Chaos

With one spot open in our house, being an intake house, we knew it was just a matter of time before we had another child placed. Throughout Friday our house received three separate calls. We were supposed to get a 4-year-old boy who was the brother of one the children already in our house. Then we heard the child was missing. We got another call about a 2-year-old girl who had fresh burns all over her hands. About half an hour later they had placed her in a community foster home. So far 2 possible new intakes with neither panning out. About 8:30 p.m. Hillary and I were watching Benjamin Button and Lauren comes running upstairs to tell us we have another potential intake. Everyone drops everything and rushes to get things done.

She was 5 1/2 so we did not have a bed for her. She had a younger sister who was two and was being placed in another house on the campus. So we went to their house and switched beds. It was quite the sight. Never did I think my typical Friday night would be dismantling a crib and hauling it down the street. We rushed around to make sure we had appropriate clothing and the right paperwork. Then we sit and wait for the call to pick her up.

A little over an hour and a half later they called. Lauren and Hilary brought back a beautiful, terrified little girl. We always give them something to eat and bathe them first. Then it was bedtime because it was so late when she arrived.

At the same time she arrived one of our supervisors showed up at our door with a 3-month-old who needed to go to the ER. We hurried to feed her and bathe her because she smelled pretty bad, gathered up a diaper bag and some rushed paperwork and left for the ER. Nicole took her and I went along so she wouldn't have to be alone because she would most likely be there all night.

We ended up being at the ER from midnight to 7 a.m. When we got back we found out we were keeping the baby and discharging our 14-month-old. So we had to round up appropriate things for the baby since we did not have infant stuff in our house and fill out paperwork and pack up the 14-month-old's things, after being up for the past 24 hours.

Mornings are normally pretty chaotic without adding in a new baby and the discharge of another child. The 5-year-old got sick, a 3-year-old had an accident on the floor and one of the 2-year-olds ran out of her room naked :) About 8:30 I finally crashed in my bed and slept through most of my first Saturday here. Welcome to life at Casa.