Tuesday afternoon was VERY interesting for Team Nelson!
Covenant Kids (CK) Development Director, Travis, sent out an urgent e-mail calling for respite help for twins whose foster mother was ill with the flu. Respite care is something I have not explained in prior blogs, but it affects us as foster parents.
According to Covenant Kids, “Respite/Alternative Care is a scheduled time for foster children to receive care by a trained caregiver for the purpose of rest and relaxation for the foster parent and foster child.”
Respite care cannot be weekly scheduled times, but is really for occasional use only and normally must be scheduled two weeks in advance. Of course, emergencies like this sometimes arise. One of the six-month-old twins was on oxygen and their health was a concern. Responsibilities for respite are basically the same as foster care other than the fact that it is usually only for a few days at the most.
We were being processed to take them (Melinda literally turned around while driving so she could get home to receive them) and almost had the opportunity to enjoy them for a few days, but at the last second a caregiver that had worked with them before stepped up and helped.
While it was a rollercoaster of emotions for a few hours, it gave us a glimpse of what we imagine might be how we get our first Foster Care child(ren). There was a flurry of back and forth e-mails, text messages and phone calls. Decisions needed to be made rapidly and from everything we have heard from CK and others, that is what emergency placement will be like.
We were a bit behind because we still had a few outstanding issues left to resolve (although Covenant Kids was jumping through hoops to get us certified for respite even with these shortcomings).
Here is what we needed:
- Proof of insurance on the house (which I had JUST received a copy of earlier that day and CK now has)
- TB test results (which Melinda had just received, scanned and send in)
- “Respite Home” forms filled out (which Travis sent us promptly and we scanned and sent back)
- A home visit (we only needed a quick home visit, but today we are doing the big HOME STUDY that will more than suffice! Travis was even willing to drive out himself to help make this happen)
Another note was that we realized that we must get the car seats. We have been avoiding this because it really does make a difference how old the child(ren) are when we get them. After checking out more than 100 models of car seats over the last month, we determined that we don't particularly care for the birth to 12-year-old, multi-everything options (although they certainly exists in abundance). We wanted to buy for the exact age when we get the kid(s). CK suggested we might be able to use the foster parent's car seats for the short haul, but it made us keenly aware that it was not the ideal situation. We are re-thinking our strategy.
Also yesterday, we got in the curtains for the kids’ rooms and I hung them up. They need a bit of work because they came straight out of the package. The tag on them said they are machine washable on gentle cycle on warm (although I didn’t trust warm water – only cold) and it said machine tumble dry on low. The tag lied! Fortunately, I only washed and dried one pair. They are now three inches too short. They also need ironing. HOWEVER, once they are ironed (after we survive the Home Study) and I move down the rod, it should look great. The other pair we may choose just to iron. Melinda knew I was washing them, but does not know they shrunk (I discovered it late last night while re-hanging them), so if you read this don’t tell her…yet.
The reason she does not know is because Wednesday she left early, headed to Nacogdoches and picked up her high school and college transcripts. This is the last of the paperwork we need. She had requested them a while back, but they just could not seem to get them to her. Unfortunately, she missed seeing her mother, Elaine, while there.
She then traveled from Nacogdoches to her sister Christi’s house near Houston to pick up a great crib that Melinda’s nephew and niece used and Christi had saved for Melinda.
Melinda also got a photo with the Rickel family holding a giant letter “O.” It is a surprise what we are doing with it. As a small hint, Alex is making a giant “A” that he and Leigh Anne will use and Erich and Michelle are making a giant “E.” We have plans for many other letters to be made very, very soon thanks to supportive family and friends.
Muhahaha ....What will the creative Team Nelson come up with? Stay tuned for more!
I have to stop writing now and clean up the part of the house that I messed up last night. Melinda should be back around 1:00 PM to do any final tweaking, but everything looks pretty good since she cleaned it all and took video of everything yesterday. We will be posting that sometime soon on this site.
We hope to have a great blog for tomorrow morning. This Home Study starts at 4:00 PM and should last until 8:00 or 9:00 tonight. I am sure we will be mentally exhausted afterwards.
Keep us in your prayers, keep your fingers crossed or at least send us good Karmic vibes for this evening.
Go Team Nelson tonight!
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