W a i t i n g

It's only been 17 days since we've officially been done with all of our paperwork and on the waiting list, but it feels much longer.  We've hit the point of just waiting for a phone call from the adoption agency to tell us that we've been matched with a mother and her baby.  The agency told us that during the time of filling out our paperwork, everything would move along quickly.  They also told us that once the paperwork was done, and the home study was approved, it would feel like we hit a brick wall.  They were right.  Every time the phone rings, we jump with anticipation that it's our agent from Bethany. 

When you're waiting for something, you find things to do to pass the time.  Some of the things we have occupied ourselves with include: decorating the baby's room (so far we have the crib, changing table, and several decorations, but we're waiting for the glider, which was backordered); we're reading a book titled, "Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wished Their Adoptive Parents Knew," it's an emotinoally challenging read; and we pray every day for the baby God has chosen for us.

Some things you could pray about:

• That the mother would be taking good care of herself (and the baby she's carrying) and that she would make a final decision about adoption.
• That a baby would soon be available for us to adopt.
• That God would prepare our hearts and minds for the role of being, not only parents, but adoptive parents. 
• That we would be patient and know that God's timing is perfect. 

In our eyes, the timing is perfect...our application process is finished, our bills are paid, and it's summer -- the season of new life.  However, we know that God's timing is always perfect and so we will wait on Him.  Thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers.

Home Study is Finished!

Our case worker came to the house yesterday for the third and final visit.  She had several more questions for us, but this time about our community.  She wanted to know what we thought about living in the country, what we liked about it and didn't like.  She asked about our neighbors...which are few.  We were happy to tell her that all of our neighbors attend our church and they are really good people.  We also had to tell her how many miles to the nearest hospital in case of emergencies.  She even wanted to know where we would send our children to school (James Valley was our answer, by the way).

After she finished with her questions, she walked around the house just to check things out.  She took the water temperature (ours was perfect at 120 deg).  She asked how many smoke alarms we had.  You're supposed to have one in every bedroom and at least one on every level.  We have to pick up a few more.

She ended the session by working through our adoption plan.  This is a list of items we filled out that they use to match us with an expectant mother.  It went mostly well, but we do have some things to think about.  We also came up with a list of goals to work on over the next few weeks.  

Overall, it went really well.  We are now done with all of the preliminary work.  She will write up our report and send it to us for review.  After they approve it, we will become a waiting family.  She tells us that it will  be approved next week.

Yellow Rubber Duckies in the Baby's Room

On a side note: In celebration of being done with all this adoption paperwork stuff, we ordered a crib and a changing table for the baby's room.  In the picture are the pac-n-play, stroller, and rubber duckies.  We're going with a brown, green, and yellow theme since we won't know the gender of the baby.  Either way, we figure it's time to start decorating the baby's room!

Home Study (part 2)

The second part of our home study actually didn't take place in our home.  Since we pay mileage for the social worker to come to us, they were kind enough to let us come to them.  This saved us about $150 dollars.  This was okay to do because the interview actually had nothing to do with our home. 

The interview started with both of us together, answering some follow-up questions from the first part of our home study.  Then, the agent split us up and interviewed us individually for an hour.  We weren't quite sure of what to expect, but it went well.  I think she was trying to see if we told the same stories and were on the same page with adoption stuff.

When the interviews were over, she told us that she has no hesitancies about us becoming adoptive parents.  She strongly encouraged us to get our "profile book" printed, which we did last night.  And, she scheduled the third and final part of our home study for this Thursday, March 31. 

So, on Thursday we will be finished with all the preliminary work.  Next week, we will become a waiting family...waiting for a child to be matched with us.  This whole process has moved so quickly and we can see God guiding us through it all.  Thank you for your many prayers.  God is moving.

How Long Does Adoption Take?

One of the questions we are most commonly asked is: How long does adoption take?  It's a really good question, so we want you to know the answer.

The agency told us that they are asked this question all the time, but there is no definite answer.  Once a couple completes their home study (we will start ours on March 17), they are ready to be matched with an expectant mother.  The time between completion of the home study and being matched with an expectant mother is called the "waiting period" because you are literally just waiting to be matched.  The waiting period can be very short.  Some families have had a waiting period of zero days because they were matched the first day their profile book was made available to a mother.  However, the waiting period can also be very long.  They have also had some families wait as long as three years to be matched. 

Another way to think of this time is kind of like a pregnancy.  After conception, you have a "waiting period" of nine months before the baby arrives.  The only difference with adoption is that we don't know how long our waiting period will be.  So, this is our prayer: Please pray that the waiting period is short, that once our profile is complete we could be matched quickly.  When we are matched, the baby will most likely arrive within two months. 

We finished our profile book, but have some edits to make in it.  We'll have it up here soon.

Home Study Scheduled

Yay!  Our home study has been scheduled for March 17.  This will be the first of two visits to our home.  Amanda and I will meet individually with the social worker to answer questions based on our profile surveys.  The first meet will last 2-3 hours and a second meeting will take place a week or more later.  Once our home study is complete, we will be considered a "waiting family."  We will be waiting to be matched with an expectant mother and the child she is carrying.  Things are moving smoothly and, as you can expect, we are EXCITED! 

In the next few days we will post our "Profile Book" to the blog.  This is the book the expectant mother previews when she comes into Bethany.  She will/will not choose us based on this book.   Watch for it.