Home Study

I got an e-mail today that my contract was received by my agency in Texas. I knew this, of course, because I had been stalking the FEDEX website tracking the package since, well pretty much an hour after I sent it.

So the next step is to get through the home study which I have chosen to do with an agency in Keene, NH. They have a social worker who i s assigned to my county and is supposed to call me within two weeks to discuss the details and... schedule the first home study meeting!

For those of you who don't know much about the home study process, it is composed of a lengthy paper chase, a series of communications, and two in-home interviews/discussions with the social worker. This process will help document my overall eligibility to adopt. There are components of every kind including but not limited to health, financial and stability evaluations, articulating my motivations for adopting and how I plan to take care of the baby in every way once she's here.

Some people I have spoken with have expressed great stress about this process, but I see it more as a prenatal visit. I will get vital information from the process and they will check to make sure that everything is secure and OK with my paper pregnancy. Now most of you know that I can bulldoze my way through large projects, but a lot of this process will depend on the sense of urgency that others operate under during this process. Gathering information, getting it authenticated, and putting it all together "just so" will involve more than just me. And so, this is the part of the process where I need to learn to let go of things that are out of my control. The best thing to do is to try to go with the flow, gently remind people if they have not produced the necessary paperwork you have requested and just keep your eye on the ball.

On another note, I would like to know if you are reading my blog. At some point, I will make this blog a private one with a password required to access it. I will happily provide you all with the password when the time comes, so please let me know if you are reading the blog by emailing me at adoptinglily@gmail.com It will be password protected from the time I submit my dossier to the Kazakhstan Consulate until I have actually brought Lily back to the U.S.

In the meantime, thank you for reading. I love to receive comments, so don't be shy if you have any comments or questions!