That title comes from a VeggieTales song which unfortunately, pops into my head way too often. Since I last posted (back in March? Yikes), I've been dreadfully busy. So much for the lazy days of summer. There isn't much that I would have done differently though. We took a fabulous trip to DC, and ended up seeing Geraldo report from the White House the morning after they announced Bin Laden's death. VBS, both here and on the Mission Trip, was awesome! Cousin Camp at Grandma's house was a lot of fun again this year. I've been chauffering Ryan to swim lessons and camp at the Magic House (which he loved). The list goes on... However, much of my busyness has been completing more steps in the adoption process! :) Here's where we stand:
1. The mountain of paperwork (including 3 book reports) that was due by June 11th got completed and submitted...in the knick of time. We had been mailing "chunks" of paperwork back little by little, but apparently we should have started reading the books earlier in the process. Between prepping for VBS, which started June 13th and Alan's heavy work schedule...we postmarked the last reports on the 11th. Phew!
2. We've attended several "Family Fellowships" at Bethany, which not only gives us a chance to discuss important adoption topics with other adopting families, it also counts toward our 10 required training hours that must be done while we're in the waiting stage.
3. I frantically pulled our house together (for the most part) for our home visits. Luckily the visit did not include checking under beds or opening junk drawers. The house wasn't perfect, but apparently it was considered safe, because WE PASSED OUR SAFETY CHECK! WOO HOO!
4. The home visits occurred once a week, for three consecutive weeks. The first week included the safety check, and an interview with the two of us. That was our first chance to really meet our new adoption specialist, since we had "graduated" from our time with the intake specialist. The second week included our individual interviews - all 3 of us. Alan & I were each interviewed separately for about 45...Ryan's was only about 5 minutes. The third visit brought us back together for a final interview. So we are finished with the home visits! (And I must ashamedly admit the house has gone downhill since).
So what comes next?
1. Our was on vacation this week. When she returns she will write up all of the home study information into a report. Then she and I will meet, so I can look it over for mistakes before she turns it in to the Director of Bethany Christian Services. The director will read it over and approve it. (I asked if they are ever non-approved, and was told we would have known by now if there was going to be a problem).
2. My next big task is to work on our Family Profile - a scrapbook type book full of pictures and information about our family. I need to prepare a Long Profile (the book) and a Short Profile (a 1 page summary with pictures that we can also post on Bethany's website if we want). We can also prepare a photo slide show or video on YouTube if we choose.
3. The goal is to get both of these the Home Study approved and the Family Profile finished by the end of August. Then we have to pay our Home Study Fee and administration fees...and that's it. Then we wait...and wait...and possibly wait some more. Whenever a baby becomes available, Bethany will let us know and tell us any information they have about the birthparents and the situation. If we want them to show the Birth Mom our Profile, we let them know. And then we wait some more until hopefully we are chosen.
Please pray for me as I work on the Profile. It's hard to decide which pictures and narratives say "pick us, we'll be a great family for your baby." I'm kind of afraid to get started.
Sorry, folks. I know this was a huge entry to read through...but I wanted to get all caught up. It sure is comforting to know we have family and friends who care about us and will pray for us!
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