Move In Day!

We've got her! Picked her up from foster home. She darted out the door with big hugs for us. She had packed all of her stuff, and it was sitting at the door ready to be loaded. Only took 5 minutes to load. We then headed off to foster care headquarters to sign our custody papers. Lunch at Jimmy Johns and now home to unpack and make our Thanksgiving mashed potatoes.

Tabitha Rae Everitt is ours! Now, we have 90 days to wait until its all legal with court date for finalization and a new birth certificate exclaiming her new name and our names listed as mom and dad.

Today is the start of our new life as parents.

A Series of "Firsts"

The last 10 days have been filled with endless preparations for T's move in day. The official move in day is November 21st!  Last Thursday, Mal picked T up from school ( and headed down to Ruskin for her physical. Apparently, it is a requirement of Hillsborough county for her to have a physical before moving into our home. After a few medicaid bumps in the doctor's office, we are proud to report that T has a clean bill of health with perfect vision and hearing. We also updated her immunizations..... a big undertaking for a girl who has a fear of needles. She took them like a champ.

She also came out to the car when Mallory picked her with a glowing smile and a report card worthy of honor roll. She was proud of herself, and we were too. On the way to the doctor's office, she called her Gigi, Mammaw, and Auntie K to tell them her good news. Once the physical was complete, immunizations updated and report card in hand, Mal and T dropped off her completed enrollment application for Ruskin Christian School. T. was able to see the paper work get finalized and observe the school campus with after school activities. She watched Kevin's JV basketball practice and showed her Papouli her report card. I wish I could have recorded her as she ran up to him yelling, "Papouli, look at my report card!" What a blessing to have so many family members "ooooh" and "awwww" over her. She ran and gave her cousin, Micaiah, a hug and watched her practice basketball for a bit.

She's already planning to be on the 5th/6th grade cheerleading squad when she starts school the Monday following Thanksgiving. The athletic department gave her a Ruskin Christian Cheer hoodie. She proudly sported it around the campus and skipped happily along. Everyone, we introduced to her,  she would show the hoodie and say, "See! It's official! I'm a student." So many of our church and school friends from RCS were gracious and kind to her and told her how happy they were to meet her. She was truly encircled by love that day. So thankful for a church and school family that loves the kids as their own.

Some of you may wonder why she isn't attending school with Mallory at Seffner Christian. Well, there are a few reasons, and it all basically boils down to God's plan for T's life.

1. SCA's middle school program is completely full with no available spots. (Mal would love to have her at SCA, but God has her at RCS for a reason).

2. It's important for T to meet friends that live close by to her. Many of the SCA students live in Seffner, Plant City, Dover, Lakeland, and Brandon which make it difficult for play dates and sleep overs.

3. To have Mallory as a mom and principal during this transition may pose a little much for T. She wouldn't be able to get away with anything. LOL!

All in all, after last Thursday's visit to RCS, we know God meant for T. to be there. She is so excited to have Mrs. Montgomery and Mrs. Tuch as her teachers. She's ready to make honor roll next quarter at her new school!

Here's our timeline for the next step's in the process:

* Nov 16-18 (Fri-Sun): Another overnight visit with T
* Nov 17 (Sat): Church Welcoming Shower/ Daddy-Daughter Date Night.
- Mal will attend the shower while Kevin takes T on a date. Welcoming showers can be a little overwhelming for a child and can create some confusion.
* Nov 18 (Sun): T will attend Baby Maddox's dedication at Skycrest Baptist in Clearwater.
* Nov. 21 (Wed): Move in day! T is convinced we will need two cars to move her stuff. :)
* Nov. 22 (Thurs): First Thanksgiving with the family!
* Nov 23 (Fri): First family pictures
* Nov 24 (Sat): school supply shopping
* Nov 25 (Sun): T's first official Sunday at FBC of Ruskin
* Nov 26 (Mon): First day of school at RCS
* Late February: we're praying our court date for finalization!

Again, we are so thankful for the love and blessings that our friends an family shown us. We would like to say a special thank you to the friends and co-workers at SCA who showered us with many gift cards yesterday.

Yes, we will be posting a picture of T. and reveal her name (online) once she moves in. She is legally free for adoption and we will then have custody of her and can post for friends and family to see both near and far. :)
Psalm 68:4-6
Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord—
rejoice in his presence!

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families;

Birthday and Slumber Parties

Since our last posts, we've enjoyed more visits with T. We celebrated her birthday last Saturday. She picked Genghis Mongolian Grill for her birthday lunch, and then, we met at Panera to see Mammaw, Gigi, Papouli, Kamden, Mitch, and Maddox for cake and presents. It was fun to see her open the gifts and talk with family. As we left and packed the car to head back to her foster home, I asked, "do you want to take some gifts back with you and send some to our home to put in your room?" She answered, "take them all back to my room, so they are waiting for me when I get there." Ultimately, everything went back to our house except the neon and zebra print nail kit that Mom- mom and Pop-pop sent from PA. :)

The following Monday we picked her up for a short visit after school. We went for pedicures. It was her first. She jumped for joy when she heard our plans. As we soaked in the pedicure tubs, her nail tech asked her if she was my sister. T. was confused on how to answer, so she look toward me (Mallory). I smiled and told the nail tech, "she's my daughter." A sense of relief seemed to flash across her face. Later that evening in car I asked if it was ok that I said she was my daughter. She said, "Yes!" That evening she wrote her in journal to us that we would later read. She signed her name "T. Everitt". She  needed the reassurance that we were owning her as "ours" and in return she owned the "Everitt" last name.

Friday night was her first overnight visit with us. We met the family for pizza, and T. was able to meet her cousins, Aunt Leah, and Uncle Mike for the first time. She became instant best friends with Micaiah. They love the same things and are so close in age. Micaiah has a huge fan in T. She is excited to start school at Ruskin Christian with her cousin and to have her Aunt Leah as one of her teachers. On Saturday, we took her to our church to walk around and see the building. Then, we walked her around the Christian school, so she could see the classrooms, gym, and cafeteria without the hustle bustle of people on a normal day. She's already talking about joining the cheerleading squad for basketball season, playing RAYS basketball, Karate classes, and flute lessons. I think we'll be one busy family in the new year.

During one of our car rides throughout our visits, T. was asking questions about her adoption and how that will happen. She brought up her biological family and what type of contact she would have with them in the future. We explained to her that when she would still keep contact her aunt by phone like she has had in her foster home and when her aunt was around town that she may be able to have a visit with her. She mentioned for the first time her biological dad and commented that she knew he was getting out of prison soon, and he was supposed to come back and find her. She didn't want him to take her because she didn't want "what happened last time to happen again." There was a sense of fear in her voice. Mallory turned around and looked at her in the back seat and said, "Your father can not come back and take you away. The judge has taken away any rights he has to you as a father. The judge did this because he was not taking care of you like a daddy should." T. answered, "Like, Mr. Kevin will take care of me." (Insert melting heart here).  She knows how loved and protected she is already. She then proceeded to share that she is not ready to see or talk to her biological mom or dad. We reminded her that she is always free to talk to us about her parents and that some day she may be ready to talk to them or write them a letter. We will always be there to protect and guide her. We would not put her in a position where she would be unsafe.

God is her loving Father that will never leave her or forsake her. What a perfect place to be....in her Father's loving arms.

November is national adoption awareness month, and Today is Orphan Sunday (http://orphansunday.org/about/). Churches all over America are creating awareness about the 150 million orphans world wide. Please consider how you can be a part of caring for God's children. God does not forsake the orphans. November 17th is National Adoption Day, and we will celebrating with picnic with other families who have or are in the process of adopting.  http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/