We got the call last Friday afternoon. I was as calm and matter of fact as you can please, but I have to admit that I was in a bit of shock. I wasn’t expecting the call – we hadn’t been officially informed that we were approved, so I was really taken by surprise.
Two boys, one 11 the other 16, from Afghanistan, living in a sort of rescue home in Indonesia. Two boys, what the heck are we going to do with two boys? So Nolan and I talked about it over the weekend, and of course, we are both so ready to do this. I am sure that we are not prepared in a bazillion ways, but we have been wanting to do this for such a long time… we are ready to jump in with both feet.
We are going to need a lot of stuff, including a bigger new car. We have been looking for a new car – I really wanted a prius, but it is clear we are going to need something a little bigger. And we are going to need desks, and books (all our books are in storage – long story), and they will need all sorts of things like sneakers and raincoats and socks. I have no idea what sizes they are, so I just have to wait until they get here.
When are they coming? Yes, that is a good question – no one knows yet. And no one knows when we will know either, so all we can do is wait. Any number of things can happen I guess, so it is possible that they won’t even come to us.
We have an extended family vacation planned for the end of July. It is Nolan’s parents’ 50th anniversary, and we are going with them and Nolan’s brother and his family for a week at the beach in DE. Luckily, the house will sleep 10, so if the boys come before the end of July, they will go with us. So they will need swimming lessons. I am quite sure they didn’t get to do much (if any) swimming where they are from.
We know just a little about them, but I am not sure how much is appropriate to share, so I won’t share much of the story as it has been conveyed to us. I will say that they both are taking English classes where they are now.
Our caseworker is great. She and the other woman who are working with us from Lutheran Family Services are quite competent and we feel comfortable knowing that they will help us through all sorts of things, like enrolling the children in school and figuring out their medical care and such.