Saying goodbye

Today we say goodbye to Olivia. She has been a joy to have in our home. We have truly loved this little girl and hate to see her go. We have had some tears, but her adoptive family has assured us that we can continue to see her, and that helps with the goodbyes. The last few weeks she has been visiting her new family, increasing the visits over time. This is designed to help her start to get to know and bond with her family before she moves, but it has also been a great help for us as we get use to her not being around.
The pictures above were taken Sunday at my in-laws house and the pictures below were taken this week. It is hard to get a picture of her smiling, so I was happy to get these when she was in a silly mood.

LOVE this one!

This smile can melt your heart.

These next ones were taken Sunday




We have made a tradition of doing something special with our family on the day that a foster child leaves. This helps us have something to look forward to and gives us something to do instead of setting around the house missing them. This year we are going camping~~IN A TENT!! (Pause as my family catches their breathe and picks their mouth off the floor.)
The kids have been begging to sleep in a tent all summer, so we decided instead of spending money on a hotel, we would buy a tent and go camping. I have always been the hotel kind of girl, but kids tend to change you:-} I am actually excited about camping! And the kids are beside themselves with excitement. It has really helped to keep their minds off of Olivia leaving at 6:00 tonight.
If you think of it say a prayer for us today!!