Rough Going

by Steve

It has been a hard few weeks as we have hammered away at our homestudy. The coordinator at our homestudy agency has continued to ask for more and more follow-up documentation. We have been doing our best to provide what she asked for, but she never seemed to be satisfied.
Last week she emailed and told us that we needed to meet to talk through what needed to be done. She asked us to come to the office in Indianapolis. We were concerned about what this meeting was about. At the initial homestudy meeting, we were told that we would not need to make a second trip to Indy.
This past Tuesday we made our way to Indy for the meeting. She laid out for us a more extended list of things she needed from us. In conclusion, she said that we may not be able to get everything done in time for the birth (around Thanksgiving). She made it very clear that she could not guarantee completing the homestudy on time, then she asked if we would like to discontinue our homestudy with her agency.

This is something of a shock to us. After thinking, processing, and praying, we have decided to move on to another homestudy agency. Our adoption agency is fine with our moving. We are looking around right now and have a few options. One agency we found has an expedite option that guarantees to have the homestudy complete in less than 30 days!

Please pray for us as we continue to push forward in the process.  We do not understand everything God is doing as he leads us through these twists and turns. We are confident that He has it all well in hand and nothing can separate us from His love.


Romans 8:38-39  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  (39)  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Home Study Orientation and Family Time

by Evie

A week ago today, we went to Indy for the Day! We left our home bright and early, armed with veggies and granola bars. I drove on the way there and Steve did homework. The boys came along! They did really well the whole time! But we were all very happy when we got home that night!

Our first stop was our Home Study Agency. The people there were so kind and friendly. The Social Worker who did orientation with us seemed very genuine and very passionate about what she does. It was a helpful meeting. She also interacted with the boys. She gave us a list of papers to chase down and went through the list with us so that we understand what needs to be done. The papers are very similar (or exactly the same) as the dossier papers. But overall, the Homestudy papers are not as strict in that they can often be photocopies and do not have to be notarized. Once we get all these documents, we will send them to our social worker. Then the next step after we get that done will be the home visits.

When we were done with our meeting, we headed to the Children's museum. I was hoping for relaxing family time. Talk about Exhausting! But it was so much fun! And we didn't even see or do all there was to experience! That place is way to big for only 4 or 5 hours. We feel like we should go back or at least make it to the Museum of Science and Industry someday. The boys' favorite exhibit was the Lego Exhibit (current/non-permanent exhibit). They also enjoyed the simulated airplane ride and the Dinosaurs. It was funny, the next day the boys were playing "museum."

Thur night, Steve finished his homework for the semester! What a relief! We are so grateful for his opportunity to go back to school, but we sure are glad for a break! Then we enjoyed the weekend with our company and Monday evening I took the boys out while Steve took his first Final. Then last night, he took his last Final! *sigh* (a happy one:-)

We're still taking donations for the yard sale. Anyone have any big items, like furniture that you'd like to contribute? If you're local, we would be willing to pick it up.