Home Study and Trip to CA

Yay!  We've trudged on through a lot of the paperwork we need for the CO agency and written a few checks.  Saturday the social worker is coming over for our home visit and to begin the update to our home study.

We have our trip to CA for the intensive weekend with the out of state agency scheduled.

I feel like we're making progress.  Slowly, but still making progress.

So Glad I'm Not Working Full Time

Well, today I took a huge envelope to the post office to mail to the Colorado agency.  It's taken a few weeks, hasn't it?  It turns out that I was e-mailed probably every form there could ever exist to fill out.  No wonder I was feeling overwhelmed.  Mike sat down with me and took stock of what we had and what we had to do.  It turns out that we had more of the paperwork done than they initially need, so that's great.

Yesterday we figured that Mike and I would go to the sheriff's office to get our fingerprints taken.  We get there and are going through the security and are told they are only open for fingerprints from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.  I went and did my grocery shopping and Mike went to work.  I then went later in the day and Mike caught the bus from work and got there just before they closed.

I'm so glad I don't work full time.  How can one do this with a regular work day?  It is time consuming and overwhelming.  But, I know that all the emotional roller coaster, financial cost, and time will be well worth it in the end when we have our beautiful baby.

Paperwork

And so the endless paperwork begins.  Our printer's getting a workout printing out many, many, many forms we need to fill out, have signed, etc. for the Colorado agency.  I'm glad I'm not working full time.  This is a process that requires a lot of time with phone calls, e-mails, and paperwork.

Visible Steps of Progress

The preliminary application and payment have been sent in to the Colorado agency.  They're sending us the next paperwork.  We're getting the next set of paperwork from the out of state agency to register for the intensive weekend where they'll help us with the Dear Birthparents letter and our online profile for parents to view.  Our caseworker with Boulder County who did our homestudy before fostering Little D is going to forward it to both agencies.

I finally feel like we've have some visible progress being made.  I'm so glad that I'm busy.  I'm on the sub list at two Montessori schools, am giving piano and voice lessons both at the music studio and at home, am teaching a vocal workshop with elementary children, and am taking violin lessons.  I'm also doing some composing.  To top it all off, I'm waiting to hear if I've been accepted into an online Masters in Music Education program.  If I wasn't busy, I think I'd go insane with the waiting that we're going to have to do.  We've been told that the process will take around a year. 

The Next Step

Today Mike and I had a phone conference with a woman at the agency in California.  It's one larger agency with locations in California, Texas, Georgia, and more states.  The reason we've thought to go with them is that they work in highly populated states, hopefully increasing the potential birthparents to choose us as adoptive parents.  The next step with them is to go out to one of their locations for an intensive weekend of training, information, etc.  It will help us learn about writing our birthparent letter, making our online profile, and more.  We're thinking of going to the LA location and maybe fit in a visit with my family at the same time.  We're thinking of trying to make the weekend in November that they are hosting.

While working on scheduling that, this weekend we're getting our preliminary application ready to send in to the Colorado agency.  We're going to have our Boulder county forwarded to them.

It's all overwhelming.  Yet, I feel like we're getting our minds wrapped around the complex process and making visible progress.  Mike and I feel comfortable with the direction we're taking.  Baby steps, baby steps.  This is a process with many stages of pushing and waiting.  It's a roller coaster process, but I am confident that it will result in us creating a family and beginning the scary and joyful adventure of parenthood.

Progress!

Found out yesterday that the Colorado agency will accept our home-study and possibly the training through Boulder County.  This means that we will have to pay about half the cost and do an "update" rather than a whole new home study.  And, we might not have to go through the Education and pay that fee because we did the training for the foster, fost-adopt program before caring for Little D.

The next step is to fill out the preliminary application with the Colorado agency and pay that fee.

We have a conference call with the agency in California.  They will be our placement agency, circulating our profile book and matching us with birthparents. 

This process is definitely going to be a test of my patience.  I am of the personality type who when I have a goal or direction, I want to be there now.  I want it settled right away.  I want to already be where I envision.  Mike has wonderfully reminded me many times that there will always be a next phase in life.  There will always be something more to accomplish, something more to attain.  Remember to enjoy the process and be happy with where you are.

So much of this  process is going to involve waiting on other things or other people.  I have to work on letting go.  I have to become more comfortable with knowing there are parts of this process that is out of our control.

Lawyers Redeemed

After yesterday's frustration with the rude lawyer, another lawyer called me today to return my phone call.  He was very nice.  He told me, "That's a good question.  Unfortunately I don't know the answer to that.  Let me give you the number of a someone who might."  OK, so my question didn't get answered.  Atleast the guy was honest and listened.  Yay!