"" Life A Bit Sweeter: $7.71 Equals.....did you guess correctly???

Friday, April 2, 2010

$7.71 Equals.....did you guess correctly???

So what can you get with $7.71???  Hmm...perhaps from Starbucks a sandwich and a cup of house coffee.  From Subway, you'll get a footlong sub, bag of chips, and a drink. In our household today, $7.71 gets us something soooo much bigger!!!  It gets us on our way to starting our home study!!!!  Woo hoo!!!!

Thanks to your generosity, orders, and us pinching pennies, we were able to save $3,188 which is the exact amount we'll need for our home study.  If you'll remember in one of our previous posts, a home study can often times be stressful for prospective parents.  It's an in-depth look at you and your family.  Because we haven't actually gone through a home study before, I thought the information below from the Child Welfare League provided a great overview.  You still may be wondering so what does this mean?  Basically, it means that we REALLY need your prayers to put our mind at ease.  Adoptive parents at this stage often worry about what if we're not approved but...as they also said on this site, "We're not looking for perfect parents.  We're looking for real parents to parent real kids."  Well, if that's what they're looking for, you can't get any more REAL than our crew here.  PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for us.  Thanks so much for your support thus far.  Our first part of the home study, the orientation, is scheduled for April 15th at our adoption agency's office.  

If you want to know more...here's more about the home study report as taken from the Child Welfare League site.  Hopefully, my adoption buddies who have gone through this process already can tell us what parts of this is accurate and share any other tidbits that will help us get through this.  (smile)

In general, home study reports include the above-mentioned health and income statements, background checks, and references, as well as the following types of information:
  • Family background. Descriptions of the applicants' childhoods, how they were parented, past and current relationships with parents and siblings, key events and losses, and what was learned from them.
  • Education/employment. Applicants' current educational level, satisfaction with their educational attainments, and any plans to further their education, as well as their employment status, history, plans, and satisfaction with their current jobs.
  • Relationships. If applicants are a couple, the report may cover their history together as well as their current relationship (e.g., how they make decisions, solve problems, communicate, show affection, etc.). If applicants are single, there will be information about their social life and how they anticipate integrating a child into it, as well as information about their network of relatives and friends.
  • Daily life. Routines, such as a typical weekday or weekend, plans for child care (if applicants work outside the home), hobbies, and interests.
  • Parenting. Applicants' past experiences with children (e.g., their own, relatives' children, neighbors, volunteer work, babysitting, teaching, or coaching), in addition to their plans regarding discipline and other parenting issues.
  • Neighborhood. Descriptions of the applicants' neighborhood, including safety and proximity to community resources.
  • Religion. Information about the applicants' religion, level of religious practice, and what kind of religious upbringing (if any) they plan to provide for the child.
  • Feelings about/readiness for adoption. There may be a section on specific adoption-related issues, including why the applicants want to adopt, feelings about infertility (if this is an issue), what kind of child they might best parent and why, and how they plan to talk to their children about adoption-related issues. If the agency practices openness, there may be information about how the applicants feel about birth families and how much openness with the birth family might work best.
  • Approval/recommendation. The home study report will conclude with a summary and the social worker's recommendation. This often includes the age range and number of children for which the family is recommended.

6 comments:

Meliski said...

YAY! Look at that fundraising thermometer!!

Congrats on beginning this next step!

Our actual Home Study was a breeze. Of course, before it could begin we each had to answer 22 PAGES OF QUESTIONS about ourselves, our lives, our families, our emtions, our first pet names (okay, not that last one, but I am sure I could have included that somewhere!) Does your agency make you do something like this?

I am such a nerd because I wanted to put our best foot forward without looking like I was trying too hard. So, the house was SUPER CLEAN with a purposefully placed "mess" here and there. Not a speck of dust, dirt or dog hair to be seen, closets perfectly organized, all the faucets polished and mirrors squeaky clean. Even the diaper pail was emptied! But, there was adoption paperwork on the dining room table and a few select "milestone appropriate toys" scattered in the den, etc. So, my "not trying too hard" meant me trying WAY too hard not to look like I was trying to hard!

Haha. Oh, the things we do!

Amy said...

Congrats! It is so exciting. God provides every dollar in His ways and His time to fund adoptions. It is just taking that leap of faith and following Him.
I love following your journey.
Blessings,
Amy

Deena said...

Good luck with you home study! You will do just fine! I remember how strange it was when the kids had to meet with the social worker by themselves...I wanted to hear their answers so badly! Hang in there and Have a wonderful Easter!

Angela Hunt said...

Wow! Congratulations! Our coordinating homestudy agency just approved us and put our big packet of forms to fill out in the mail. We're going to schedule our's soon too! Yay!

Julie said...

I was a bit anxoius about our homestudy...but as soon as I met our caseworker and had our first visit, TOTALLY relaxed. It actually is a great "educational" experience. Case workers are so knowledgable about adoption, issues the kids might have and how to handle them...even what to say in public when strangers ask you questions/ask comments. I have really enjoyed it! I hope you have a wonderful caseworker, as we do!

Julie said...

Oh, and one thing. Be sure to draw up a fire escape plan..you can put it on the fridge or something. All my internet searches showed that the escape plan was the number one thing that people forgot...it needs to be up for the homevisit!

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