Waiting for approval

Well it's been just over 3 weeks since our final home study meeting, which included the home inspection. It went great. The home inspection was very laid back. We pretty much just showed our case worker around our home and went over where our new son's room would be and things like that.

She let us know it would take up to 6 weeks to write up the homestudy. After it is written up, it will go through an approval process. Once it is approved by numerous members from Bethany's staff, we will officially be "waiting" for a refferal. I can't wait to know we are finally waiting. I know it will be quite a wait....our case worker told us to plan on anywhere from 8-12 months. Everything is, of course, subject to change and they cannot make any promises. We are just hoping and praying the wait goes by quickly and that our son will be happy and safe while he is also waiting.

I'm hoping to get word from our case worker in the next few weeks of our approval. We will be ready to celebrate when we hear the news!!!!:)

Home inspection

Well, our first 2 meetings with our case worker went very well. She is so kind and very easy going which made being open a lot less intimidating. As a case worker, her job is to really understand who we are as people, and as a family. In order to fully understand this, she has to dig deep and get very personal, which can sometimes be difficult. However, she made this process a positive experience for us overall. I feel great about what we were able to convey to her about who we are, why we want to adopt, and how we plan to move forward with the adoption process.

Today is our final meeting for the home study, as well as the home inspection. I'm a little nervous for this because once again, it feels a little invasive. But we have worked hard to make this house a home and I am proud of what we have. Our case worker keeps reassuring us that this is not a big deal and not to stress. There is no checklist or anything for us to reference so I hope everything is up to par today.:)

After todays meeting and inspection, our case worker will be writing up the actual home study. This can take 4-8 weeks, depending on her work load with other cases. We can then begin to gather the information and paper work for our dossier. This is the file we will need to bring with us to Ethiopia containing all the required paperwork and information. It all has to be notarized and is pretty specific. We will also have more training to do which can be done online and through special courses or seminars that Bethany offers. We plan to take this part of the adoption process step by step as we have everything thus far so that we do not get overwhelmed.

I am looking forward to learning more and waiting patiently for a referral!
<3

The home study...

So our first meeting with our case worker is May 31. This will be the first meeting of our home study. I don't really know what to expect. I'm not exactly sure what the home study process entails. I am sure we will find all of that out at the end of this month when we meet our case worker.:)

I am hoping that she gets a good impression of who Andrew and I both are and what kind of parents we are. With only 18 months of experience with being parents, I hope we will be able to give her all the information she needs. Because I already have my childcare license, and needed home inspections done for that, I am hoping there isn't too much that needs to be done within our house.

I must admit I am a little nervous about all of this, but I am sure that once we get started, it won't be so bad. The whole idea of a home study just sounds intrusive...like we're being judged...which I guess we are in a way.;) But it's definitely something we're willing to do openly b/c we really feel passionate about this adoption. I am going to try to embrace every piece of the process and just take it all one step at a time.

On our way

Well, we have turned in the online portion of our formal application!! We are planning to turn in the rest of the paperwork this afternoon to complete the formal application which will officially start our adoption process! I am so excited! There are so many unknowns to come, but also, so much to look forward to! Andrew and I appreciate the support from our family and friends as we begin this journey. Please pray for a smooth process with as few bumps in the road as possible. Also pray for understanding and the ability to deal with any bumps that may come our way. I really feel like there is a child out there, who is probably already conceived, and maybe even already born, who is meant to be our child. I read this quote in the paper a few weeks ago from a parent who has recently adopted. She said, "In our hearts, he was always ours. We simply needed to take him home." This was so touching to me because we feel this way also and it's the perfect way to put our desire to go through this process. I am excited to be able to start posting more blogs soon to keep you all in the loop with where we are along the way.

One Less

I just wanted to post this video b/c it's amazing! I am sooooo glad we are blessed enough to be able to be a part of something like adoption...I hope that in the next couple years there will be "one less" child waiting for a forever family. Check out the video, the link is below!

http://youtu.be/8SDwZL5zGL8

.........

Well, we are still working on our formal application. We are really hoping to have that turned in soon, hopefully this Friday. There is so much paperwork and so many forms that need to be filled out. It is harder to find the time than I thought it would be, especially for our medical forms/physical release. Andrew's schedule makes it hard to get him appointments. But he is going tomorrow, and I had mine last week. Sooooo, after that we should be ready to turn it all in!!! This is pretty exciting because that will start the actual adoption process. They are telling us that as of now, from the time you hand in your formal application until you actually are taking your child home, it could be anywhere from 12 months to 2 years. Everything is so up in the air though and it's always possible for those things to change since we are dealing directly with another country. We are praying that there isn't too much waiting...but we are ready to handle whatever comes our way. We know we may have to be flexible and patient, and are ready to do so. Please keep us in your prayers!

So much to consider...

Well, I thought that coming to the decision to adopt was the hard part. I was wrong. Now that Andrew and I are considering adoption, there are soooo many choices that need to be made: When to adopt, where to adopt from, what agency to use, where to get the money, how will our families react, how do we adjust, what needs to change, and soooo much more! We are going crazy with all of the "what ifs." I just wish there were answers...but I suppose like most good things in life, only time will tell. We need to trust that this is all part of a bigger plan and we are not in control. It's a scary thing.

So, for now, we are trying to handle all of the decisions and the confusion one day at a time. I'm praying that God guides us, provides for us, and shows us the way we are suppose to go. We appreciate your prayers as well.:)