Meeting about J------

Well Folks, here she is. This is a picture of a picture of J------ at roughly 6 months of age. We haven't seen her yet, but we are scheduled to go and visit with her for the first time next Thursday the 24th.

Friday morning, we went to the DFACS office, and had a "staffing". In other words, we met with our case worker, her supervisor, and 2 ladies who will help with the adoption process. They told us all they knew about J------'s history, her mom's history, how they came to have J------, and so on. They kindly answered all of our questions. We felt they really cared for everyone involved.

What can I say to comment on what we learned? Well, I'll say this. It made our hearts heavy to hear the story of J------'s mom and all her troubles. For example, she had been raised in a foster home herself for some of her life. Later, an Uncle adopted her. We are so happy about getting J------. But at the same time, we can't help but feel agony as we think of how her mom must have felt as she signed the parental rights termination papers. J------'s birth mom is in prison for breaking and entering. She may be there for several years. Please pray for J------'s mom, and for so many people like her who make bad choices and have to go through so much pain. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child in this way.

On the brighter side, we will meet our future daughter next Thursday at her foster home. It has to be during working hours because DFACS staff members will be there. But I think future visits can be on weekends or early evenings and will be scheduled by the foster mom and us. We will get used to J------, she will get used to us, and fairly soon, she will come home with us to stay.