Home Study Update

We had our first home study visit on Wednesday night. Our social worker was extremely nice and easy to work with. She told us that she will be able to get our home study written up within the next two weeks so we can finally get on to working on our dossier. Once the dossier is done then we will officially be on the waiting list.

Tami and I have to get to work on Part 2 of our agency application which goes very in depth on how we will handle typical situations that arise during the transition, how we will intetgrate the Ethiopian culture into our home, parenting plans, etc. It is very in depth and we want to have it done prior to our social worker returning to sign off on and notarize everything. We honestly have been a little lazy with it because we knew we didn't need to have it finished until the home study was done. So hopefully in a couple of weeks our social worker will return to do a little more education and sign off on everything.

On the family front we have been busy since we returned from Disney two weeks ago. This weekend Tami and the kids are going to Indianapolis to visit Tami's sister and her family. Unfortunately I can't go because I made a commitment to help a good friend with a big move. Although I am excited to help out, I hate missing a weekend with my family when we seem to be so busy through the week. I also hate that I don't get to see the Barnharts because we don't get to see them that often and we always have a good time when we are together.

Lastly, our brother and sister-in-law return from China with their daughter tonight. We have followed their blogging while in China and everything seems to be going so well. We also enjoyed spending some time with their 4 boys while they were gone. We can't wait to meet the new addition to our family!

Home Study Begins!

I finally let my frustration get out and I e-mailed our social worker to find out why it was taking so long to start the home study. Thankfully we scheduled our first home study visit for September 23rd as a result.

We have part 2 of our CHSFS application to finish up which we have been a little lazy about because we can't turn it in until our home study is done anyway.

It has been an absolutely insane week back from vacation. Football practice, meetings in the evening, trips to the grocery, Joey back to preschool, etc. We are hoping to have a somewhat quiet weekend. Kyle and Joey both have their first football games on Saturday. Tami and I have felt like we haven't seen each other since we got back from vacation. A little depressing not to be able to hang with your best friend but we will get through it like we always do.

It's Been A While

It has been a little while since I have updated the blog. On the adoption front there isn't a lot happening and that is starting to frustrate us. We have completed our on-line training and turned in all the required paperwork. For some reason Catholic Charities is just not getting the home study scheduled. We are now about 60 days into the process and they told us the homestudy would be done in 60-90 days.

We just returned from an AWESOME vacation at Disney in Orlando. We decided to do the whole Disney experience by staying at a resort and paying for an all-inclusive vacation. This can be a little costly but it was a spectacular experience. Tami saved for 6 years to help pay for most of this vacation and it was well worth it. The kids had a blast at the parks and at our resort. Tami and I had a blast just spending time with all 6 of us together and no outside world distractions. I hope to post some pictures here soon. The highlight of the trip was Faith being made over into Cinderella. She was truly treated like a princess that day.

The other good news is that Bill and Molly, Tami's Brother and his wife, are in China as I type this picking up their daughter Laikyn. They are due to be home on September 26th and we are all very excited to meet the new addition to our extended family. The pictures prove that she is a beautiful little girl. Tami and I have had time to reflect and discuss how we hope our adoption experience goes as well as theirs. Both of our families have been truly blessed! Check out their blog at www.babylaikyn.blogspot.com.

What we are learning about Africa

As we continue to read and prepare for this adoption and learn more about Ethiopia, we are learning that Ethiopia is much more than what we have always seen in the news. I think this video puts it very nicely.

Double click on the video to open it on YouTube as you can't read all the words when watching on the blog. I can't figure out how to make it all show.