And.....10 years later!

Ok, are you ready for a crazy story?    Here it is!    10 1/2 years ago, we were chosen to adopt twin baby boys.  We were SO excited!   But when they were born, everything went a little wonky.  You see, Rory was born with birth defects of his hands and arms, and Ronan was born "normal".  Their birth mother had a very hard time deciding if she wanted to parent them or place them.  She asked for more time to make a decision.   We had the option of taking them home while she decided, or placing them in foster care.  We took them home!

About a month later, we got "the call".   The twins birth mother had decided to allow us to adopt Rory, but wanted to parent Ronan.  This was SO hard.  Separating twins was almost unthinkable to us, and we were devastated.  But we had no option.  Dale and Patrick took Ronan back to his town, and I stayed home with the rest of the kids and bawled like a baby.  For days.  Ok, actually weeks.  Probably much longer.

For years, we prayed every night that Ronan would return to us, if that was God's will.  Or that we would at least be able to have some sort of  relationship with him.  We were able to see him occasionally, once when he was 1 year old, and then again at 4 and 8.  Birthmom had changed his name to Bryson, and he was diagnosed as being autistic.  Bryson had a disability just like Rory, but Bryson's was not visible like Rory's was.  Such a weird twist in the story.

As time went on, we lost hope of Ronan/Bryson ever returning to us.  We even kinda lost hope of having a relationship with him, since we never seemed to be able to schedule visits.  And then, I got a crazy phone call.

Completely out of the blue, the twin's birth mom called me.  She was upset, and said she needed help.  She asked if we would consider taking Bryson!!!   She didn't know if it was for 6 months, a year, or forever, but she needed us to take him.  I simply cannot believe that after 10 years, we were given this opportunity!!!!   God is so good, and He must continually chuckle over my lack of faith!

So, we went to his home, and brought him back to ours.  The first few days were very hard.  Remember, he doesn't know us!  Every single thing in his world is different!  He and Rory don't even
know each other!  And he is used to a quiet, boring home (mine is anything but quiet or boring!).   Even the foods we eat are different.  The rules are different.  Culture shock for all of us!  LOL

Every single day that Bryson is with us, it gets easier.  He is a very loving, affectionate child.  He is learning how to cope with all of us, and we are falling in love with him.  He and Rory are so similar it is freaky.  They make the same faces.  They both hate shoes.  They both love steak and cheeseburgers.  They have the exact same body build, and the same sweet lips!

We have no idea how long he will be with us.  But we are enjoying he while he is here, and praying that we will be able to have a forever relationship with him, no matter where he lives.

Friends, when you pray for something, and God doesn't answer you, it may be that the timing is just not right.  But don't stop.  If it is on your heart, keep praying.  I am in awe of God answering my prayer for Bryson.  I am in awe that my twins are together again!  God is good!!!

Rory and Bryson the day he left us.

JoJo, Rory and Bryson, the day he returned!

Rory and Bryson on their 7th birthday