Worth The Wait

I am so happy to finally get this post up and introduce you to our new SON!!  

Get ready for a lot of cuteness.....

I had been chomping at the bit to finally be opened for foster care.  It's a long process y'all. It finally happened on April 14, 2015.  Oh happy day.  It was also Zekey's 8th birthday so we had lots of reason to celebrate.  

But for one family it was the worst day of their life.  Waylon and his 4yo sister were taken from their first family never to return.  

We were opening for babies under 2.  My resource worker told me there had been a sibling group picked up that day and one of them was a baby.  She didn't know how old.  When they called and I found out he was 17 months old we said no.  Too old.  Then the transporter called.  I said no again.  But this time it was harder.  I called Mike and we both agreed to stick with our original plan.  But when the 3rd call came for the same little boy I cracked.  OK, just for the weekend.  

Enter the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen.....

I think I remember everything about that first night.  The first bath.  Introducing him to the toys.  Where he was standing the first time he threw his head back and screamed a fit. Singing to him at night.  Tucking him in and staying in the room because he was scared.  All of it.  

Monday morning the caseworker texted...

LaToya - Do you want to keep Waylon short term or long term? 

I sent it to Mike and he replied.. "Forever is fine." 

And so it began! 

A couple days later we had planned a family trip to MO to meet some friends.  In hindsight I can see what a terrible idea that was to take him.  He hadn't even had time to get used to us or his new home and we took him to stay somewhere else and be with people he didn't know.  I hadn't heard the concept of cocooning yet.  It was a hard weekend...but still great.  And we were beginning to see just how fantastic our kids were adjusting to life with a little person.

It had been a long time since we had a baby in the house.  My younger kids don't ever remember having a baby because they are all 17 months apart.  We entered the world of diapers, sippy cups, cheerios, and naptimes.  Oh....and fits.  THE FITS.

I wondered if he missed his mom and sister.  He had weekly visits and he was SO EXCITED to see her.  He never called her mom but then again he only spoke one word.  He seemed to like being with us but I wasn't sure he was attaching.  

Baseball season was upon us and we took his favorite dump truck to the fields for him to push up the hill.  Another team just finished and people were walking all around him.  He immediately started looking everywhere until he saw Mike.  It was our first glimpse of him connecting to us as his people.  

This was a learning time for all of us.  Learning to navigate the foster system and all the rules.  Learning to homeschool with a little.  How to discipline without spanking.  How to handle the emotions of visit day.  Logistics of life with a new and broken little boy and 8 other kids at home.  

And though we were only open for one placement, DHS called again.  

And again.

Soon there would be a cuddly newborn who would later be known forever as Bennett Seth Taggart.  

This picture just makes me laugh! 

One cart full of babies and the other overflowing with groceries.  The cashier is still going strong and Waylon is trying his best to reach whatever he could get into! 

Look at these guys!

As time went on, his mom wasn't doing well.  All visits stopped and termination happened.  Dad stepped forward and tried for awhile.  In the end, he wasn't able to pull it together and did the best thing he could....sign over his rights so his kids could be free to move forward with their lives.  

This is the very abbreviated version of our story.  The whole process took over 2 long years.  But in that time, Waylon was never moved or placed back with his family.  We celebrated his 2nd birthday.  And 3rd.  And 4th!  We had 2 Christmases with him and all the family traditions. 

And after NINE HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE days this guy became a Taggart!  

We couldn't be happier to have him forever.  

Welcome Waylon Gabriel Taggart.  We love you so much  You were worth the wait!!