Sweet Child of Mine

I don't know how to put today's events into words. Emotionally we are exhausted, we've been worried, nervous, scared. Then sad, filled with compassion, even shed a few tears. Then happiness, relief  and elation. Then back to worry and apprehension.

Today was Matching Panel day, we once again met the board of specialists in adoption so they could approve us as child 4's new parents. This panel despite being made up of the same people that approved us as adopters was more intimidating, not because they were unwelcoming or scary but, I think because our new addition is so real. We have invested so much of ourselves in the preparation of accepting and welcoming this little boy into our family that any possibility of us being turned down would have been devastating. Child 3 went into school today to say that her new brother was moving in, in three weeks.

Of course as our Social Worker kept saying, everything was fine, we once again received an unanimous yes along with some wonderful words of support from each member of the panel. They all felt that we would make wonderful parents, offering child 4 a home full of love, laughter and fun. One of the panel had been adopted into a family where her adoptive parents had children already and she said that it was amazing she was accepted from day one, in our case child 4 hasn't even arrived and he has been accepted, certainly by almost all of our family and by our community.

I sit here this evening relieved that we have made it through today, we can now order child 4's buggy, mattress, car seat, letters to spell his name on his bedroom door and the cute raincoat with flying monkeys on it, new wellies in size 5 and that T shirt in Next quoting Guns and Roses "Sweet Child of Mine".

Later this week we meet the birth parents.............................