The Waiting Game

We get the question everyday..."So, any news?" We would love to be able to answer, "Yes! We're getting a child!", but no such luck. We have inquired about several children, some individuals and some siblings, through http://www.adoptuskids.org/, http://www.adoption.com/, and some other websites. We've had responses from some to send our home study to the child's case worker, which we have immediately requested from our social worker. Sometimes we get the response that "no more home studies are being reviewed on this child at this time" which I can only assume means they've received tons of interest and will probably choose one of those families. For some of the children, we have had no response at all!

One agency required the home study to be sent via snail mail and refused to accept email or fax. When I asked how long it would be before we should expect to hear back from someone, I was told "a few weeks." WHAT??? (It takes that long to go through the mail room and to be sorted and sent to the appropriate case worker.) It seems that if it were to be emailed or faxed, it would be more time efficient and kids could be placed more quickly. It doesn't appear that anyone is an a hurry to find these children a permanent home, which is really hard for us to swallow! There are hundreds of thousands of children in need of homes. We are finding it difficult to understand why such a long drawn-out process....and this is only to find out more information on the child!

This is as far as we've gotten in the process. Now we continue to wait to be contacted from the case workers who have received our home study. So, we are trying to be patient and understanding while we wait some more. We will also continue to visit these websites to see if any new kids have been posted. We have prayed that God will close the door to any child that is not intended for us. Perhaps, that is what he is doing! We know he has a plan and the perfect child (or children) chosen for us. However, the waiting is getting more and more difficult! Prayers for patience and perseverance would be greatly appreciated...and much needed!

Also, please remember to keep your eyes and ears open for anyone you know or in your community that may have a child who needs a home.

Photo book done

Got the photo book done. Check it out...

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We're Approved!

We heard from our social worker today, and we are finally offically approved!! Woohoo! Now, we have to put together a photo book and submit an autobiography so that the other agencies will have a "picture" of our family and it will also be shown to the child once we accept a placement.

We can now begin looking for a child on various websites and if we see one we are interested in, we can let our social worker know. We can also register with adoptuskids.org to get on their list of prosepective parents, as well as other local agencies' lists.

So, now...more waiting!

Final Garage Sale

Held the final garage sale this weekend in Birmingham and raised another $1000, making a grand total of $3800! We are so thankful for all of our friends and family who have supported us through this fundraising effort--especially our parents who each organized a garage sale, which is no small feat! They organized, collected, and priced items, advertised, and helped during the sales and spend lots of time and energy into it all! We've also had several friends (and even some strangers) who have TOO generously donated money to our fund! We are so blessed to have you in our lives! We have to say, though, that if we never have another garage sale in our lives, it will be too soon! We are garage saled out! Although, the outcome was well worth the hard work!

Update on where we are in the process...still not officially approved. Emailed the social worker two Wednesdays ago and she said that it is in the team review process, which is where all the other social workers review the home study, and they will vote to approve it once all have reviewed it. I will be emailing the social worker again tomorrow for yet another update! We'll keep you posted.

Fundraising

We have just completed our second yard sale fundraiser! Yeah! The first one was held in Tupelo, two weeks ago, where we raised over $800! This weekend, we held one in Franklin on Friday and Saturday and raised over $1800!!! So, we are off to a great start in raising money to cover our adoption fees! Thanks so much to all of the friends, family, and neighbors who have helped us earn this money, so far! We could not have done it without your help and support! Todd and I enjoyed meeting all of the neighbors that came out to support us as well! We are blessed to live in such a wonderful neighborhood and to have such amazing friends and family!

We do have one more yard sale coming up in two weeks in Birmingham. My mom and sister are hard at work gathering items to sell. It is not a small feat! Todd and I are exhausted from this weekend, but gearing up for the next one! Stay tuned for an update!

Also, we heard from our social worker last week on Monday. She has the home study report back on her desk. Her supervisor reviewed it and did not note any concerns (I should hope not!) and she just has to correct some errors. It should be any day now. We were really hoping to have heard something by Friday, but no such luck! We'll keep you posted!

Still Waiting

For those of you who are wondering, we are still waiting to be approved. Talked to the social worker in mid-August and she said it would be a couple more weeks. She emailed us last week with some last minute questions that she couldn't remember the answers to and said that she hoped to be finished and present it to her supervisor this week. We will keep you posted!

On another note, we are holding several garage sales to raise money...first one is this Saturday, Sept 17th, in Tupelo, MS hosted by Todd's parents and Matt and Jamie Baker. Thanks, guys for your support!  If you're in Tupelo this weekend, come on by and see us!

The next garage sale will be in Franklin, TN at our house-- October 1st, and the third one is in Birmingham on October 15th, hosted by Tara's parents. Thanks for hosting, too!

We are still taking donations of items to sell. for the Franklin and Bham sales..anything you're planning on getting rid of or giving to Good Will? We'll take it off your hands! Thanks to all of our friends and family who have donated so far! We are blessed to have so many supporters!

All Done Home Study!

So as of last Thursday, we are finished with the home study! I haven't updated in a while. Todd had his one-on-one two weeks ago. Mine was postponed b/c the social worker was sick, so I just had my one-on-one last Thursday. So, now we are finished. Just have a couple of little pieces of paperwork left to turn in and wait to be approved. It will probably be mid-August (which probably means the end of August) to be approved. The social worker has to type up a pretty in-depth report and then all the social workers at AGAPE will meet and deem us worthy or not of being parents. After that, we wait. Of course, we can look while we wait, but I'm not real sure I want to "look"...I mean, it's not like shopping for a pair of shoes...it's a child...how can you just pick one. Many have asked "how long?" The answer the case worker gave me is "at least a year". That was a little discouraging...a year!!!???!! It will then be almost two years from when we decided to do this...I'm gonna be an old woman by that time! Just kidding...maybe a little dramatic? Anyway...when all is said and done, it's all in God's hands...if he wants us to have a child next month, then we will. If he wants it to be a year, then it will. And it will all be perfect timing! I might need some of you to remind me of that every now and then! :) We will keep you posted! Until then, we wait!