Getting Ready

Today we bought a dresser for her room.  We got a really good deal on it -- it was a display model and the store was going to discontinue selling that brand of furniture.  There wasn't any marks on it --it's in perfect shape -- and the good news is --- it's already put together!!  We got it at just a little over half the original price.  So we were pleased with the deal.  This is exciting to be getting stuff for her.  I'd have the dresser filled with clothes by now, but since we don't know who she is yet or her age, I can't buy clothes yet.  We do want to paint her room before she comes but we're going to wait to find out her favorite color, etc.  Today the boys and I started going through toys to re-organize, getting rid of old stuff, etc.  We're also starting to work on re-doing the boys room.  It's going to be quite a process but we're trying to do a little bit each day. I'm also working on a list for the adoption agency of kids we want specific details about.  Monday morning we should hopefully officially begin searching!

The Green Light!

We got the green light to actively search for our daughter!!   Our home study is approved and enroute to our local adoption agency!  We may now inquire for specific details about the children we're interested in!!

Another Step Closer

Last night we emailed our home study report back to the social worker with just a few minor corrections.  Tonight we will sign a paper stating that we approve of our home study report.  I'll mail the signed paper out tomorrow morning.  In the next few days, the social worker will email the report and mail four signed copies to our local adoption agency.  Once that happens -- we can begin looking for our daughter!!  We will be able to inquire about specific details about children and start the matching process!!!!

The Rough Draft

Tonight we received the rough draft of our home study report!!!   I read through it last night and Scott will read through it tonight.  I hope to make any corrections and get it emailed back to him by tomorrow.  We're one step closer!

The Waiting Game

We're still playing the waiting game and trying to be patient. The social worker is typing up our home study report and hopefully soon we will get to proof it, and get it approved.  We have several kids we're interested in but we can't get many details about them until we get our approval.  We bought a bed for her last weekend.  That was exciting.  Now, we're going to start working on reorganizing the boys' room to make better use of the space for them.  And we need to reorganize toys.  We also hope to get rid of unnecessary stuff, extra stuff, things the kids have outgrown, and things we don't use/need anymore.  It's amazing how much stuff we have accumulated over 11 years.  

The Home Study

April 12, 2008

Today we had our home study done. The social worker was extremely nice and friendly, and very easy to talk to.  It was three hours of sitting at the kitchen table answering questions.  We basically told him our life stories from the time we were born up to the present, about our families, and our childhood.  Then we went through our schooling,our job histories, how we met each other, what made us decide to marry each other, what our marriage is like, our hobbies, lifestyle, parenting style, discipline procedures.  We had to describe each other and our kids. He talked to the boys about how they feel about the adoption. We even had to give a description of what we do on a typical day from the time we wake up until we go to bed (he even wanted to know what time we got up and what time we went to sleep).  We listed what we like to do for fun as a family, as a couple, etc.  We went through medical histories, finances, insurances, etc.  We had to tell why we are choosing to adopt, how our families and friends feel about the adoption, etc.  I gave him the profile I typed up about our lives (complete with some pictures) -- it was kind of like a family resume -- our lives in a nutshell.  He was very impressed with it.  I think that's everything (I may have forgotten something) and then 5 to 10 minutes he walked through the house to take a quick look. The home study went really well.  He told us as he was leaving that we had two very well behaved and nice boys. He is going to type up his report and email it to us to review.  We can change something if we want to.  Then when we send it back to him, he'll finalize and type it up officially.  Once that's done, then we will be able to actively look at children and we'll be able to actually inquire about the child's specific details.  Then if we find a child we are interested in, the child's social worker (or adoption agency) will review our profile and decide if we'd be a good match. I'm not sure how long it will take him to complete and finalize the home study.  Everything I've read online says the home study takes 120 days to complete but I think it will be done next month.  Thank you to everyone who prayed for us today and for all the encouraging emails!

4/11/08

April 11, 2008
     Tomorrow is our home study!!

4/5/08

Today we received Scott's fingerprint letter. We also received the contract with Adopt America Network (AAN) which we need to sign and return.  The contract is for the grant we are receiving from AAN to help cover some of the cost of the homestudy. This week will be spent cleaning and straightening up around the house for the homestudy this coming Saturday.  

4/4/08

I received my fingerprint report back already.  We were told it would take 4-6 weeks to get our letters stating that there weren't any criminal records connected to us.  But according to the date on my letter, it only took a week to process.  We are still waiting on getting Scott's letter. Hopefully it will come soon.                                

4/3/08

April 3, 2008

This adoption process is turning out to be a real test of my patience.  Overall, I'm doing really well.  I have my moments when I get really anxious because I just want to get my daughter and begin loving her.  I love her already and I don't even know who she is yet.  We can't inquire yet about any girls we're interested in until we have our homestudy completed.  I'm excited to announce that we have our homestudy scheduled for April 12th!!!  The homestudy will take about 3 hours to do.  The social worker sounds very nice and easy to talk to.  And I can say I'm not freaked out about this part of the process (I was freaked out about it months ago).  It's exciting that this is actually starting to happen.  I'm not sure how long the homestudy will take to process (according to what I've read on the Internet it can take up to 120 days to complete).  Hopefully it won't take that long but at least I'm prepared to be "patient" to get our approval.  Please continue to pray for our family and that God will lead us to our daughter.  We appreciate your prayer support for us!