Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork

It seems like I have been filling out stack after stack of paperwork from the very beginning of this journey. I knew that there would be red tape, but wow! The funny thing is that it's all pretty much the same stuff. So, over the last five weeks, I have filled out several forms for different entities all stating the same thing. Sigh! It is pretty incredible, how bare you have to strip yourself to in order for others to consider you for adoption. it is all so humbling and even scary. The brunt of gathering all the necessary documents and filling out these forms has fallen on my shoulders. At the end of the day, Daniel and I discuss the paperwork, I answer questions as they come up, and he signs and or initials where he needs to. It is a system that works.

Currently, we are in a good place in the process. The paperwork part of the homestudy is almost complete. All we need is to go to the doctor for our physicals and take the animals to the vet. Seein the doctor has proven to be a challenge as I am having a hard time even getting the clinic to call me back to make an appointment, and Daniel's schedule is tighter than president Obama's. :) But once that is out of the way we can have our two meetings with the social worker and be done with the home study.

Our adoption loan was approved, and there are a few forms that still need to be signed for that. Sometime next week we should be working with the media department at the agency in order to put our profile together. After that, it will just be sitting tight and waiting for the birthmother that is carrying our baby to find us.

In the mean time, I have started to make plans for the baby's nursery and for purchasing a few things to have ready for baby just in case we get a call and have little reaction time. I have decided on Winnie the Pooh for baby's rooms. I want it to be a bright and comfy place. I am going to paint the room a nice bright yellow and perhaps have a cool mural. More to come on that.

So, it's official.

We have officially signed the contract to retain Adoption Network Law Center. We also decided to do an adoption specific line of credit, so that we didn't have to feel the pressure of spending all of our liquid assets. The interest rate is only 8%, and I think that it will give us a bit more wiggle room when it comes to expenses. We should hear something back on that on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

For the time being, the quest for getting this home study paperwork finished continues. I have ordered the background checks from a company called Background Ferret, which the homestudy agency suggested that we use. I tried to contact them to see about the status of the order and no one has gotten back to me yet, which I hate. It is so annoying when I try to contact a business with a question and they don't get back to me in a timely manner.

Monday we are making all the doctors appts to get that out of the way. Letters of reccomendation have been requested and are in the works. The FBI clearances and fingerprints need to be ordered still. That particular process is a bit cumbersome. I have to take the animals to the vet and upadate their shots because I have to have that as part of the file as well. The rest of the paperwork is pretty much done.

In the mean time, life just goes on. We laugh and play, and work, and study and just enjoy being a family.

The home study

So, we are currently going through the home study process. We chose an agency in Smyrna, TN called Adoption Assistance and our Social Worker's mame is Kelly Stewart. What is the home study process? Well, by law, anyone that wants to adopt a child is required to have an approved home study. During this process, which must be handled by a licenced agency or social worker, the couple's life story is compiled and put together in report format.

The process can seem quite invasive and overwhelming because litterally no stone is left unturned. The paperwork required is quite extensive and includes financial statements, several letters of reccomendation, heath clearances, background checks, fingerprints, and FBI checks, 3 income tax returns, and other pertinent information. There are two visits involved; one in the home and one at the social worker's office. We will be expected to discuss why we are adopting and our expectations of the process. The social worker needs to get a good picture of our family through the interviews. Once all of the paperwork and interviews are complete the report will be compiled, and at that point it will be approved or disapporved.

I am not that nervous, mostly because our social worker is so nice and apporcheable. Hopefylly we will be done with this part over the next 30 days. Once this is complete, we are ready to be matched, so I am really excited.