Long Overdue Update

I can’t believe it’s been since March that I have written anything…wow- guess I am not as much of a writer as I thought I was… Or it could be that I was too busy filling out all the applications and paperwork that goes along with the adoption! J I honestly didn’t think anybody really was looking at this, but I just got an email from a dear friend that said they have it book marked, so now I feel obligated to update it! So… let me take you through the last few months….

Well, we did in fact turn in all of our paperwork on March 17th and then we waited as the agency spent the next few weeks contacting our listed references (BIG Thank You by the way to those who were targeted!!). After our references dutifully lied for us (just kidding), we then awaited getting assigned to a social worker who would conduct our Home Study. For those of you that I haven’t verbally explained this to…the Home Study is when the social worker scrutinizes every aspect of your life, personality and habits to determine if you are suitable to be a parent (don’t you think everyone should have to go through this???). Anyway…so by the end of April our Social Worker (I will refer to her as “R”) contacted me to introduce herself and let me know that she’d be scheduling our first appointment over the next few weeks (more waiting). So Lee and I had our one on one interviews with “R” on Monday, May 19th. They went really well…and apparently we filled out our paperwork SO well that she barely had any questions or blanks to fill in for us! I also want to say that “R” is probably one of the coolest chicks and is so easy to talk to! After our one on ones with her we assumed that our House Visit (when they come to inspect your home) would be a few weeks later…. Ours was scheduled for that FRIDAY!!! Yikes! So I immediately took off from work on that Friday (luckily I have the most understanding and flexible boss in the universe) and cleaned our house top to bottom- of course the puppies were following me around looking quizzically at the cleaning supplies wondering what in the world I was doing. But, the house looked fabulous – if I have to say so myself!!! So “R” arrived and went to meet our dogs first, who were initially penned up but once released carried on by jumping and wiggling at her in excitement…LUCKILY – she didn’t mind! She then proceeded to glace around the downstairs and commented that it was “very nice”, we than gave her the tour around and she again said “very nice”. I almost challenged her to bend down and check the baseboards for dust…but I thought better of it!! We then came back downstairs and sat at the dining room table to wrap things up… Not to say that I wasn’t happy to have a clean house, but I was secretly hoping the inspection would be a little more in-depth to pay tribute to my earlier cleaning spree! Oh Well… so we ended up just chatting nonchalantly about pretty much nothing for about 15 minutes when she got up to go. Here is where the excitement begins… “R” opened our front door to leave and we were following behind her to walk her out to her car. Well the pups took the opportunity of a wide open front door to also exit. Initially we weren’t worried because they usually stick close by, especially when there is someone new to jump on and around… but the little sh*ts took off down the sidewalk. I called them and they stopped for a minute….but then took off like bats out of h-e- double hockey sticks. Lee and I then left our befuddled social worker standing on our porch as we took off in a full on sprint down 4 blocks trying to catch them before we cornered them in the garage of one of our neighbors!! As we were carrying them back down the street, just imagining what would have happened if they had run out onto the street instead of staying on the sidewalk we saw “R” by her car laughing… She said we exhibited “great teamwork” and it reminded her of what it takes to roundup a couple of toddlers!! So… luckily the fact that our dogs ran crazily as far away from our house as possible did not reflect poorly on us!!

After this visit, it was now on “R” to finish her report and send it in to the Superior Court of Arizona for approval! She worked quickly and turned it in the following Tuesday! And as most of you know we received the official word that we had been approved on Tuesday June 10th!!! WOOHOO!!!
While we were waiting for the few weeks in between our first visit with “R” we also had to start our “Dear Birthmother” letter. This is HUGE!!!! Being that it is the only source that the birthmother has to “get to know us” prior to deciding to meet us, it was a big undertaking. We were told it was important to have a FABULOUS front cover picture…so we chose the one that I put here on the board (the one with me in the blue shirt and Lee in the white shirt- and yes we did get it professionally taken) – hopefully everyone will agree that it is a pretty good picture of us both?????? Please???? And our entire “profile letter” (as it is also called) ended up being 10 pages. Long, yes, but we do have photos on every page and 3 whole pages are just a photo montage. So all in all not too long!

So, now that the letter is done and we are certified, we are now on our agency’s prospective waiting list. This is the waiting list for the actual waiting list. The way our agency works- it only allows 30 families on the active list at a time, so you have to wait on the prospective list until a spot on the active list opens up. We are #7 on the prospective list…UGH!!! I have been told though that this can move a lot quicker than you would think, but it still seems like a long way off to wait just to wait! There is still the possibility that we could be shown even though we aren’t on the active list…like if the birthmom requests a younger couple (we are one of the younger couples- a lot of them are in their late 30’s or 40’s). But we will likely be waiting for at least a few months to be moved to the active list!!!

Regardless of the potentially long wait, we have allowed ourselves to get super excited and make a few purchases of some of the essentials. We have the car seat, pack and play, crib, changing table and crib bedding! I have also attached a picture of the bedding we chose… our nursery will be a Beach theme!!! I have likened the feeling of being officially certified to that of seeing a positive pregnancy test (I have never seen one, so I can’t be sure). But it is a HUGE sense of accomplishment and OVERWHELMING JOY!!!! This is absolutely the best feeling in the world to know that we are approved and that dirty diapers and a screaming baby are impending!!! We have decided to slowly but surely start getting the nursery together and I am going to hand paint a border of fish and bubbles around the room to match the bedding! Supposedly preparing the nursery helps pass the time… so if we have to wait a LONG time the nursery is going to be seriously decked out!!!

So here we are… waiting…Lee and I joke every time the phone rings that we “better get it, it could be our baby”… but I am sure the reality of that will set in a bit more once we are actively being shown to birthmoms! And I am sure I will start freaking out more and more with every passing day.

I also think about the woman out there that could potentially be the “tummy mommy” to our child and say a prayer for them, realizing that something that would bring us sheer happiness is currently turning their world upside down and forcing them to make a life altering and completely self sacrificing choice. I hope that God is with them guiding them and giving them peace throughout their pregnancy and in the choices they are making.

On that note… we will just be here waiting for our little someone to join our family. I will try and write more updates as something new happens or as we move farther along with the nursery I will have to post pictures!
Signing off for now, and I will try not to let so much time pass in between posts!!!