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So we thought we were done. We thought all was said and good and Teddy was coming.

Teddy still is coming. We just need to release our mental health records to CPS first. They want proof that when DH and I say we have been getting seen for various ailments that we are actually being seen. Our home visiting counselor is gonna write up a statement as well. Truth be told, this worries me. But I understand why they want it. The biological parents were ordered to do the same thing and they don't want them screaming "But why do we have to have proof we are being seen if they don't?"

We also learned that Teddy has a new baby sister. Foster parents have decided not to tell him. They don't want Teddy feeling like he has been replaced, which is essentially what biological parents are doing. We were told there is a possibility that baby will be placed with us as well.

Foster mom said Teddy's lawyer called them this week and foster dad opened up and let lawyer have it. He apparently demanded to know what was taking them so long to get Teddy moved into our care. He said Teddy likes us and we love him and we want him and have been jumping through hoops to get him so lawyer needs to get the ball rolling to get Teddy here. It kind of floored me to hear foster dad said that because both of them seem to be soft spoken people. But we know they think very highly of DH and I and they are very impressed with how we are raising DD.

In the meantime, social worker said we are perfectly okay continuing to get clothes, toys, and stuff together for Teddy. We have outfits for both DD and Teddy to wear for pictures. I found Teddy a dress suit for church on clearance for $2 at Wally World and we are raiding a free swap meet for clothing for him tomorrow.

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We did it!

DH got his fingerprint card! We got a letter saying that DH's appeal was accepted and to expect a response back in 4-6 weeks.

We got another letter two weeks later. They expedited DH's application and approved his card. It was issued last week.

DH, DD, and I took Teddy to the Renaissance Fair last weekend. He had so much fun, he didn't want to leave. He got his "really big sword" that he wanted and he got to ride the elephants. He didn't want to wear the pirate costume we got him, so we didn't make him. DD wanted to wear hers. Teddy's social worker knew we were taking him for the day last weekend and she said she was glad to see he had such a great time because he deserves it.

Now all we are waiting on is the phone call to come get him. Which could realistically happen any day now.

We also have our licensing inspection in a couple weeks. We don't need a foster license to get Teddy, but it will help to utilize what the state offers for assistance. So we need to finish our next set of classes ASAP.

My household is also getting over the stomach flu. That's been fun.

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So our visit with Teddy is cancelled for today. We are looking at going next week instead. It snowed so much in Globe, Superior, and Texas Canyon that they had to close the roads. Teddy's foster mom was about to call us and talk with us about it but we had called her instead. It massively sucks.

I am now the proud owner of a 2004 Jeep Liberty! No car payments. It's 100% paid off. It's blue and it's all mine. But we aren't allowed to take it home. The brakes need replacing, the windshield needs replacing, and the window motors don't work. There's also a busted door handle on the passenger side back door that they're going to look at fixing. The sales manager said he would guarantee it was fixed and good to go yesterday before he realized they were having to cough up $1600 in parts. We paid $3900 for this thing. My husband made the comment to my mom that it's not MY Jeep and I only think it's mine. Boy things blew up.

[connerfamilyvalues-blog]

First foster licensing class today. The licensing lady wasn't too impressed with our apartment. In our defense, DH was gone most of the week and tonight is my first night off all week long. Plus it rained. Fortunately, she understood. Just gave us a heads up for future visits.

So we were reassured today that DH would get his fingerprint card. DH is giddy with joy. We were informed that they only deny appeals if they were violent or of sexual nature. Big sigh of relief on our end. Our licensing lady is gonna send out the paperwork for us so I'm not trying to fax it in at 3am. She was impressed with what we had to get her. Marriage license, everyone's birth certificates, DD's shot records, my W-2 forms, and my fingerprint card.

First class was just an orientation. So looking forward to this.

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Obligatory first post

It's been a while since I have used Tumblr. Figured I could use it to start writing down our journey.

My name? It doesn't matter. If you want to call me something, call me Sofi. I'm 26 years of age. My husband, who I will refer to as DH for Dear Husband, is 34 years old and we have been married for two years. We have one daughter, DD (dear daughter), who turned two about three weeks ago.

About a year ago, we were discussing the option of adding another child to our family. DH was against it, saying he didn't want another kid and he was happy with the one we have. I kept feeling like we were missing something, so we agreed to discuss it more in depth at a much later date.

Then we got a phone call from CPS right before Thanksgiving. My cousin's 3-year-old, who I will refer to as Teddy, had been in foster care for a year and the state was wondering if we would like to take him into our home with the possibility of adopting later. There were two boys, but one had died after drowning in his grandmother's swimming pool. Therefore, we were looking solely at getting Teddy. DH and I had discussed it and we agreed to take him in.

Things are coming together. DH's fingerprint card got denied because of a 15 year old burglary charge, so we are starting the appeal process. We have been granted the okay to start visiting Teddy twice a month or so. This is so we can prove to the court we have a relationship with the little guy despite the fact his mother and I are no longer talking. Our request for placement has been approved, so we are just waiting for DH's card. My cousin and her baby daddy got an extra three months to get everything together to get Teddy back but the comment was made that they no longer want Teddy because he interferes with their drug use.

Right now, trying to call Teddy's social worker is proving to be difficult. Time will tell.