Home Study? NAILED IT.

So we finally made it. After weeks of worrying about what the home study would be like, we were finally able to get through it.  In retrospect, there was no need to worry at all, our case worker’s visit on Thursday and Friday couldn’t have gone any better. We spent about 3 hours Thursday evening answering a few questions both individually and together, then another hour or so on Friday talking about a few other things, and after that we were done. It was great.

The fact that we got through this with such ease is due in large part to our great case worker from The Miriam Project. Brooke and her agency have been outstanding to work with since we first met them. They’ve always been eager to help with any questions we’ve had and have been an amazing partner in this process. The other way we got through this was through all the support of our family and friends. Last week, as this home visit was drawing near, we asked for your prayers. When it came time for our home study, the nerves we’d felt the weeks before (the nerves that fueled cleaning and painting binges around our home) sort of disappeared. By Thursday afternoon, we felt comfortable. We were comfortable answering the questions we were asked, comfortable talking about the paperwork we had to do, and comfortable discussing the future of the child we’ve prayed for all this time.

Next on our seemingly endless to-do list is the creation of a profile book. This will be a book of photos and descriptions for our agency to show to birth mothers that they feel would be good matches for us. The goal is to try to use this book to try and show who we are. I’m not sure if that’s possible, but we’re going to do our best. Eventually, this book will find its way into the hands of a birth mother who hoping to provide for her child what we can give. So just when we thought the pressure was off, here we are back in it again. Regardless, we’re confident that God has a plan for this process. He already has a birth mother and child in mind for us. And while I’m sure we’ll still agonize over every picture and every word that goes into that book, knowing that He is in charge continues to comfort us.

A Week of Panic!

      In the last month we’ve sold concessions at an auction, had 2 day yard sale, and filled our yard with 627 pounds of aluminum cans. It would be reasonable now if we decided that we needed to relax a bit and take some time off. I guess we’re not all that reasonable, because all of that stuff seems like a vacation this week as we prepare for the biggest step so far in our adoption journey: our home study. So instead of taking this week and relaxing, we’re running around the house in a panic, cleaning (and re-cleaning) everything we can find in preparation for our case worker’s visit to our house.

     That panic is based not in reality, but in the fact that we have no idea what to expect. Sure, we’ve read every book we can find, talked to everyone we can think of, and done more research online than we thought was humanly possible, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re still new at this. All that research is great, but none of those books gave us a guarantee about what would happen at our house. I mean, what if she wants to look in our fridge? She could, right?  I guess it’s possible, so we cleaned that out. Does it look bad if we have a bunch of dirty laundry? Just in case, we’ll wash every bit of clothing we have. At this point, I’m prepared to be judged based on what brand of peanut butter we use. (It’s JIF, but I’m picking up some Peter Pan tomorrow just in case).

      At the end of the day though, all of the fear and worry over this home visit can be calmed by thinking of one simple question, “Why are we adopting?” When we ask ourselves that question, we know that we’re doing this because it’s what God has called us to do. When we first decided to do this, it was after weeks of prayer and discussion, all of which was leading us to the same direction. If we are going to trust in God to guide us in our decision, how can we not also trust Him to guide us through the times when we’re stressed or uncertain? Despite the brief moments of stress at our house this week, we take comfort in the fact that God is bigger than anything we’re worrying about.

     As of tonight, we have about 2 more days to get the house ready for our home study. And I’m sure over those next 2 days we’ll be running around like crazy to make everything spotless, but we’re also going to remember that ultimately God is in control of our adoption from even before we knew about it. I didn’t mean to be preachy this week, but if you’ll allow one more thing, I’d like to ask (if praying is your thing) for your prayers this week as we prepare and go through our home study. We’d greatly appreciate it. We will continue to pray that this process goes smoothly and that we will be able to let go and let God take control of what He would have us do. By this time next week, I’m confident that He will have guided us through a successful home study and have us one step closer to bringing our child home. Even if we don’t have the right kind of peanut butter.

627 Pounds-worth of Thanks

        So, how was your weekend? Ours was pretty nice. After I got in from work Friday, my parents and Ashley’s parents stopped by for a little while, which was great, and later a few more friends stopped by for a few minutes. All in all it was a pretty nice evening.

Oh yeah, and then there was this….

 

That’s what our yard looked like when we woke up on Saturday morning. Friday was, of course, our “Can Our Yard Night” fundraiser, so we spent Saturday cleaning up. We spent most of the morning raking cans into a huge pile then shoveling them into garbage bags. After loading up 4 cars with 627 pounds of aluminum, we began our caravan to Mitchell to Goodman’s for recycling. And though I’m not sure dad could see out of the back of his truck, and I drove most of the way with one hand because of the giant bag of cans in my passenger seat pushing against my side, we all made it safely there. After a few minutes of unloading (which, by the way, goes way faster than the loading), we had finished up another fundraiser and had another big addition to our adoption fund.

 

We wanted to thank all of you again so much for taking part in this fundraiser and for your donations. The amount of cans as well as separate donations that we received was more than we ever imagined and we’re so grateful. And a special thank you to the people at Goodman’s who were so kind and helpful to us on Saturday. Friday night (and even Saturday) was a lot of fun for us and we can’t tell you how much we enjoyed sharing that evening with you.

Now that we have that out of the way, we’ll get to work preparing for our home study in a couple of weeks. We’ll try to keep you all updated on how that goes after we get finished with it. We’re also planning on having some other events in the future, but we don’t have anything to announce yet. We’ll keep you posted on here when we get those nailed down. In the meantime, thanks for all you have done and all that you continue to do. Your support, prayers, and encouragement mean so much to us.

Can Our Yard Night!

      We’re going to keep this short and sweet tonight for a few reasons. First of all, we’re getting ready for our next fundraiser this weekend, so we don’t have a lot of extra time. And secondly, I forgot about writing the blog until after 9 o’clock tonight. Sorry.

     Anyway, this week is our long-awaited “Can Our Yard Night” and we couldn’t be more excited. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone as they come over to trash our yard for the evening (and to clarify, it’s only that evening. This isn’t going to be an every weekend thing). So Friday night, from 6-11 pm, swing by our house at 981 Orchard Rd. in Salem and come take part. And while you’re at it, tell your friends, co-workers, neighbors, or whoever else you can find to stop by also. This is a “more the merrier” kind of situation. If you don’t have any cans at home, we can work with that. Just stop by the store, buy a can of coke, drink it on your way here, then toss it in the yard. No problem!

     We’ll have everything marked as best we can, but just to keep everyone in the loop, here’s how this is going to work. First of all, we’re going to be dumping all the cans in yard on the south side of the house. We’re keeping things on that side of the house just to make sure we keep them from drifting into the neighbor’s yard or into the road. Don’t worry, the side yard will allow plenty of room for you to dump as many cans as you’d like. We’ll have everything marked off in the yard though, so when you get here, you’ll know where you can dump everything. Also, when you get here, we’re going to have you turn into the driveway, then into the yard. This should make it easier for everyone to get off the road, dump their cans, then safely get back on the road. Again, we’ll have all of this marked off so there won’t be any confusion. Driving through the yard shouldn’t be any problem (unless it’s really soggy, then just drive slow) but if you’re worried about damaging the yard, just remember, we’ll have a yard full of aluminum cans. We appreciate the concern, but we’ll have bigger problems.

     But just because the entrance and exit will be marked, don’t think that we’re going to push you through like you’re in the drive-thru at McDonald’s. We want to have fun with this and we want you to also. If you want to drop them off and leave, that’s fine, but if you feel like hanging out with us for a little while, we’ll have a spot on the side of the yard where you can park and stay for a little while. We’ll be sitting around outside from 6-11, and we’d love to have the company.

     I think that pretty much covers all the details, but if you have questions or there’s anything I didn’t cover, you can call me at 812-968-4975, or send either of us (or our adoption page) a message on facebook and we’ll answer any questions you have. We’re looking forward to a really fun evening and hope to see all of you there. We’re as excited to see you guys as some of you are to make a mess in our yard. And, by the way, if any of you really enjoy picking up cans, then I think I might be able to hook you up with a fun activity for Saturday!