Home Study Visit

We had our first home study visit last Thursday morning! Of course I was nervous and Dan wasn't at all. This visit included an interview of the two of us together as well as a home tour/inspection. It went really well! Our caseworker was great and I can tell we are going to get along just fine! She was very sweet and not at all intimidating like I had originally pictured in my mind (not really sure why I had that impression because she was very kind over the phone). Her questions basically just expounded on our initial application. She answered all our questions and told us what paperwork items needed to be tackled next. The only negative we received, if you can even really call it that, is that we need to install a smoke detector in the basement (I'll take it).

Overall I was very encouraged by our visit. Before we began this process I pictured our caseworker coming in and grilling us to see whether or not we are "good" enough to adopt a child. That couldn't be farther from the truth. While Lifeline does have many checks and balances in place to make sure we can provide adequate care, they really seem to want to equip an enable you to adopt not judge every aspect of your life.

Next up on the agenda for us is to complete a VERY extensive autobiography and then we will have our second home study visit which includes individual interviews for both Dan and myself.

Some of our best friends just got home from Ethiopia for their first visit! They got to meet their little boy and spend some quality time with him. They also got to venture out in the country and learn more about the culture. I can't wait to hear all their stories knowing in a couple of years we will be having similar experiences! We are so blessed to have friends who have gone through this process before us and can help us along our journey.

And just for your viewing pleasure, here are some semi-recent pictures of the fam...