First Visit

Jeffrey getting fingerprinted
Our first visit with the social worker was yesterday, July 27, 2012. We had requested a certain social worker due to a friend's referral, but they assign you to a social worker. We were so pleased with the social worker we were assigned to work with. Susan not only knows a lot about international adoption, but she adopted her three children internationally. It was nice to know that the person working with us had went through a similar experience. She did tell us that adoption is much more time consuming and challenging then it use to be. I figured so, because I have spoke with many older people who have adopted children which are now my age, and they make it seem like it was an easy process.

We were first interviewed (I don't know if that is really the right word, but I kind of feel like that is what we were doing) together and then she divided us up and asked us things individually. I honestly thought the questions that we were asked together were more challenging than the individual ones. We were asked things like what have our biggest fights been over, what have been major stresses to our marriage, how do we deal with conflict, what attracts us to each, etc.

I wasn't sure how soon she would be coming to our home, but she is coming this Friday. Saturday we are taking a CPR class at Children's Hospital. We have such a long journey ahead of us, but it is nice to know we are making progress.

Just so you have idea of where we are, none of our paperwork has even seen the country of Ethiopia. We first have to get everything approved by the state of Illinois which we are finding is one of the most challenging states to work with. Apparently, Arizona is a tough one too. Once we are approved by Illinois, then everything goes to Virginia to be translated and approved by our adoption agency. Then it is all shipped to Ethiopia and the nothing but waiting starts. It feels nice to check things off our list daily, but the mounds of paperwork just don't seem to end. So many people have been asking us why adoption is so expensive and we are learning how easy the expenses add up. $100 for fingerprinting, $50 for CPR classes, $32 for photos (Walgreen ripped us off!), $10 TB test, $20 copay for doctor exam, $300 for application with social worker, alone none of these things cost that much but do it all in a week, and you start to apply your faith. We already live on a tight budget, but we believe that this is something we are supposed to do, and we know it will all work out. We have some big checks to write in the next couple months.

Please be praying for Jeffrey. He has had two interviews this past week, and both of these jobs would be full time, better pay, and benefits. This would be so much better than what he has now. He went to a second interview for one, and he is going on a second interview for the other Tuesday.

Thanks for reading and following our story. We will keep you updated!

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