Home Study Paperwork Finished!

I was in disbelief when Ian told me... I paused, trying to figure out what he was saying but it barely registered. What?!? The last form filled out, the last paragraph of the essay written?!? It wasn't until I got off the phone did the full implications of what he had just told me hit me. We are done with the initial paperwork for our home study!! I would have done a dance of joy if I hadn't been driving!







(Note to self - keep a small packet of confetti in the car for next time the need to celebrate arises. Is it littering to throw confetti out the window?)



Hurrah!

So... now what? Well, we get the paperwork notarized and copied and mailed off Saturday (we just don't have any time during business hours to do this during the week). We write some big and little checks for all the fees, all of which God has provided for through dear friends and other means.

Then we schedule our home study interviews and the scrutiny begins! We get questioned, poked and prodded. They make sure we have our emergency plan on display and that we have a fire extinguisher and carbon monoxide detector (thank you Susan!). Room for kid - check. No vicious dogs - check. Adoptive parents not crazy - check. Emergency food supplies - check.

(Second note to self - buy some Ramen noodles for the closet.) (Third note to self - Try not to eat Ramen noodles in the closet. For emergency use only... and craving for salty yummy food doesn't count as an emergency.)

Mmmm... noodles.  Ever try them dry? Better than potato chips!

Back to the home study... we also get educated! We will watch various lectures and read books on how to be good adoptive parents and what to expect from children who have been institutionalized their entire lives. Very exciting, we are looking forward to this immensely. While we know that this education won't give us the full picture of parenting an orphan, it will give us a starting place in what will be a life-long process.

And yes, more paperwork will need to be filled out.

We need your prayers!

• Pray that everything would go smoothly with no obstacles.
• Pray that we would be able to schedule the interviews within a reasonable timeframe - we're hoping to be done with them before fall.
• Pray that our doctor would actually fill out the paperwork declaring us of good health. We had our physicals done months ago and he still has not got around to it, in spite of my weekly calls. Grrrr.
• Pray that we get a social worker that is able to understand our heart and purpose for this adoption.
• Pray for anything that God leads you to pray for... He knows better than we do what needs to happen!

Your prayers really do make a difference, so please send them up to our all-powerful, wonderful Abba God!

How else can you help? As soon as the home study is finished, we will need more funds to move forward with preparing the dossier for Bulgaria and for immigration fees associated with the Federal process for bringing an adopted orphan into the US. We will be applying to as many grants as possible as soon as we get the home study approval, but most of them are designed to contribute toward the final costs of adoption after the parents have done everything they can to come up with the money through their own resources and fundraising. So... we need you! The sooner we get the funds, the sooner we can move on to the next step in bringing our little child into our home. So give if you can... and keep an eye out for some special fundraising we will be doing soon.

Thank you all for supporting us through this first stage... and into the next stages as well. We are infinitely blessed by your constant love and encouragement. We love you guys!