Adoption: Kids Meet Dad and Their New Brothers

The more time I was spending with the kids it became very apparent that they had their ideas of how they wanted to act like and I was just going to have to accept it.  About every 3 minutes while we were walking around the park Nemo would spit on the ground.  Finally, I found enough courage to say "please do not spit -- that is not polite".  Inside I was screaming "STOP before I vomit!" but I thought that was a little to strong for our first meeting.  I think Alicia was just nervous which was understandable.  We were walking along and she would see someone far off in the distance and she would point and yell really loud "I LIKE YOUR SHIRT!"  Oh my-- that was embarrassing!

My husband had to work on that Friday so he couldn't go up there with me on that day.  He brought Clay and Joshua up with him on Saturday morning.  He left the house around 5am and was there at the hotel at 9am.  It was mandatory that just my husband and I spend a few hours with the new kids alone.  We had to leave Clay (16) and Joshua (8) at the hotel.  I hated to leave them anywhere but since it was mandatory we really didn't have a choice.  We made our way to the kid's foster home.  This would be the first time they would meet Milford.  

As we pulled in the driveway once again my stomach was dropping.  Once I saw them I introduced them to Milford.  They both we very kind.  I could definitely tell that Alicia felt more comfortable around males than females and Nemo was just the opposite. We ended up leaving right away.  We decided to use our alone time together by playing a couple games at the bowling alley just down the street from our hotel.  On the way there, the kids made their first mistake by making fun of Milford's name right in front of him.  They were acting like he was not even there.  I finally told them to stop and that would be last time I will need to tell them that. It is inappropriate to make fun of anyone's name. The mistake was that Nemo did was he kept running his hands all over Milford bald head.  It only took one "stop" and that was the end of that. At first it is really hard to stand your ground because you don't want to scare them but you also needed to address something before my sweet hubby got upset.  He does not like his head to be touched as it is.

We took the kids out for our first breakfast together.  I knew immediately we would need to work on manners.  Oh boy-- I forgot someone warned me along time ago that this is something I would have to face but I had spaced it until I watched for my own eyes.  The slurping, sucking things off plates, wiping food off their mouth with their shirts, and so on.  If this was the worst of this whole process I would be so lucky.  

Once we got to the bowling alley we each tried our hand at bowling.  I think I made everyone feel so much better by coming in last (again).  I am always consistent in that way.  There was lots of high fives and smiles the whole time.  When each of the kids were up there to cast their ball I kept thinking -- This is my child! WOW! This is something I have always wanted to do but I never thought it would actually happen.  Well It has happened and there is no backing out. 

Once we were done bowling we decided to head over to the hotel to have all the kids meet. It was around 11:00 am. This was really the moment we had been looking forward to.  We pulled into the parking lot and I think the feeling was the same for everyone.  We couldn't wait to be together (all of us).  Once we got in the hotel room and we introduced the kids to each other. There was an instant kinship.  I think there was a sigh of relief when we were all together.  All the kids were more relaxed and we were functioning as a family.

We decided to take the kids out to grab a quick bite to eat for lunch.  Nemo and Josh were inseparable.  They were instant brothers.  Alicia was accustomed to hanging out with adults so she hung close to me.  Once we were done eating we decided to go back to the hotel and go swimming.  Nemo and Clay hung out a lot in the sauna until I finally made them get out.  I was worried they would dry up like prunes.  We would all play games in water.  We had a blast.  The kids wanted to stay with us so bad!

 Alicia and Joshua playing with Milford in the pool.

Clay and Nemo in the sauna. Their minutes in there are numbered.

The kids would only spend a few more hours with us on this day and then we had to take them back to their home.  I wanted to keep them and never take them back.  In a few days that would be the case but not today. 

For dinner we went to Pietro's.  The kids totally enjoyed that!  They had a section of the hotel where the kids played laser tag.  I got to in and watch the kids as they ran around and "bonded" with one another.  We also decided to go to wonderland which is right next door to Pietro's.  It is a huge game place.  There were plenty of kids in there that made me so thankful for my children.  I often wonder if parents know their kids are dressed the way they are.

If we had a splurge day while we were there I would say this day was it.  We ate out three times this day, bowling, laser tag, pizza and wonderland all in one day.  I was pooped by the end of the day.  It was around 7:30pm and we were on our way to take them back.  It was a good day and the next day was going to be extremely busy.

To Be Continued.....................

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