Changes and Home Study Visit #1

We had our first home study interview yesterday! Before I stepped into the world of international adoption, I assumed the home study was a super intense home inspection where a pinch-faced woman in cat-eye glasses walked around our house searching for unlocked medicine cabinets and soap scum on the shower doors. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! Our home study will consist of 4 main meetings, a joint interview (yesterday), 2 individual interviews, and a home visit during which our social worker will meet our kids and make sure we actually have walls and a roof. 

Yesterday, we were interviewed together and it really wasn't all that scary. She asked some pretty personal questions, but nothing uncomfortable (for us) and nothing that didn't make total sense. We are blessed to have a very knowledgeable and kind social worker, so it was pretty comfortable overall. 

During the second half of our time together, she walked us through our home study packet. Oh man. We have a LOT to do. Physical, marriage certificates, birth certificates, 1040s, employer letter, health insurance letter, 3 major questionnaires (and by the way, those definitely have some seriously personal questions), about 20 hours of training, fingerprinting, etc. She estimated 3 months to complete it all. Brandon joked that she'd find our completed packet on her doorstep by this morning. He was definitely exaggerating, but I have zero intentions of this taking 3 months. Maybe a few weeks. Max. :-)

The big news is that we are fairly certain we are switching country programs. At this point we will most likely be adopting a little girl 0-7 from South Africa. What prompted our switch, you ask? Well, that is a story for another day. I hope to share soon the miracles God is working as He leads in this direction. I will say however, that we believe that God is directing our steps, and this switch was not something we could have ever planned. We are excited and hopeful about it and we covet your prayers as these leaps of faith are starting to become bigger and bigger.

Speaking of prayer, if you're so inclined, here are the specific areas in which we need prayer right now:

- That we would discern clearly God's intent as we finalize switching countries

- That the remaining home study visits would go smoothly (and that our boys would behave during our final one!)

- That we would be able to get our physicals sooner than our doctors are telling us (appointments are in Nov. and Jan. right now, I'd like them MUCH sooner)

- That all the waiting children on our agency's list would find their forever families, and that our hearts would remain committed to that hope, even if it means disappointment for us right now

- That we would continue to see God's provision as we have many fees due very soon, and that we would wait on Him so we can see His miracles in this area

Thank you all. We are so excited, and so completely amazed that God is allowing us to walk down this road. We are so blessed.

On Stories and Waiting Children

So, here's the thing. I like stories. I like real people. I struggle with generalities. When I say there are 143 million orphans in the world, my own mind doesn't compute that. I need faces. I need stories.

I really want to move you. I want to say things that stir you. I want to tell you all that I've been reading and have it come over you like a flood, so that it will change your whole life. I want to tell you the numbers, the facts, the truth about what is happening in our world.

But every time I try, I fall flat. I get preachy and I probably turn you off.

This adoption process is a little bit like that for me. We're putting our ducks in a row, filling out paper work, making phone call, counting our pennies... all for a child out there who is part of that huge number. A child who seems faceless. I think that is one of the reasons that we have been so interested in pursuing a child who is considered a "Waiting Child". These kiddos are a little bit older, have special needs (minor and major) and have not met the requirements of people who are accepted into a program through an agency. To be frank, the "Waiting Child" list is basically a last ditch effort to get these kiddos into a forever home.

Most of you know that we have two biological children with minor special needs. Every single day I look at them and realize that if they had been born somewhere else, it is very likely that they would be Waiting Children.

Are you kidding me?????

My boys are so special. They are so unique. They're hilarious. They have loving hearts and quick minds.  They are the greatest gift God has given me. And they would stand a very good chance of being unwanted had their circumstances been different.

So when I think of 143 million orphans, I think about how far down the list my boys would be, and that makes me absolutely certain that these children are not just statistics looking for someone to take pity on them. They are breathing, brilliant, funny, sweet souls who desperately need to be snuggled and taken to the pediatrician and colored with and tickled and prayed over and read to and fed vegetables and loved every single day.

Please pray for us as we take the next steps necessary to bring a Waiting Child home. This is a one foot in front of the other process and today we took some steps. We're  nervous, we're unsure, we're excited, we're trusting. Pray for the little girl whose story and picture has stolen my heart (and is closing in on Brandon's). We have no idea if she is our daughter, but we know that for some reason, God has lined up some things that sure make it seem like she could be. No matter what, she needs a family. No matter what, we want the very best for her.

We know just a paragraph about her. But that paragraph told a piece of her story. And for me, today, that made all the difference. When I think of the 143 million, I think of her.