Again, thank you

Thank you for…

• Setting up a Meal Train when Gavin first came to us.
• Bringing us food. Sending us food.
• Hosting a baby shower.
• Hosting a virtual baby shower.
• Giving us hand-me-downs: clothes, a car seat, cloth diapers, a glider, toys…
• Gifting us every other piece of baby gear (we had nothing!).

 

What awaited us outside our front door when we got home one night. (The packages- not the baby, though if he were, it wouldn’t be far from the truth for foster care!)

 

• Mowing our lawn.
• Inviting us over.
• Pretending to not be mad when Gavin’s dirty diaper leaked on your floor when you had us over.
• Babysitting Gavin – sometimes for free, sometimes at way below market rate.
• Willingly jumping through the bureaucratic hoops required to babysit a foster kid.
• Being understanding when we had a crazy visitation and medical appointment schedule to work around.
• Knitting Gavin blankets.
• Sending Gavin a personalized bib with a joke that took us months to get.

• Sending us flowers on a court date.
• Sending us a plant and chocolates when we thought Gavin had gone home.
• Facetiming us. Calling us. Texting us. Emailing us.
• Sending us cards. And more cards.
• Crying with us and for us.
• Flying out to visit us.
• Flying out to be with us during a court date.
• Sending us lucky pennies you found on the ground.
• Donating breast milk to us. Having your sister donate breast milk to us.
• Donating funds so that we could purchase breast milk. Having your coworker donate funds so that we could purchase breast milk.
• Visiting us when Gavin was in the hospital at seven-weeks-old.
• Being understanding when we never knew our schedule or whether Gavin would be with us for an upcoming event.
• Being understanding when we were hesitant to make plans because we feared it might be our last weeks/weekend/days with Gavin.
• Listening to us hash out every nuance of the legal case, over and over.
• Packing a bag for Gavin when he unexpectedly came to Hawaii with us and we weren’t in the state to do it ourselves.
• Praying for us.
• Praying for Gavin. “Storming the gates of Heaven,” as one of our wise friends pledged.
• Extending your visit with us in March 2016 so that we could take a little 4-day-old baby boy home from the hospital to live with us.
• Understanding when we were grumpy, or withdrawn, or short with you. (We’re sorry.)
• Loving us. Loving our little boy and doting on him like crazy.