Valentina And Sabinna

The girls went back to their foster family yesterday and we all deeply felt the relief of letting them return.  This placement confirmed without question that this momma is NOT built for raising four children all at once.  No sooner had I said so, than their foster family asked at pick-up if we could keep them again for another respite placement in July.  HA!  We will, of course, because the girls are sweet and we are all used to each other by now, but that really, really, really, really will be it.  After them, we stick with ONE EXTRA KIDDO AT A TIME. No exceptions besides the two sweeties named Valentina and Sabinna.  And then not even them if its for a permanent placement somewhere down the line.

Do you hear me?!  ONE!

But back to the girls....  some moments we shared with them in our week together.

In the course of the week, we had two phone calls with their mom, Esmerelda, and another that she missed, which if you know me and my phone phobia, was ok with me.  Ha! 

Esmerelda was super nice every time we talked and texted though.  The girls also got to have a visitation with her during their time with us.  Allyson, from Jonah's Journey, coordinated that for us and took them to that visit.

I was glad Allyson could attend that in their foster family's stead.  They met with mom for three whole hours that day at a Chick-Fil-A!  I can't imagine wrangling mine there that long, too.  Yikes. The girls had a great visit though and came home with many new things their mom picked up for them.

Esmerelda has some important court dates coming up that will effect her and the girls and their foster family very much, so we will be praying for His best for the girls ... since it's so hard to see clearly from our flawed vantage point what that might be.  We want what you want, Lord.

Beyond all this, what we will remember a bunch about these sisters is how OBVIOUSLY well-adjusted they were to the change that comes their way, how well they knew their daily routines, and how clearly they had been discipled in their nine-month placement with their foster family thus far.  Valentina would always default to singing to herself while she played, often this old hymn, "Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear his voice! Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice.Oh come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory. Great things he has done."  Now just imagine the preciousness of all that theology being sung with r's that sound like w's.  I will remember the hair ... all that hair and waves and curls.  I will grin to remember how many questions Valentina asked and how many kisses both girls gave.  I will grin to remember Valentina saying "Um, 'xcuse me..." and Sabinna talking about being "modest" in the bathroom.  We'll all chucklingly grin at their usage of the word "ca-ca" when they were going number two, how Valentina doesn't eat green beans because they are a boy color, and how Sabinna does not like to be pushed into anything too quickly. Oh, those furrowed eyebrows of Sabinna's!  (Josh called her my clone in that respect. Ha!)  Sabinna has an infectiously fun raspy laugh that can scare you from across the house/yard too because it sounds like crying at times.  And it was precious to watch and listen to them play babies and barbies and doll house.  These are all toys we have that Anna NEVER used, so it was sweet to see them getting some action. ♥  Glad I kept those things around for once!  But man, oh man, they also played chase, and legos, and climbed trees, and hunted bugs and slugs just like any boy.

Sweet things all around!  Who we'll see again in a month ... after two important court dates.  Waiting on pins and needles til then ... Praying!