So that little boy I was telling you about last week? The one that we were hoping to meet but the weird foster parents couldn’t make up their mind what they wanted to do?

Well, they had until last Friday to decide.

And they did.

SORTA, KINDA, but NOT REALLY.

Last Thursday morning, I got a phone call from Apple’s caseworker (we’ll call him “Apple” from here on out.) She said she got a call from the foster dad that morning, and he said he was ready to give her their decision on what they planned to do.

Their decison on whether they want to adopt Apple, the little boy that has been living with them since February 2011?

“Right now, we are leaning towards adoption.”

Back up the boat. Is that even an answer?

They are leaning towards adoption? That still is not a yes or a no, am I right?

So, as of today– Apple is scheduled to officially not have parents anymore in less than a month, and this family cannot pull their heads out of their ass to decide what they want to do. And, Apple is being kept in limbo not knowing what’s happening.

Yet, my family is almost willing to say YES before we’ve even met the little guy. I’m sad, I’m disappointed, but I’m thankful we never got to meet him. Because that, my friends, would have been unbearable for me. To spend a weekend with him, fall in love with him, and then get told –”oops, we changed our mind. Now give him back!” It makes my stomach hurt thinking about it.

So, my comment to the caseworker and to myself every single day I think about this little boy I’ve never met:

“That family needs to shit or get off the pot. Let’s make a decision!”

The only light at the end of this long, dark, dreary crappy tunnel is that the caseworker is keeping us in mind should this situation change.

I’m just trying to not think about it, thanks to a lovely distraction that came our way the very next day.

Stay tuned.

“Previously on Sincerely, Jenni…”

That’s how I feel, just updating everyone from week to week on nothing but waiting around. Are y’all getting as bored as I am?

So last week, I had mentioned that we would be getting to meet an 8-year old boy that we were matched with for an adoptive placement.

As of today, we still haven’t met him, haven’t even seen a picture of him.

Because the foster family he is currently with cannot make up their mind now if they really want to let him go.

They have had this little boy in their home for 13 months, and gave their TEN-DAY NOTICE TEN MONTHS AGO.

Yes, you read that right. They have had him almost 10 months longer than they were supposed to. Over the course of those ten months, they have grown to love him– but still haven’t decided if they want to adopt him.

The caseworker wants to get things moving on this case, because birth mom’s termination hearing is set for early May. He needs to be in a definite adoptive home before that. The foster family has been a little evasive and very flaky about what they want to do, and in my teenage daughter’s lingo– I can only describe them as “sketchy.”

The little boy’s caseworker spoke to the family this past Monday, and has given them until TOMORROW to make a decision one way or the other.

To sum it all up, tomorrow could be a day of great joy for us. Or, it could be a day we get told to just keep on waiting.

Either way, a little boy is going to find out he has a forever family and that’s what matters more than anything.

Well, we got a little break between placement phone calls to get some things done around the house. Then a phone call came Tuesday afternoon that really caused a jolt to the ol’ status quo.

The call was a placement worker in the foster care system, and she was calling about potential adoptive placements for three separate children– 6 yr old girl, 7 yr old boy, and an 8 yr old boy. We could basically listen to the details for each child, and decide which one (ones?) we were interested in.

We ruled out the first two pretty quickly. One, because we are only looking for boys. Two, because of some pretty heavy issues going on with the 7-year old boy.

That leaves us with the third child, an 8 year old boy. I spoke with the placement people on Tuesday, and with the case worker yesterday. There are no red flags, there are no issues that would cause us to be alarmed. He has a lot of the same interests as we do. He is an athlete, he does well in school, and he just needs parents that won’t disappoint him or let him down.

He’s an adorable little boy in need of a forever family.

As a family, we sat down and went through everything we know about this little fella, and every one of us was in agreement to give the go-ahead.

I can’t give really any details about him, but I will just say we are going to meet him in the very near future. My stomach is in knots, and I can hardly think straight because I have this running to-do list in my brain of everything we need to do.

I’m trying really, really hard to not get my hopes up because there is still a pretty large chance that things won’t work out, that his current foster family will decide to adopt him, or that a birth family member shows up all of a sudden, or maybe we just won’t feel like we mesh well with him.

As of right this minute, I am letting go and giving it all to God. He will decide if this is the right child for us. This journey is way too much of a roller coaster ride, and I need to have faith and know that God will give us a child when the time is right.

Real conversation I had yesterday with the foster mom of a little 6-yr old boy we are considering for an adoptive placement:

(me) Does he have any activities he likes? Does he show an interest in anything?

(Foster Mom) Well, he likes to color and to play outside. Oh, you mean sports?

(me) Well, yes. Usually boys that age show some interest in something by now.

(Foster Mom) Well, you know how foster kids move around so much. It’s a waste of time to get them signed up for anything. They’d never make it through the season.

(me) Um, ok then.

WOW. I wonder if she heard my jaw hit the floor.