No End in Sight???

In the last post, I proudly wrote, "We also are VERY happy to announce that our home study has been scheduled for next Tuesday, October 25!  FINALLY!"  


HA!  Like things would really work out like we expect...


The coordinator we are now working with came into our home, sat down at the kitchen table, laid out a set of what looked like really important papers and folders, and began talking to us about different things that had originally been very unclear.  As she went on, she dropped this phrase, "...and when you they come to do the home study..."  Huh???  We thought this WAS the home study!!!  She apologized for having misled us and went on to answer the questions that kept growing in our minds afterward.

Needless to say, we were pretty peeved/ bummed.  Here we are getting super excited about getting this step completed and then another wrench gets thrown in the way.
BUT, here's where God's work is evident:

In recent conversations, Clif and I began to think realistically about the time frame behind awaiting a child to adopt- especially a very young child.  When a young child becomes available for adoption (say, an infant up to 3 or 4 years of age), there are AT LEAST 80 profiles that are accepted within a very short amount of time for that child.  Our chances of being selected and being a great match for that child at that point are not necessarily slim, but also not great.  As we discussed this with our new coordinator last night, we came to the decision that we will foster to adopt, which is different than straight adoption in a few ways (which I can explain at another point or at your request).  This DOES mean that there is a possibility that the child coming into our home could be removed and returned to his/ her birthparents.  However, if they are not removed and are a good match for us and us for them, we would have first "dibs", if you will.

Because we have made a slightly different decision, we now are required to take more courses to qualify as a foster home.  Therefore, completing our home study right now is irrelevant, because we cannot take children into our home without first having had these other courses.  And we probably wouldn't have come to this decision without having first met with our new coordinator last night.  And maybe we would not have gotten our last few bits of preparation complete had we not assumed last night was the home study and had we not somehow had the extra bit of money this month to complete those preparations.  

In all things, God is good.  Even in our frustrated state of mind, God is present and working in ways we cannot understand.  We are excited about our new decision, but again are praying that we can quickly accomplish these tasks that will get us "qualified" as foster parents.  We are anxiously awaiting our turn to become parents.  Even though there seems to be no end in sight, we know that God has already constructed what will be and in this, we are faithful.

The journey we call "LIFE"

Well, I'm usually pretty good about starting off with an interesting introduction, but I think I'll just jump right in with where we are in our LLLOOOONNNNGGGG adoption journey... that's sure to receive a reward for its longevity.  If it doesn't, I'll be expecting a certificate of some sort from at least one person we know, **hint, hint** :).

So, two weekends ago mom came down and we worked like I've never worked before (or so it felt the day after) in high hopes of getting everything ready for the home health inspection that was to occur (and did occur) the following Monday.  I am SUPER thankful for her help!  Our home health inspection went alright, but there were a few things mentioned that caused our social worker to say, "I'll jot down that you'll get those things fixed and I'll have to do one more walk-through before the home study."  That was a little disheartening, but we  already have a couple of those very minor things checked off our list.  Most of it was a matter of getting all meds locked up and moving some tools and cleaning supplies to super high shelves or locking them up (lots of locking things up).  We asked several questions about when that next "walk-through" would be and how long before our home study, however we were met with few answers.

A week or so later, it came to our surprise that our case worker had resigned to pursue other career opportunities.  Someone from the agency has already picked up with us and is keeping in touch with us on a regular basis and answering questions in a very timely manner.  We also are VERY happy to announce that our home study has been scheduled for next Tuesday, October 25!  FINALLY!  No "walk-through" ahead of time, just the home study itself!  We know that it will go smoothly and quickly.  After our home study is approved (which could take some time) we will officially be "waiting" for our child to come along.

While we wait, we have discussed becoming foster parents for legal risk children (basically, children whose parents' rights are likely, but not guaranteed, to be terminated).  If we did this, we would request to foster infants and would have the option to adopt them should the birth parents' rights be terminated.  Of course, if the parents' rights are not terminated, the child would leave us and go back to the birth parents, OR to someone in the family willing to accept responsibility for the child, which would be very difficult for us.  At the same time, we would take care of them like they were our very own which would be a blessing to them (even for just a short time) and to us.  

And so the journey continues :).  Lots of interesting things are happening along the way, not only in our adoption process, but also in our day to day lives- new jobs (for us both), changes in our "family" (our dogs lol), and changes in our home.  God has provided and will continue to provide and strengthen us in this amazing journey we call "LIFE"!