok, I'm really not good at this, so here are the kids sizes if you want to bless them and us. H (girl) - Size 7 clothes, Size 13.5 shoe D (boy) - Size 6 clothes, Size 12.5 shoe K (girl) - Size 4 clothes, Size 8 shoe Speaking of fit, the title of this post is from this year's Christmas play. One of the characters says things wrong all the time and this is one of her lines. Just seemed fitting (there I am being punny and B.J. is rolling his eyes at me) since play practice started up in the beginning of this month. So the shirt fits and we are putting it on FOREVER.