answered prayers and musical chairs

It's incredibly evident the Heavenly realms were involved in our meeting with the social worker (we'll call her B) yesterday. I certainly prayed enough about it, and the Lord was kind to answer beyond what I expected. To set the stage, I should first tell you that it was about 30 minutes past Buddy's naptime and Peanut was nearing hers. Usually about that time, Buddy starts tearfully telling us, "Nap. Nap. Paci!" It's usually downhill from there if we try to keep him up a minute longer. However, B shows up and the kids are silently playing in the the living room. Peanut even acts shy and won't say her name.

B takes a quick house tour with me to inspect our living conditions and where another child might fit into them, and then we go back to the kitchen table to begin our conversation with K. The next thing we know, the kiddos are parading around the house holding hands, and Buddy could not be more happy about it. Normally the thought of big sister dragging him around and telling him what to do makes him mad. B even said, "They are so cute. I can't believe how much they like each other!" Well, I couldn't lie to her, so I admitted that I was completely surprised too! Can't put on a completely happy face for B, can we?

Next thing we know they have disappeared upstairs and are playing for at least 10 minutes before I hear Buddy's yell that means "Don't take that from me!" K goes to check and comes back reporting they are playing "music chairs." He asked if everything was okay to which Buddy replies "No thank you" and closes the door. Great.

In the meantime, B asked questions about our parenting styles and how we arrived at them from the way we were parented. What virtues are important to our family. What K's work schedule is like on a normal day. Good question! I'd like to know that too. Do we have a family pet? Anyone who knows me, knows the answer. She asked about our firearms and fire extinguishers. Normal conversation for a social worker, I suppose. Maybe I'll try some of these out over Thanksgiving dinner...

(Okay, so maybe the whole house is against me on the pet issue, but Peanut makes do with what she has.)

Ty goes to bed for a nap, then Alannah walks up to the table and asks, "Can I do some worksheets?" Seriously? This couldn't get any more staged. B looks at me incredulously, I shrug and tell her our daughter likes to do worksheets. What else can I say? This is looking ridiculous.

So, it went well as a whole,and I hope she was able to get a clearer picture of what our home life is like. She's the one who will write up a story for our child's govt to tell them what living condtions our child will enter into when he or she arrives home to us.

Happy Thanksgiving! Blessings, angela