Long Overdue Update

Sorry for the absence.
Candidly, I am trying to figure out what place blogging has in my life, if any. If it is just for the grandparents to stalk Phoenix, then I'm not sure it's worth it. Up to this point, my processing has left me silent. But I have had so many people (lovingly) ask us about what's going on with the adoption, that I want to update the masses.

Here is what has happened since I last blogged:

8/31 - Joint Interview
This was the official beginning of our homestudy process! It wasn't actually an interview at all ... our awesome social worker just walked us through the 70 page homestudy packet, making sure we understood it all. That was pretty much it.

9/8 - CPR Class
Shout out to my awesome sister who watched Phoenix for several hours while Josh and I went to this class. The lady who taught it was the best part ... otherwise, it was pretty standard.

9/13 - Individual Interviews
For these interviews, Josh and I had to each do a "self-study." Translation: we each answered several pages of questions about our personality, upbringing, family dynamic, parenting, schooling, walk with Christ, friendships, marriage, sexual relationship, goals and our own parenting philosophy. It was EXHAUSTING. I complained my way through the 15 pages of answers. That's right ... our poor social worker read around 30 pages about our lives BEFORE our interviews. Even though I hated it, it forced me to thoroughly think through how I was parented, what I want to build into my children, and how I plan to partner with Christ (and Josh) in molding their hearts.
[Shameless pride: Our social worker told me that I had some of the best answers to the parenting section that she'd ever heard. Boom]
We "passed," although the purpose was more for our social worker to know us well enough to write our homestudy document.

9/25 - Waiting Family Dinner
Although we aren't technically "waiting" until our homestudy is complete, we were invited to this potluck that included both international and domestic adoptions. The topic? "Tools of the Trade for Interracial/Intercultural Adoption." It was really interesting ... mostly because it clarified arenas of our life where we can be more intentional about diversity. She also gave suggestions of books/toys that normalize diversity ... so I know what we will be introducing into Phoenix's toy/book box in the coming months.

What's happing now ...
We are wading through paperwork hell. Ink and live-scan fingerprints, 911 records, septic tank inspections, financial documentation, blah, blah, blah. I understand cognitively why this is all important ... a birthmom shouldn't have to worry about the history/character of potentional adoptive parents. But it's obnoxius because I know they aren't going to find anything sketchy in my past ... no crimes, no domestic disturbances, just one or two late payments.
We need SO MUCH PRAYER for all this paperwork. Pray for diligence in completing tasks and favor in the processing (so that our fingerprints don't sit on someone's desk for weeks).

10/26 - Home Visit
This is the day that our social worker will come to make sure our house is clean, safe, and child-appropriate. She will also collect all our paperwork and a very large check.
One last large prayer request: when she comes to our home, she will talk through our level of "openness." Between now and then, Josh and I need to decide what we are willing to accept when it comes to race, birthparent medical/emotional history, and potential birth complications/defects. We want to honor God in the process, and make decisions that our right for our family.

Whew. Expect to hear from us on the 26th or 27th!