On May 20th, a couple of days after my last post, we had our first meeting with our social worker at the adoption agency we selected. I went in with an open mind and heart... and a long list of questions! I did my research and talked to other adoptive parents that have had successful adoptions and learned what things I needed to ask my social worker, in order to have a more productive meeting.
We turned in our application and gave the lady our money, and she explained how the rest of the process would go. I already knew that there would be a wait to get into their program, as they only work with a limited number of adoptive parents at a time in order to cut down on wait times to complete an adoption. When she began talking about our wait she initially told me it would be a year before we were accepted into their program. My heart sank... just a few weeks before she told me that it would be 6 months at the longest. After seeing the shock on my face, she remembered that she told me something different on the phone, and that we had spoken on the phone for the last month, so she moved us back up to our proper place in line. That sinking feeling went away and happy thoughts drifted back into my head.
We then talked about what we could do in the time in which we waited. She told me that I could begin to gather things for our book to show to the birth parents, and maybe start on a letter that would be included in that book.
Once our wait time is up, and we are accepted into the program officially, we will start our home study. A home study is where the social worker comes into your home to make sure that you have sufficient room for a child to live there, that you have certain safety features (such as smoke detectors), and do interviews with us to make sure we are fit to be parents. Also included with this you must have a physical and be signed off by a doctor. I had so many questions about this home study, as it seems so scary (especially the physical part...and all of my health problems). After speaking with our social worker and knowing exactly how it all works and that she would be the one doing it I felt much more comfortable.
After the home study is approved, we would just be waiting on birth parents to choose us. I began thinking about the things that I could put in the book, and how I could make a connection with the birth mother/parents on paper. What would make them want to pick us? That question is still going through my mind, and I pray that when the time comes to work on our book, that God gives me just the right pictures to put in there, and the right words to say.
Thanks to all of our friends and family for the generous donations to our adoption fund! We currently have raised $2544.80 for our adoption. We still need so much more, but we are off to a great start. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray for our future child, and pray for us to have patience while waiting for this baby!
