Homestudy Update

Hello everyone!

So yes, we are prepping for baby. We weren't trying to be all crazy buying the 2nd crib early, it was more just an opportunity of having the money and being near an Ikea store in Minnesota so that the cribs will match :-) They still had Lucas' model at a nice price! I have such attractive models!



I have been meaning to get on here and let you adoption folks know how the homestudy is going :-)

So here is the deal. After being accepted in the middle of December and me being gone in Minnesota (and thus unable to sit down and make a huge mess and get organized) we really didn't get cooking on things until the first week in February.

I am returning to this process as a "more seasoned" veteran that somewhat knows what is important and what is expected. Would it be easier if I was in the same state with the same agency and the same country requirements as we used with Lucas? Yes. BUT.. all of the same pieces are generally there with roughly the same process.

The good news is that all of the things that require processing time are gone and "cooking" ie: Mn background checking, MO background check, FBI fingerprints, and recommendation letters.

We had to get 6 medical letters this time rather than 2 for Colombia. Ironically, MY letter gave us the most trouble! Will NOT be seeing that primary care physician again.. will be switching to Ted's. I almost got up and walked out from her visit. I almost wanted to send her a cautionary letter that giving your long winded opinion about why the adoption process is so annoying for physicians is not a way to make a good impression on a woman who won't be conceiving babies anytime soon. NO ONE wants to be the person standing in between an adoptive mother and completed dossier without a good reason (and I am the healthiest 28 year old woman imaginable. I kid you not). I expect the occasional issue in this process, but MY health was not one I was prepared for. If she had concerns it would be one thing.. but it seems she just wanted to complain about the system. As if I DON'T struggle with wondering why I have to get my children in this way???!! She just about saw my teeth. Don't worry.. I was courteous and thankful in the end. I understand that I come at adoption with emotional baggage other people aren't thinking about when they talk... but it took some will power. They also took 2.5 weeks to give me ANY info about my HIV screen that is required when Ted has his back in 2 days. Physicians: just examine me, voice any concerns you may have, ask me parenting questions if you would like, take a good look at my son as an example... DON'T grump and whine. If you don't want to be involved in this type of screening, say so, and I will gladly go elsewhere :-)

So.. long story in a nutshell.. our medical letters are finally done! We even obtained a written summary of care from Ted's oncologist from the 90's in Minnesota which is FANTASTIC.

The only thing left in the homestudy that we can control are our personal statements. Once all of those things get back to Holt, they will send out the social worker for a few visits for our interviews. Then we are done with that piece and will be finalizing our dossier that will require a few more documents. Immigration I600 stuff will be in there too.

If things stay on track of how I guess right now, we will be dossier ready by the beginnings of April roughly, which is a nice place to be. We aren't rushing this, because the sooner the referral, the sooner all of this money has to be ready to move, and referrals seem to be coming fast in the world of Holt these days. When we started this, we didn't think anything would be happening until spring 2011 and we were prepared financially for that type of scenario. Please pray for adequate time to be considered for grants (I can't apply till homestudy is done, but I can't accept a grant after I accept a referral... you see my predicament. Small window of time)

Please pray for God's timing to be evident to me as to when I submit papers. I don't want to rush things when they aren't supposed to be rushed. So we are going with the flow :-)

As is customary, I will leave you with a snapshot of cuteness. Lucas is getting more used to babies. He does a fantastic job. He points out babies when we're out and about. This was our first of many African American dolls you will be seeing in our household.