And The Judge Said...

Before we get to the good stuff, I just want to say how relieved we are that we are at complete peace with the judge's decision.  There were A LOT of nerves before court and it actually turned out better than we were anticipating.

Short Story:  The boys are going home!  Yes there is an exclamation point at the end of that sentence.  A family is being reunited after the parents completed a lot of hard work.  We are excited for them and the boys!

Long Story:  The boys are going home, but the exact date is still be determined.  We do know that it will be before Thanksgiving.  Doesn't that just warm your heart that the family will all be together for that holiday?  Such appropriate timing!

Longer Story:  Court went about as we expected, which was nice since our biggest fear was the unexpected.  Then at the end two amazing things happened. 

First, the judge ordered (like it is officially in the court order) that we, the foster parents, be consulted when the transition plan is determined.  Really?  Us lowly foster parents!  The judge included this in response to our testimony, but it was awesome that she listened and then made it official that we are included in making sure the transition will go smoothly.  Or as smoothly as possible!

Second, an additional level of support was requested for the family and approved!  We didn't even know that this level of support was possible.  This really was the icing on the cake for us.  Now we were/are completely at peace with how this case is moving forward.  The support that the family is being given is just incredible.  They are ensuring that every single member of the family is properly supporting for this transition.  It is just fantastic.  The support began today, immediately following court, and will continue almost daily while they are preparing for the boys to return home and then after they are home for a significant period of time.

But the best part of the entire court experience was a few minutes after everything ended.  Prior to our case being heard, we gave the parents some pictures of the boys.  They were definitely shocked and didn't really say much besides a simple thank you.  Well, afterwards they both came over to us and thanked us for the pictures (and a few other things).  We chatted for a few minutes about the boys.  It was just nice to be able to share some information and laugh at the cute things they say!  Our relationship with them hasn't been the best, so it was so nice to have such a great conversation with them.  We are hoping this helps with the sharing of information as the boys transition home.