Homestudy!

*insert happy dance*

Can you hear me screaming out “WAHOO” and see me dancing around the dinner table with L around noon today, because that’s exactly what I did after our home study!

...I should note that the excitement wasn’t over our case worker leaving--we absolutely love her!  The excitement was because all went GREAT!  I know everyone told us the homestudy wouldn’t be a “big deal,” but I couldn’t help but be anxious for it.  For my detail-loving friends that don’t mind my wordy-ness, here’s how the morning went...

• We showed her around our home which she seemed to love (we are constantly reminded of how blessed we are that our church has provided such a lovely home for us!)  I’ll admit it wasn’t nearly as in depth as I anticipated-just like showing a friend around your home, so she didn't look into closets or anything (although we still showed her my craft closet and our garage:)  She commented on one of our wedding pictures, which I thought was very sweet, and she seemed to like the nursery space.  She also stopped into L’s room, and L gladly showed her around.  She checked out where we put our fire extinguisher (I’m so glad I went ahead and bought one yesterday!) and where our smoke detector and carbon monoxide detectors are.  She didn’t ask to see a fire escape plan, but had she asked I was prepared.  ...Ok, I was ridiculously prepared--I had actually printed out our floor plan and highlighted the scape routes...which I then FRAMED and placed on the wall in our utility room!  bahahaha!  Yes, I totally did that!  It’s OK, you can laugh, because I’m laughing at myself about it, too:)
• She engaged in conversation with L easily and asked her some questions (such as, “Would you like a baby brother or a baby sister?” to which Lucy responded, “Yes!”)  L was very shy at first and then decided it would be fun to show off a little.  We almost had a meltdown because she wanted to give Miss M a fashion show.  I’m pretty certain our child would change clothes every 5 minutes if it was up to her!
• She visited with us about how we think L will adjust to a sibling in general and also how we think she would feel if the baby doesn’t look like her.  She asked about our neighborhood, what our days looks like, how we discipline, how we expect to handle the transition of our family growing, and how we will help L with that transition, as well as how we would handle if we adopt a child of a different race.  (We want to integrate our child’s culture into ours should we adopt a child of a different ethnicity.)
• L was eager to play outside, so we all went outside to visit for a bit, DH and I asked some questions, and then we came back inside, asked a few more questions, and we gave her our copies of our Dear Birthmother letters and Scrapbooks.  I asked her, “Can we breathe now?”  (As in do we need to worry about whether or not we will get approved) and she said that we could--that everything is a go and we should receive our approval letter in about two weeks! 

The thing that keeps dancing through my mind: THIS IS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN!!   

I think the homestudy process (the interview and today’s part) are the things I have been most nervous about, but as everyone assured me, it really was an encouraging and affirming part of the journey.  (Notice I’m saying that now that it’s all over! lol)  I don’t think I shared much after our interviews, but one of the things that was really neat is when Michael and I “compared notes” after our individual interviews.  It was fun to hear that we both answered a lot of questions the same way and even brought in some of the same stories and topics.  Not that we doubted our compatibility, but it was just kind of fun to see how much alike we really are, and how we deal with our differences in a positive way.  I was reminded how blessed I am that God chose DH to be my husband.  And, in talking about Lucy, I’m reminded how much light she’s brought into our family’s life.  God knew we needed her.  How can I doubt His providence in continuing to grow our family?  I know He has the exact baby(ies) picked out to be a part of our family as well as just the right birthmother.  And now, after today, we are another step closer to knowing who they are and welcoming them into our family.  So exciting and humbling!

So what happens from here? 

• We can expect our approval letter in about two weeks.
• Once approved, our letter and scrapbook go into “the book” for birthmothers to choose from, and we will be available to be chosen by a birthmother!  (So, POTENTIALLY, we could be chosen by a birthmother in two weeks!  Wow!  Now, I realize that probably isn’t going to happen...BUT, it could!  I told DH-how cool would it be to receive our approval letter on his birthday, April 10th, and for our baby to come home on my birthday, June 16th?!
• Once a birthmother chooses us, we will meet with her in person to both decide if we feel comfortable with the match.  If everyone does, we wait for the baby to be born!
• Our case worker told us the majority of birthmothers come to them around 7-8months into their pregnancy, so, potentially, once we are matched, we will have our baby very quickly.

So, it’s a game of “hurry up and wait” for now...And now that the paperwork is done, the house is organized, and the scrapbook is complete, I’m wondering what on earth I’m going to do as we wait!  I’ll be honest-it’s almost a bit of a let-down right now--more exciting than anything, but there’s kind of a hint of “Now what do I do?” if that makes sense.  I’m hoping to just spend this time praying and trying to focus on where God has us in the here and now though.  I don’t want to wish away this time, because I know He desires to teach us and grow us through this process of waiting...it’s just hard not to be really anxious and excited for what’s around the corner:-)

I cannot stress enough how much I appreciate the outpouring of support for us during this process.  All of the prayers, sweet notes, and words of encouragement have touched my heart in ways that words cannot describe.  Especially this morning, I was overcome with such a sense of gratitude for the thoughtfulness of our friends.  As DH and I sat at the dining room table sipping on coffee and waiting for our case worker to come, I received so many text messages and FB notes with words of encouragement and prayers.  You helped calm my anxiousness and brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart.  You have blessed me through your thoughtfulness and uplifted me with your prayers, and I can’t say thank you enough for that!  We are so blessed in so many ways, and YOU are a big part of that!  THANK YOU!

...Stay tuned!!  :-)