Homestudy packet … Check!

On November 17th, Kayla and I had a meeting at Bethany Christian Services. During that meeting we learned that our initial application was approved and it was time to begin moving towards the “Home Study Process”.

The first step of that Home Study (HS) was to fill out a mountain of paperwork. All in all there were 34 different items/forms/packets that we had to fill out/collect for the HS packet. Here are a few of the things included in the process …

• Formal Application (10+ pages of good ole paperwork)
• Individual SAFE Questionnaire Forms (10+ page packet where you answer questions about yourself, your spouse, and your family)
• Self-Studies/Personal Profiles
• Background Checks
• Financial Statements/Records
• Fingerprinting Report
• Statements of Faith
• Will Statement of Intent
• Copy of IRS forms
• Health Physical Report
• Letters from our employers
• Letters to the Birthparent(s)
• Much, much more …

I do not know the average length of time that it usually takes a family to fill out/collect all of that information but I am willing to bet that we’ve got to be close to the record speed! I guess that is what motivation does for you!

My guess is that it will take Bethany Christian Services a few weeks to comb through all of the information in the packet and then we will begin scheduling our individual & couple interviews.

Everything has been happening at lightning speed since we really pushed forward with adoption. As many of you know, we had been praying about adoption for quite some time but since we actually settled on the decision and visited Bethany everything has been warp 9.9, light speed, or whatever other measurement of speed you want to use.

This quick pace has been a good thing. Kayla and I are so excited about this journey and the end result it will bring. Our want for a family spurns us to quickly fill out paperwork, make copies, and do the other host of things we’ve had to do so far and not only that, but it has made it easy as well.

Now however I feel like we are about to enter the first stage of ‘Things are out of your control – adoption style’.

Up until this point pretty much everything has been dependent upon us. We had to decide upon adoption. We had to attend the preliminary meeting at Bethany. We had to fill out the 1st application. We had to fill out the home study packet.

Now however, we have to wait for them to process this big application. Then we have to wait for them to schedule our interviews. Then we have to wait for our references to submit their forms about us. Then we have to wait for them to inspect our house. Then we have to wait for them to process and approve (or deny) our entire Home Study process. And of course once we are an approved family, we become a ‘waiting family’ and will wait for placement.

I am sure we will write more about ‘the wait’ later on down the road when we have experienced some of its frustration but right not it is just an odd feeling knowing that, for the most part, we have done everything we can do up to this point.

So … In the meantime I guess we will keep praying and keep you all informed with any progress that is made. Before I finish this blog I do want to remind you/let you know of some current fundraisers.

T-Shirts

We are going to close out our second (and likely last) order of t-shirts in one week. If you would like to order a shirt please click HERE and fill out the form. Remember, we are willing to ship these shirts so order from anywhere in the US and we should be good.

Initials Party

Our good friend Tamra is throwing us an online Initials Party. As a guy I don’t know much about Initials but I do know they sell purses and other items that are customizable and are super purty (pretty)! You can order online by clicking the
Initials Party link. This fundraiser will only be open for a short period of time and items can be shipped to any state!

Thanks again for all of your love, prayers, and support!