Our house was in rare form last Thursday night. It... Was... SPOTLESS!! I mean dusted, mopped, vacuumed, etc. - spotless! As you can tell by our title we had our first home study visit! I was nervous (not sure why - just was). Lee said he wasn't nervous, BUT he began pacing around the house about 30 min before the social worker arrived :) She arrived promptly at 6:30 and we began. It went sooo well! She was easy going, friendly and didn't make us feel nervous at all. Miller was here playing in the floor. The whole atmosphere was laid back. WHEW :)
She just asked all of the "get to know you" questions - where are y'all from, how did you meet, what made you decide to pursue adoption, etc. She was so encouraging and shared stories from other adoptive parents she has worked with.
At the end of the visit she had to do a walk through of the house - detailing things like smoke alarms, number of bedrooms, etc. One thing she asked for that we do not have is a fire extinguisher :) so we will be purchasing one of those before our next session!!
Overall Lee and I considered it a success! We are looking forward to our next visit with her on March 7th! We are 1 step closer to Malachi! One visit down - 3 to go!!
Our first artwork auction is officially over! Thank you so much to everyone who placed bids! The winner was my sweet friend Jennifer Crane :) We plan to have another piece up for auction this week so please stay posted!
She just asked all of the "get to know you" questions - where are y'all from, how did you meet, what made you decide to pursue adoption, etc. She was so encouraging and shared stories from other adoptive parents she has worked with.
At the end of the visit she had to do a walk through of the house - detailing things like smoke alarms, number of bedrooms, etc. One thing she asked for that we do not have is a fire extinguisher :) so we will be purchasing one of those before our next session!!
Overall Lee and I considered it a success! We are looking forward to our next visit with her on March 7th! We are 1 step closer to Malachi! One visit down - 3 to go!!
Our first artwork auction is officially over! Thank you so much to everyone who placed bids! The winner was my sweet friend Jennifer Crane :) We plan to have another piece up for auction this week so please stay posted!
Here is a sneak peek!
In case you are wondering - I have listed some details below about home studies since you will be reading a lot about it over the next few months. It's only a very general description.
What is a home study?
A home study is required for every adoption, whether it is an international or a domestic adoption. This study is a basic overview of your life - including criminal background checks, your finances and even your personal relationships. It is used by the courts to assess if a stable environment exists for a family to receive an adoptive placement
By the end of our home study we will have completed all of the following:
10 hour online training course
4 interviews/home visits with the social worker
Health statements (doc visits)
Financial statements
Background checks
Autobiographical statements
References
(all of the above include subheadings under each thing - such as PAPERWORK not listed )
At the end the social worker will write up a detailed report about us and hopefully her approval of our adoption :)
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