So, yeah, we weren't going to spend time with Sarah until we were SURE we would be adopting - well that didn't last very long! We were so anxious to get to know the sweet angel that we had seen from time to time at church. We ended up setting up a play date with Sarah and Nanna at the park to spend an hour or so with her on a Saturday soon after we had met with the lawyers.
When we got there Sarah was in a happy mood (which we would learn is always the case!) She was excited to swing, go down the slide and just run around. It was uncanny how she just took to the two of us immediately. She was clearly comfortable with us. We just followed her lead - and soon realized she LIKES to be the leader - she had no problem telling us where we were supposed to stand and what we were supposed to do. There was no question that Sarah had a mind of her own for sure! She insisted on going down the BIG SLIDE over and over - the girl has no fear (uh-oh). We also learned about her love for Sunglasses. She LOVES LOVES LOVES her pink sunglasses - and if there is even a sliver of a ray of sunshine she must be wearing them. We also learned that she loves Dora the Explorer - we had brought a set of Dora books with us when we met her and she LOVED reading them with both of us. We were learning that she is an easy going young lady with a constant smile and adorable giggle. I learned from her Nanna that day that she was super smart too. She recognizes all of her capital letters already (remember she is 2 1/2), she knows her numbers and colors. She speaks in full sentences and uses upper level vocabulary. Wow! This was a big change from our older boys - they couldn't speak words that we understood until well into year 3. LOL.
When we left that day, Nanna asked if we wanted to spend the day Sunday with her. We were excited about bringing her to church and spending the day together and we were excited to say an absolute YES! Again, we were wanting to wait on any overnight visits, but day visits would be great. We agreed that this would be a gradual process of bringing her into our home full time and it would be ideal for us to start with day visits, then weekend visits and then eventually full time. We weren't sure of a time line exactly, but we were going with our gut and trusting that God would work out the details. This is when we decided to just use the idea of ONE STEP AT A TIME to get through this waiting process. The waiting can really kill you if you let it. I heard over and over, "have the 7 days started? When is she yours? Will she be yours soon? When does the paperwork get sent out? etc." We just didn't know all of the answers, but we did know that God was the one in charge and we were just along for the ride!
What else did we learn about Sarah in our first weekend together? She will eat just about anything you put in front of her. She listens like a champ. She loves to boss around our dog (who is smaller than her so that makes her feel like a big girl). She naps when you tell her too (although if you ask her if its time to nap she either responds with "I wake up!" or "2 more minutes"). She loves Evan and Jacob and can get them to do just about anything for her. She has been loved and nurtured her entire life. She has no problem attaching to other people. She is shy when she first meets you but will warm up after awhile. She loves to watch "my shows" which means Dora the Explorer! She would rather eat off of your plate than have one of her own. She has the best hugs and kisses ever!
Well that was our first weekend together. Since then we have spent at least one day each weekend together continuing to get to know one another. She calls me "Cindy" still because mommy already has meaning for her and it means someone else. We will get through that part over time. She calls Jay "Daddy Jay" because she doesn't have another daddy to confuse that name with. We didn't stick to our guns and have NO OVERNIGHTS until all paperwork is signed and sealed. We had her overnight one Thursday because Nanna had a late night event she had to attend. She did great - slept all night and was a good listener and easy to get ready for daycare the next morning.
Stay tuned for "Where are we now" concerning the legal process and our adventures together with Sarah and the family. One more post and I think I will have the time caught up! Thanks for reading...
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