Home Study Update

Wow! We are moving right along in this entire process and it is very exciting. Our first home study visit went well. We just had our second and last visit on Saturday, April 21,2007. The second visit was 2 hours. Paul and I each had one on one interviews based on our Autobiography. Since mine was 8 pages, she didn't have to many questions to ask. Here is a quick update on what comes next. Allison (our social worker) said she has 3 weeks to write up our Home study. She mentioned we are currently her only case, so she will be finished well before 3 weeks. When she completes our home study she emails it to Tien who will review it and ask Alison to make any changes and revisions needed. Once it is approved we are officially on the "waiting list". During the translation time of our home study we will be gathering any additional information needed for the dossier.

The home study is a big hurdle and once it is complete, then it will be all about waiting for a referral. We are just a few steps closer to bringing our little girl home.

One month later....

Ah, a month later. Wondering what is going on?? Here is a quick update. All of our application information is complete. This was a long process and very detailed with many Dr. appointments. If we hadn't reached our deductable with our insurance, I am sure we did by now.

Paul and I are registered for our Adoption course at the end of the month. We have to have 10 hours of adoption education. This is a two day cource.

We sent in out INS application. We recieved a letter letting us know, we are in the system as of the end of March. The application will be processed once the Homestudy is complete and sent to them.

We received our letter to go now and get finger printed for FBI clearance. We have 84 days to do have them done. I am sure we will have that completed by the end of next week.

This Wednesday, April 11th, we have out first Homestudy meeting. It is a 2 hour meeting. I am excited because our social worker is eager to get started, so we can move onto the next step.

Paul and I have our applications filled out for our Pass Ports, but need to complete the process. We just can't find the time to take the picture and get to the post office. Paul is taking a vacation day on Wednesday. After the Homestudy is over, we will try and have our pictures taken and finish the process.

I have signed up for several yahoo groups to find other families who are adopting from Taiwan. I am excited about this. I am also reading two books, Culture Shock Taiwan and 20 Things Adopted Children which their Adoptive Parents Knew. This book is pretty deep.

Also, Paul and I took a certification class for First Aid and CPR. We are happy to say, we both passed. Yeah!

That's it for now. More to come...