Foster Fun: or, Eight is Enough!

If you have read Enter the Rainbow for any length of time, you know that we are a foster family. Here and here and here and here and here are some of the posts I've written about foster care, if you want to read a bit about our experiences.

Well, we have a BIG week this week, to say the least. Two weeks ago, we made arrangements to have two brothers living with us for one week in a "respite care" placement. Then last week, we got a call for a "traditional" placement for two more brothers. Having already said yes to the respite placement, we did not feel like we could back out on it.

And so, that means the Bryan household contains eight people this week - the four Bryans and FOUR foster kids, ages 9 and 5 and 5 and 2. Wahoo!

I'm happy to report that dinner and bedtime went well last night - six kids ate, bathed, brushed teeth, got something like pajamas on their bodies, and had a place to sleep. Wesley, our son, was extra gracious is volunteering his bunk bed for our one-week guests, in favor of an inflatable bed on Cori's bedroom floor; believe me, we have been singing his praises (and Cori's) all weekend for that. And everyone slept all night long, which was nice.

And this morning somehow we got five kids up, breakfasted, dressed, and successfully delivered to four different schools IN TIME, the 2 year old staying home with Erin. Yes, you read that correctly - 5 kids to 4 schools on time!

We'll see how the rest of this week goes. Whatever else it brings, I'm pretty sure this week is going to reaffirm our comittment to taking just two foster kids at a time! It's chaos, but it is beautiful chaos - and it is, most importantly, temporary chaos.

Thanks for your prayers!