1st Home Study Appointment & additional updates!

So we had our first home study appointment early this week with our home study agency which was recommended to us by our adoption agency, Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA). Did I mention we LOVE our agency!? :)))

Basically our appt consisted of meeting with a social worker for a little over 2 hours. The first hour was spent talking to us about the documents we needed to start gathering, including completing our I-600A, I171 and then compiling our dossier...phewww, is that going to keep us busy! A dossier is a compilation of approx 20-25 notarized and certified documents. After the first hour, we got into our family history. We were asked about our individual family relationships, activities growing up, how we were raised, etc. You name it, we covered it...I think anyone observing would've needed a flow chart to keep up, as we were moving at warp speed! ;-)

As the appt ended we scheduled our next appt when the social worker comes to our home for 3 hours, meets with us again and tours our home to make sure it is safe for a child. At this time she'll be meeting our heard of animals as well (keep her in your prayers ;-) That will be our last meeting with the social worker and then she will write up our home study and send it off to our agency. Once that is completed and our I-600A is sent in, we will be added to the wait list with FTIA for our baby girl!!! Speaking of wait, we have found out that we will be on a very long list...We are looking at somewhere between 2-3 years for our little peanut. That gives us plenty of time to DECORATE the room and shop for baby and kiddo clothes!! :))) Please keep us (and our lil angel who probably hasn't been born yet) in your prayers, I'm about to truly learn patience!

Time for our HOME STUDY to begin!

Well, now that we have chosen to adopt from Vietnam and we have picked an adoption agency, the next big step in the process is the home study! This is several meetings with a LSW (licensed social worker)both in our home and out, where they evaluate our ability to parent, help us determine what is best for our family in the way of children (ages, multiple children, etc). On average this process takes about 2 1/2 months but some agencies complete them faster. The home study agency we have selected (which is different than our adoption agency)...Is typically pretty quick about completing the home study (4-6 wks). We can't wait to get started! Our first appt. is next week and outside of our home. One step closer to building our family....

VIETNAM!!!! :))))

Though we struggled to get here....I am VERY EXCITED to share that Brandon and I have chosen to adopt a girl OR sibling pair(which are RARE) from Vietnam! :)))) We are fairly certain of the agency we are going to work with but I hesitate to post it b/c I am going to "skim" through one last packet before we make our final decision (that's the type A in me ;-) After researching over 25 agencies...We both feel a strong sense of peace with one of them!

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO ONE DAY BRINGING HOME OUR CHILD(REN) FROM VIETNAM!!!!! :)))

(Proverbs 3:5-6) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Much love,
B & R