Goal Change for J

The day before signing the intent to adopt D, I went to a case review for our now 7-year old foster son, J. His mom was present and we had a nice conversation in the hallway about all of the things that she had at home, ready for him and his sisters (though she probably will not be able to keep them). It was good to see her excitement, but then she had some conversation with a counseling agency, became upset and left the building. Since she was not present to give her side of the case, the judge looked at the agency's statements about missing visits for 9 weeks in a row without reason, and changed J's goal back to adoption. I still maintain that only God knows what the best outcome for these kids is, and trust that He can work in J's mom's life and all of the kid's lives whether they are together or apart. I fluctuate between between frustrated by the length of time his mom has had to make things right to be able to bring them home, and understanding all of the barriers she has to overcome and desiring for her to made whole and the family whole too. Nothing will look any different for now- still having visits scheduled weekly and the agency could extend visits if they are going well, but the agency is also filing another petition for termination of rights since she only started showing an interest in copying 2 weeks before court. Taking one step at a time, trying to empathize with and encourage J along the way.