A Birthday and Great News!

Ms. O turned 11
On Wednesday.
And today,
After almost a month
I got to spend time with
Miss M
Ms. O
And their mom and little brother.
And with Miz N in tow.

I gave Ms. O a choice of birthday dinner spots
And,
As I knew,
She picked Oregano's.
It's sort of "my" place I take the kids that is
Special, different, yet comfortable.
(And that free pizza cookie for their birthday is a huge bonus.)

Miz N,
Bless her heart,
Was nervous about meeting the girls.
She has seen their pictures on my ways.
She knows their story,
A little,
And knows they got to go home to be with their mom.

And
Today was an EXTRA special day
Because
Besides celebrating Ms. O's 11th birthday
We celebrated the girls' mom's case with CPS
Being closed.
Being over.
Being done.

Success.

I am so proud of her.
She is so proud of herself.
The judge was complimentary and full of praise.
He said specifically
"These are the days we look forward to."

The girls are good.
Really good.
One came flying at the door and about tackled me
And the other was quiet and contemplative, but warmed right up.
Can you guess which was which? :-)

They love their daycare.
They love swimming at the apartment pool.
They love mom.
The love brother.

Granted,
They are fighting like cats and dogs
With each other
And their four year old brother
But,
That's family,
Right?

Their mom is doing great.
Got the girls still in counseling.
Seeming to balance the changes well and with positivity.
Getting plugged into a church
And loving it.

The girls got along easily,
Much to Miz N's delight.
Miss M couldn't stop finding similarities between the two of them
And Ms. O was her usual "inclusive" and "peace-making" self.

Their mom,
Well,
She was curiously about Miz N's situation
Specifically Miz N's mom.
She encouraged me to build the relationship with this mom
Like I did with her.
She shared her desire to reach out to her
As their stories are similar in ways,
Single moms,
Battling self-demons,
Trying to raise three kids on their own,
Not sure if they can or will ever be able to do it.
Wouldn't that be so amazing.
One newbie success story,
Coming so far in 16 months,
Reaching out to another,
To encourage,
To support,
To share.

I cannot wait to see how the Lord leads here.
I am so blessed to be along for the ride
And love on their girls,
Their kids,
For as long as I can
For as long as I am needed,
Even when LOVE in full of pain,
Because LOVE is also full of joy.