2nd Home Study

Sorry for the delay on our updating...

On October 25th, 2011, we had our scheduled home study with our social worker. Our social worker, Trina, was to come to our house, check it out and interview us. Brandon and I just had some more paper work that we needed to continue to gather but we really didn't have anything that we needed to do to prepare. We didn't feel anxious or stressed in getting ready for her to come visit our house. I feel like in every t.v. show or movie that deals with adoption, the adopting couple has major anxiety in having their social worker coming to their house. We felt quite the opposite. It's not like we had anything to hide and Brandon & I are on the same page about pretty much everything. Also, our social worker is on our side, trying to help us out. We had also met Trina at our first orientation so we didn't feel so nervous.

Anyway, the evening was fairly simple. Trina came over and we all sat on the couch and chatted. She asked us some questions like, how we deal with grief, describe each other, how we are preparing culturally for adopted children, how we met, and so on. Like I sad earlier, Brandon and I were very much on the same page, so answering these questions were fairly easy. After about an hour of answering questions, we took her on a brief tour of our home. The only things that she really had to check for was if we had guns, a pool, and where the kids' bedroom would be. Simple.

That was about it. The second of our three meetings with her was over. We went ahead and scheduled our last meeting down in Mesa for November 10th. The only paper left to gather for our home study paper work are my employment verification letter from Starbucks, local police clearance letters, and general physical examinations. We should have all of those done in the next week or so. Yay!

It is truly neat to see just how God is already providing for us. Before Trina visited us, we had to make a payment to the agency. And God provided that money for us. I am truly humbled for the way God works and just how much people love us, trust us, and want to come along side of us and partner in bringing our children home. This whole process still seems so surreal. I continually find peace as God guides us step by step through this journey. I feel as though it's the opposite of what everyone imagines the adoption process to be- crazy and stressful.

I am reminded of how the adoption process that Brandon and I are going through is so paralleled to Christ adopting us as His children. Brandon and I are spending so much time and resources preparing for our child. And God did the same for us (but on a much greater scale!). It is so neat just to see God's handy work in it all (even if it is all just paper work). Thank you O Lord for adopting us as Your children and allowing us to have this opportunity to have a glimpse into who You are. To Your Glory alone.