our little bird

A few months ago, just after we visited our baby in California for his second birthday, his father called with a proposal. He said that he knew how much we love his baby and how much that baby loves us. He admitted that it was a lot harder than he thought it would be to care for his little boy as a single dad, working every available hour to make enough money to provide for him.

He asked if we would be interested in "co-parenting" with him. When he said the word "co-parenting" my heart nearly lept out of my chest. I couldn't speak more than a whisper when I said "Co-parent? What does that mean?" And when Rich heard just that part of the phone conversation from across the room, his eyes sprung uncontrollably with tears.

It was a prayer we didn't think we had the right to pray. We've always wanted to be as much a part of his life as possible...but we've also always respected the roles of his mother and father, who do love him so very much. We were his foster parents. We are his Godparents. And now, we will be co-parents.

So now we are just two weeks from picking up our sweet little bird to bring him back here. He'll be here for the summer, perhaps a little longer. In the meantime, we'll do webcam visits with his father and bring him back for a visit in July or so.

His mother still lives here in Virginia and we have the baby's father's permission to allow her supervised visits with him.

So that's where we are...so incredibly happy to be given even one more day with our sweet little bird. So many friends are worried for us, wondering aloud "won't your hearts be even more broken when he leaves again"...but tell me, really. Is fear of pain enough to stop my heart from loving this little boy? It is not. Not at all. I will endure whatever pain tomorrow brings to be a difference in his life. It is my promise to him. And it is, I know it with all my heart, what God intends for me to do.

As a little gift to you, I can tell you our little bird's name and even share a picture so that now you may pray for him by name and see his sweet face. His name is Alfredo, like the sauce. It was once so foreign to us and now it is the song my heart sings everyday.