So, I was very excited about this post. I had a little somethin' somethin' already working in my head about this post.
(do you do that? Write blog posts in your head? Or journal entries? Or emails? Or have entire conversations in your head- both sides? Is that just me?)
I was going to explain how we had not one but TWO pieces of news to share. But my plans were thwarted. Thwarted by voice mail! And phone lines (darn you, Alexander Graham Bell!) (ok, AGB is not really to blame, but I need to be able to place blame somewhere, and he's as likely a candidate as anyone).
Thus, I only have once piece of news to share- but it's great news!
Here it is: WE SENT IN OUR HOME STUDY!
I know, I know- it's really not THAT exciting. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it's only one small step in the long journey to our sweet child waiting for us in India. However, it felt big to us. I was grinning ear to ear when we stuffed our Home Study file in to the overnight envelope and mailed it to our agency. I was babbling a little bit. And I may have overly-chatted-up the postal worker (is anyone really surprised by that admission?). But I was so excited to turn that sucker in!
We mailed in at least 20 documents including a 22 page autobiography (for each of us!), police clearance reports that required us to go to the county jail, a detailed floor plan of our home, and drawings and statements from all 3 girls. (and much, much more!!) We are actually really grateful that we got to go through all of the paperwork. It made everything seem very real. And Amby and I did it all together...which was great and so encouraging.
To be honest, it was a little overwhelming at times. I called Missy on more than one occasion to share my fears and thoughts- what if our social worker doesn't understand why we choose to parent the way we do? What if he doesn't see our heart in our answers? What if he doesn't approve us?
Yet another opportunity to trust the Lord. He's giving me lots of those lately. Maybe they're there all the time, & I've just gotten really self-sufficient. I'm not entirely sure. All I know for sure is that we are trusting Him day by day. Truly, each day has enough worries of it's own- and we are choosing to rest in Him.
So, that's one thing. And the other thing that I was hoping to report was Amby's OCI status. I called the Indian consulate in Houston today to check on when we were going to receive Amby's OCI card (which gives us more options for adoption in India). Alas, after waiting on hold for 20 minutes (it was actually pretty awesome- every 30 seconds an automated voice came on the line to update you on your status "there are 8 people ahead of you- if you would like to continue waiting, please stay on the line"), I could only leave a voicemail. Major let-down. Major. Oh well. No news is good news, right?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
SIGH!
That's me...breathing a huge sigh of relief.
I'll do it again.
SIGH.
Tonight, after we put the girls down, Amby and I went through our home study/adoption agency checklist together. As I mentioned in my last post, there is an enormous amount of paperwork that we have been given (emailed, snail-mailed, faxed, etc). I have been trying to go through it as it arrives, but with the holidays (not to mention the girls, family, and life in general!), it has started to pile up a little.
It's always at the back of my mind.
Missy and Sarah have promised to meet with me over coffee and help make a spreadsheet (moment of reverential silence for the spreadsheet). Sarah is my favorite super-organized friend- I stand in awe of Sarah and her ability to cut to the chase. Missy's no slouch when it come to cutting to the chase, and they are both great at talking me down off a ledge.
Anyway, as I was saying, I have a plan to manage all of the paperwork chaos. We (meaning Sarah) are going to make a spreadsheet of all of the stuff that we have to turn in for the adoption. We have documents that need to be turned in for the home study. We have documents that need to be turned in for the dossier. We have documents that need to be turned in for BOTH the home study AND the dossier. The spreadsheet will magically help me keep track of it all.
Am I asking too much of a spreadsheet? Perhaps. But, when the spreadsheet fails me, I shall lay the blame at the feet of Sarah and Missy. Hence, the focused coffee-meeting.
It's ok- they can handle it.
So, back to my sigh of relief.
Amby and I went through our binder (oh, I was so young and naive 1 month ago when I thought that a mere binder would hold all of our information) and sorted through the paperwork we have received. I put things in file folders. I labeled. I paperclipped. I basked in the glow of organization.
Best of all, Amby went over the checklist for our homestudy and agency application. When he finished looking over it, he said, "That's not so bad." It was like music to my ears.
He said, "We have most of these things. It's going to be a pain to get the medical stuff done, but other than that I think we're in good shape."
See- that's what I love about my husband. He is so great at looking at a problem and breaking it down to a manageable, workable solution. In fact, as I type this, he's in the office getting documents out of our safe and making copies. What a guy.
I love it when a plan comes together.
I'll do it again.
SIGH.
Tonight, after we put the girls down, Amby and I went through our home study/adoption agency checklist together. As I mentioned in my last post, there is an enormous amount of paperwork that we have been given (emailed, snail-mailed, faxed, etc). I have been trying to go through it as it arrives, but with the holidays (not to mention the girls, family, and life in general!), it has started to pile up a little.
It's always at the back of my mind.
Missy and Sarah have promised to meet with me over coffee and help make a spreadsheet (moment of reverential silence for the spreadsheet). Sarah is my favorite super-organized friend- I stand in awe of Sarah and her ability to cut to the chase. Missy's no slouch when it come to cutting to the chase, and they are both great at talking me down off a ledge.
Anyway, as I was saying, I have a plan to manage all of the paperwork chaos. We (meaning Sarah) are going to make a spreadsheet of all of the stuff that we have to turn in for the adoption. We have documents that need to be turned in for the home study. We have documents that need to be turned in for the dossier. We have documents that need to be turned in for BOTH the home study AND the dossier. The spreadsheet will magically help me keep track of it all.
Am I asking too much of a spreadsheet? Perhaps. But, when the spreadsheet fails me, I shall lay the blame at the feet of Sarah and Missy. Hence, the focused coffee-meeting.
It's ok- they can handle it.
So, back to my sigh of relief.
Amby and I went through our binder (oh, I was so young and naive 1 month ago when I thought that a mere binder would hold all of our information) and sorted through the paperwork we have received. I put things in file folders. I labeled. I paperclipped. I basked in the glow of organization.
Best of all, Amby went over the checklist for our homestudy and agency application. When he finished looking over it, he said, "That's not so bad." It was like music to my ears.
He said, "We have most of these things. It's going to be a pain to get the medical stuff done, but other than that I think we're in good shape."
See- that's what I love about my husband. He is so great at looking at a problem and breaking it down to a manageable, workable solution. In fact, as I type this, he's in the office getting documents out of our safe and making copies. What a guy.
I love it when a plan comes together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)