Home Visit

Well, we had our home visit for the home study this morning. We passed!! It went well. God must have been on our side because when we were standing in the room with the piano (if you've been to my house, you know it is all windows) a deer with her fawn came out of the woods, across the street and into the woods beside our house. We could not have planned it better! They were sooo cute!
More paperwork to be completed....then done with home study...I'll keep you posted!

Oh, where do I start? What a journey God has our family on!! In the fall of 2008, Scott & I began to discuss the possibility of adding another child to our family. We talked about having another child biologically or the option of adoption. Throughout the fall of 2008, my heart kept going back to the idea of adoption. Knowing that I tend to be a little too emotional & compassionate, I prayed that God would speak through Scott if adoption was His will for us. Scott has always been content with 2 children, esp. since we have been blessed with a boy & a girl so I knew it would have to be God if Scott jumped on board to the idea of adoption. The first weekend of December 2008, Scott ran a race downtown & we planned to get a Christmas tree as soon as he got home. On the drive up the "W" road, Scott was listening to a Steven Curtis Chapman CD & heard the song, "All I Really Want for Christmas" about an orphan wanting a family for Christmas. God used this song to speak to Scott. He heard it loud & clear & had me listen to the song on the way to get the Christmas tree. I was excited & scared @ the same time!! I really didn't think we would actually go through with an adoption, I just thought it was a great thing for other people to do! I called my friend, Michelle, in Michigan who had adopted a child from South Korea last year & told her we were thinking about adoption. I explained that Scott & I both felt God nudging us & were talking about the possibility. Michelle responded by saying, "If you & Scott are both hearing the call, then you are adopting, you're not just talking about it. " She said, "God has a heart for adoption & if you are both considering it, God's not going to say no! She continued "If I were you, I'd be more worried about hearing God's call & the consequences of not following it, then the actual adoption!" Wow!! I heard her & God loud & clear. I hung up the phone & burst into tears telling Scott "We're not just talking about this anymore, we're doing it!" I was overcome with excitement!!
We told the children on Christmas Eve & their response was amazing. They started jumping up & down & Emalee Grace said "they can sleep with me in my extra bed!" (trundle bed). Next came from Caleb, "I want a boy!" & from Emalee Grace, "I want a girl!". Scott & I have not specified the gender. We believe God has a child for our family & I'm more concerned with finding the right fit for our family, than the gender of the child.
We spent the next 3 months (Jan- March 2009) looking at different agencies & countries. For some reason, both Scott & I felt called to an international adoption. After learning of the potential wait of 2-4 years for a healthy child, we began to look into special needs children. Being that Scott & I are both physical therapists, disabilities are something we are quite comfortable with. We decided that since we were open to a special needs child, we should look into that possibility a little further. After a lot of research & prayer, we decided to use Holt International & to pursue a special needs adoption from South Korea. South Korea only places children with special needs in the state of TN; no healthy children are available for adoption in this state. Through Holt, we applied for a "waiting child" & had to fill out a medical consideration form where we had to mark what disabilities we were comfortable with taking on. Obviously, this was difficult. With every check mark, we were saying "yes" or "no" to sweet little orphans. We discussed each special need & carefully & prayerfully placed our check marks. We ultimately requested a boy or girl age 0-4. Upon completion of the home study (which we are in the process of now), we will begin to receive referrals for children according to our medical consideration list & age range.
The home study is moving along quickly & should be finished by the end of July. Our social worker seems to think we should begin to receive referrals by Sept. I am trying not to get my hopes up because I know most adoptions move slowly. I can't help but be excited!!! It's like being pregnant with an unknown due date without the extra lbs, fatigue & morning sickness!!!