We need to buy a fire extinguisher for our apartment, and I need to go through and get rid of few more things before we have our home study. Just so we have more room!! We will have a "couple" interview and then individual interviews.
We will need to pay 1000.00 up front and a 300.00 fee for the home study. The rest of the fee's will be due at placement of the baby. We have to have a criminal background check, references from family and friends and eventually set up our profile, so we will need to get pictures taken!!
Whew!! What a process!!
It was funny though, she talked about how couple who are proactive and use blogs, placement cards, and who get the word out that they are looking to adopt, have better success. I had to laugh inside, what she calls proactive, Berrett calls "obsessive" and THAT fits my personality type. Give me a project and I get consumed with it. I am already making lists of all the people instate and out of state who we can send placement cards to!!
Interesting facts about adoption. A lot more couples then babies available. They encourage couples to look into other options as well, such as private adoption, other agencies and foster adoption. We will have to pray and ponder over those decisions.
If you travel to another state to adopt, you will have to stay in that state until the caseworker there gives you permission to leave with the baby and a case worker in Utah gives you permission to come home to Utah. They had a couple there looking into a 2nd adoption who waited in OHIO for 2 weeks after placement of their baby.
Berrett shared with the group of couples that he was adopted and showed some real interest in the organization called "families that support adoption"
We took Berrett's parents to dinner last night and filled them in.
I asked the caseworker if a 1 bedroom apartment would count against us in a home study and she said not necessarily as long as we have a plan to be in bigger quarters eventually. I really liked the feelings I got at LDS family services. We have a testimony that the Lord wants us to have a family, and he will find a way to bring that child to us!! The case worker also assured us that sometimes you don't receive placement through one of those avenues but that the Lord See's how hard you have tried and blesses you in another way.
I think that its possible to leave one of those meetings and feel a little discouraged, especially when you hear how many couples are looking, but I don't feel that way... well maybe a teeny tiny amount!! But we are trying to extend our faith that this is the way are meant to fill our family.
So eventually we will be making and sending out placement cards, they said if your friends and family are willing to leave those with tips at restaurants, with hair stylists, In borrowed library books, with doctors and dentist offices, with bishops and stake presidents, young men and young women leaders etc. Any "golden Contact" possible!! Feels a little like missionary work!
If you would be interested in helping us find our forever family and wouldn't mind giving out placement cards, please let us know!!
Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes and your words of support!!
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