Well, June 8 came and went with a lot of disappointment. The DCS attorney on the case had not yet received our motion (they had two weeks to get it into the right hands) and therefore the judge continued the hearing until July 13. To say we were crushed is an understatement. The ONLY positive thing to come from it was that the Guardian Ad Litem (Maisy's attorney) asked the judge for permission to reach out to us prior to July 13 and was granted permission.
On June 22, we had a Zoom with Brandi Heiden, the GAL, and it couldn't not have gone any better. She agreed that we were the best option for sweet Maisy girl and told us she planed to do everything in her power to fight for her to end up with us at the end of all this.
We were dealt another blow by DCS when the Turman's requested that we provide respite care for Maisy during their beach vacation and were denied. Even though we MORE than meet the criteria outlined in DCS's respite care policy AND had the GAL's approval. The only options given to the Turman's were to take her with them to the beach or have her stay with another approved DCS foster family. Thankfully we have a(another) friend that is a current open home and she can stay there (with me in the guest room) but GOOD GRIEF!
We continue to battle what at times feels like a hopeless fight against a system that doesn't make any sense or seem to care about this tiny human. We're sad and we're angry but at the end of the day, we just keep putting one foot in front of the other because we simply don't have any control over the situation. And as James says, "Just look at this girl! She's as happy as a lark and has no clue how dumb DCS is. She's happy and healthy and that's really all that matters right now." And he's absolutely right.
We love our happy girl and continue to have hope and confidence in what we have been called to do and trust that one day (hopefully soon) she will officially be a Nowlin. In the meantime, we (not so) patiently wait on July 13 when things hopefully start to move forward.
Maisy girl,
You are now three months old and weigh in at 7.5 lbs. You're still a champ when it comes to your feeding and sleeping schedule (easiest baby we've ever had) and you are just so happy all the time. When you're awake you're smiling from ear to ear (especially when someone is talking to you) and you are just starting to babble a bit when laying on your play mat looking up at the animals or in your swing. You are really wanting to talk to those animals! You absolutely love being outside and going on strolls. By some miracle, the weather this summer hasn't been oppressive, providing a lot of opportunities to be outside. Plain and simple, we love you to pieces! You are worth every bit of stress induced by DCS!
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| At your brother Case's baptism at Camp Highland |
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| The cats think we bought all this new stuff just for them. They LOVE the baby gear! |
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| Maisy wins cutest and youngest camper award at Camp Highland |
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| First Father's Day with our Maisy girl |
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| Meeting the West cousins |
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| Celebrating Ty's 7th birthday |
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| Hanging at the soccer field on the hottest day of the year |
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| Off to Graci's with Ty and Marley |
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| First Sunday at Highland |
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| Afternoon snuggles with Mom |
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