Cast of Characters

Cherub Mamma (me): Sleep deprived, work-at-home mom trying to juggle the needs of all the members of the house while also trying to not eat too much chocolate or drink too much caffeine.

Mr. Amazing is the wonderful man that I've been married to for 26 years. He's a terrific husband and an amazing father to all of our children. Our marriage is something I am thankful for every day of my life.

Cherub 1 (AKA Herman): 22 year old boy. Terrific son of mine that is navigating his way around adult life. Herman lives in Iowa with his girlfriend, Raven. They've got their own apartment and both kids have decent jobs. I miss having him close to home so much! But his opportunities in life are better in Iowa than they are where we live in Texas. Thankfully he calls home all the time!!

Cherub 2 (AKA TT): 16 year old boy. TT is incredibly insightful for his age. He has not found the teen years to be particularly easy - but he's making his way and I'm incredibly proud of him. TT joined our family at birth. Because of how his mom and dad chose not to parent him, he did enter the foster care system and that's how he made his way to our family. Unfortunately, the adoption is currently closed. (I wish I had known more about adoption when TT was born.)

Cherub 3 (AKA Bart): 15 year old boy. Talks more than anyone you'll ever meet. Is the happiest child I've ever known...except when he's ticked off. Bart is very positive and has an outlook on life that many in the world would benefit from if they could be a little like him. (According to my mother we should all #LiveLifeLikeBart.) Bart is enjoying high school very much and is active on the swim team. He's a good kid...that keeps me on my toes!

Thespian: 20 year old boy. One of Herman's best friends. Moved into our home June 2019. His family of origin brings a lot of baggage to the party and over the last few years, Thespian has really just become one of my kids. When his mom moved out and his dad decided to leave the state, it just made sense for Thespian to move in with us. He works full time and goes to college as a theatre major.

Foster Placements:
*** These bios were written when the kids actually lived with us and were published on my first blog. Rather than trying to re-write everything, I'm leaving the descriptions as is. 

(June 14, 2018 - October 17, 2018) The Rockstars
Alex: 6 years old at placement. The oldest of a sibling group of five. (The infant is not placed with us because our home is "full" and Texas wouldn't allow it even if I thought I could "do it".) Alex is smart, articulate, and ready to tackle first grade in the fall.
Eddie: 5 years old at placement. Eddie is...um...very active. He is much like Alex though. The two are typical brothers and remind me a lot of TT and Bart when they were those ages.
Joan Jett: 3 years old at placement. Smack in the middle of four brothers is the princess. She's no "princess" though! While loving all things pink and sparkly, Joan is not afraid to do whatever it takes to keep up with her big brothers.
Bret Michaels: 2 years old at placement. Bret sports long gorgeous locks of hair. It's easier for me to think of him as a member of an 80's hair band than it is to let the long hair drive me nuts. Bret is the most "two" of any 2yo I've ever cared for. He's got some speech delays and referrals are in place to help him get caught up. Bret keeps me on my toes...and that's putting it mildly.

(January 18, 2017 - November 30, 2017) 
Whiz: Whiz was 18 months old when he came. He's super smart...my Whiz Kid! He's spent most of his life in foster care. Whiz was placed at or near birth with his first foster family. He was reunified with both his parents in November 2016. Unfortunately, circumstances changed and Whiz had to enter Care again. I was told that his first foster family couldn't take him back - though I wasn't given much of a reason why.
Rex: sibling to Whiz and almost exactly 11 months younger than him. Both boys keep me hopping! This is Rex's first go-round in foster care. When he was born, despite the fact that his older brother was in Care, Rex went home with his parents.
These boys brought a mix of developmental delay due to (undiagnosed) FASD. They were placed with their paternal aunt and uncle who live in California. Auntie Carla and Uncle N are amazing! I stay in contact with AC on Facebook and see regular pictures and videos of the boys. They transitioned well and continue to thrive.

(April 6, 2015 - August 1, 2016) Russell and Star got their permanency with Russell's paternal grandmother and her family. This relative placement did not pass their home study the first time around. And sadly, many of the concerns that CPS had were not "really" addressed at all. The children were moved after a court hearing. We were given about four hours to pack their belongings and to say goodbye. The grandparents severed all ties with me immediately.)
 Russell: This bundle of baby was 20 months old when he arrived. Sadly, he has seen a lot of abuse (15 fractures) and neglect in his short little life. Russell has Down syndrome and also came with the diagnosis of Failure to Thrive (he weighed less than 10 pounds as of February 2015). Russell is an incredibly happy baby and is super easy to care for!! He's making terrific progress in The Crazy House. He's growing tall, gaining weight, and learning to do all the things babies should be able to do.
Russell has two sisters as well. His big sister, Violet, is three years old. She is in a kinship placement for the time being. His little sister, Star, lives with us.
(June 18, 2015 - August 1, 2016)
Star: Infant girl, born April 15, 2015. Half-sister to Russell. To the best of my knowledge, Star was never physically harmed before coming to live with us....though someone did call the Hotline to report abuse. She lived with an aunt for one week after removal from Mom. That placement fizzled out and she came to live with us. She is beautiful and developing just as a perfect infant should.

(January 26, 2015 - March 2, 2015)
The Neverland Kids stayed such a short time because respite homes couldn't be found when my father suddenly passed away. I needed to make an urgent trip across the country and CPS insisted that I disrupt vs. respite care and return to me. It was not my choice to disrupt but I had to be there for my forever family!
Captain: 5 year old boy. Oldest of a large sibling group (not all placed with us) including Pirate and Tinkerbell. He suffered a horrific trauma and we're all just getting to know each other.
Pirate: 3 year old boy. Speaks a mix of English, Spanish and gibberish. Definitely needs speech therapy. He's very active and so far needs a lot of redirection.
Tinkerbell: 13 month old little girl. Perfect baby in every way if you don't factor in the horrific trauma she was a part of. She has seen things that if I saw would make me a shell of a human being for a long, long time.

(December 2013 - October 2014)
Daisy: Came to me at 7 months old and left the day before her 17 month old "birthday". Daisy is a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Caring for Daisy involved lots of work with specialists and therapists for PT, OT, ST and vision. When she left she functioned at about the developmental age of 8-12 months. (She was learning to walk but couldn't self-feed well at all and had almost no language.) Daisy went home to her mother, Kori. I pray daily that Kori is able to meet all of Daisy's needs and that she is able to protect Daisy from future abuse.
Daisy came back in to foster care February 24, 2015 along with her newborn sister, Dandelion. CPS was finally able to get enough evidence that Kori was allowing contact between Daisy and her abuser. Sadly, my home was full with the Neverland Kids and I couldn't welcome Daisy back. My agency also wouldn't let me disrupt the Neverland Kids to take Daisy (as my relationship with Daisy had been much longer and so few homes are capable of meeting Daisy's medical needs). The Flower Girls initially went to a shelter. I was given no information about their new foster home when they were finally placed several days later.
After being in foster care for some time, the case with the Flower Girls was closed. Daisy and Dandelion were placed permanently with a paternal aunt. I stopped communicating with Kori when this happened. It was a natural break in our relationship.
After CPS completely closed the case, the paternal aunt that had been granted custody gave the girls back to Mom & Dad (illegally).
Daisy is now back in foster care because Dandelion was murdered (shaken/beaten to death) on May 3, 2016. I have very little information on this case as it is in Central Texas - where Mom & Dad had moved. I'm over 5 hours away and wasn't considered for placement of Daisy. 
Daisy almost came back to live with us again during the summer of 2017. For reasons that were never explained to me, and despite evidence that her current fictive-kin placement was allowing contact with Mom, Daisy remained where she's at. It's complicated, but Daisy lives with Mom's legal husband (she never officially divorced the father of her first two children - this man is not Daisy's father). Kori and Daisy's dad have both relinquished their parental rights. Both parents, guilty of the death of Dandelion, are still in the middle of the criminal trials and sentencing.
Update January 2020: Both of Daisy's biological parents are now in prison for the death of Dandelion. Justice was finally served!

(May 30, 2014 - June 20, 2014)
Wispy: 20 month old little boy (when he was with us) who is tall and thin and has beautiful, blond, wispy hair. He arrived on a Friday night because his current foster family was in need of emergency respite care. He was supposed to stay three nights. The situation changed though and his first foster family is no longer going to foster. After much prayer, Mr. Amazing and I decided to make our house his home so he wouldn't have to move again and find yet another mommy in his life. CPS thought differently though and in order to make their paperwork easier, they moved him away from us back to his home county.

(December 2013 - May 2014)
Ricky: Came to me at age 16 and left six months later at age 17. He's a victim of The System and - seriously - did not need to be in formal foster care. But due to the courts and things that happened beyond anyone's (except the judge's) real control, he was with us instead of with his godmother. At the hearing in May 2014, the judge finally saw reason when CPS couldn't give a good reason for him to not be with his godmother. Ricky aged out of The System and continues to do fabulously with his godmother. He has a job, is on the dive team, and will be a senior 2015-2016 in high school. We still see Ricky frequently and he and Herman are good friends.

(June 2011 to Sept. 2013)
Much was written about these two wonderful children. Our hopes of intervening in their case and ultimately adopting them were dashed in September 2013. The children live with their grandmother in a situation that was never proven to be safe. -- as of October 2014, these cherubs are still in foster care with their grandmother. She has not been given full custody yet. I pray for them often. -- as of December 2015, the case has been closed. They still live with their grandmother. But she is ill (with cancer). I've heard that she wants to send the children back to foster care but to the best of my knowledge, that hasn't happened yet.
Update - Grandma passed away. The State of Texas simply found their mother and asked if she wanted the kids back. Their family now lives in Oklahoma. Mom friended me on Facebook and I do get to see pictures of the kids every now and then. They look like they're doing well. I honestly think that their mother did turn her life around. It's not always easy for me to admit this - but they are where they need to be.
Dolly: Came to me at 3 1/2 and left the day before she turned 6. Sister to Dude. Gorgeous little girl that loves babies more than anything. Has a charming smile and a twinkle in her eye.
Dude: Came to me at 2 1/2 and left at age 5. Brother to Dolly. Adorable dimples make his smiles melt my heart.


(Jan. 2, 2011 to Sept. 2, 2011)
(Sept. 13, 2011 to Sept. 21, 2012)
Pumpkin Pie: Came to me at 5 1/2 years old and was 7 when she left. Pumpkin was easy to care for but was very developmentally delayed. She functions around the age 18-24 months. Pumpkin completely opened my eyes to special needs parenting and the joys (cough cough) of special education. After much needless waiting and System screw ups, Pumpkin was finally placed with a very loving aunt and uncle.

(Sept. to Nov. 2010)
MissArguePants: 8 year old (at the time) foster daughter. Textbook case of PTSD, ODD, anxiety and attachment disorder. Made life very interesting!
TurtleTurtle: 9 year old (at the time) foster daughter. Diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, depression and more. Also made for an interesting parenting experience!
--- MissArguePants and TurtleTurtle left our home after boundaries were crossed that threatened the safety all the kids. The State had removed provisions that would have made it more possible for the girls to stay. I didn't know what to do. Overall, I'm adamantly opposed to disrupting placements. But in this case, given the resources I was, I knew I could not keep all of the children safe in my home.