Progress Sunday

Today was a good day. After church and a nice lunch at Jason's Deli, we came home and dedicated our afternoon to finishing up the packet of paperwork for the homestudy social worker. We had autobiographies, marriage questionnaires, adoption questionnaires, financial statements, and several other documents to put together. We each sat with our respective computers and typed until we could type no more. We copied until we could copy no more. And by the end of the afternoon, we had gotten through everything that was in our control.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our agency contracts....hopefully tomorrow. That will be a big milestone, after which we hope to be able to get more information on Mindy. We'll keep you posted!

Ok, We Are Officially Overwhelmed

I know it's got to be a typical emotion during the adoption process....but we are officially overwhelmed. First of all, the paperwork is unbelievable. No surprise to any of you that have adopted, but wow. But we'll get through it.

Secondly, the reality of the finances is causing some lost sleep. It's an unfortunate aspect to this, but one that is unavoidable. We entered into this with faith that the money necessary to bring Mindy home will be there when we need it. We still feel very strongly that that is the case; that God will provide the means. I have to keep telling myself that, because when you add up all the projected costs the numbers are staggering. But we have some sources already identified, and have some plans to sell some things to raise additional money. Plus, we are very blessed that generous people had already commited funds to Mindy's adoption before we were even introduced to her story.

And third, the idea of making two trips to eastern Europe, is both exciting and frightening! It will be an adventure, for sure, but we don't typically travel much further than Florida! We are approaching it as the adventure of a lifetime, and at the end of it all, Mindy will be coming home with us. And that makes it ALL worthwhile.

Love,
David and Christy

Homestudy Is Underway!

We had our first homestudy meeting with the social worker tonight, at the Catholic Charities office in Nashville. The initial meeting was primarily to get to know each other, and to go over the process and the paperwork checklist. We were given lots of forms to fill out prior to our next meeting, which will be an individual interview between David and the social worker late next week.

So far, we think the process is going well. We really like Amanda, our social worker. She has prior experience working for an adoption agency specializing in eastern European adoptions, so she will be a great source of information and encouragement. After David's interview next Thursday, we have our first home visit scheduled the following week, including Christy's individual interview.

We made some good progress today! We know we have just finished a 1/4 mile warmup of a full marathon...but you've got to start somewhere. And all things considered, we are 1/4 mile closer to Mindy.

Our Journey Has Begun

No, not our journey to eastern Europe....we are a LONG way from that. But, we have begun the long process of bringing Mindy home. It seems like a journey that began in some respects a couple of years ago, when we first started seriously considering adoption. God was speaking to us, even if our ears and hearts weren't quite open yet. And then, a bit later, we began to open to the idea of adopting a special needs child. God was still speaking, and we were starting to hear. And then, several months ago, we were introduced to the work of Reece's Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry. This was getting hard to ignore! And one day, quite randomly, an email arrived in our inbox about Mindy, and her plight in eastern Europe, including a looming institutionalization. At once, it all came together, and we were ready to answer the call. And so, the journey began in earnest.

Here in Tennessee, we are seeing the signs of spring all around us. Daffodils are beginning to pop out of the soil in front of our home. Birds are active. Trees will soon be budding. Yet just when we have begun to have hope that winter is over, a blizzard has struck. But this blizzard is not one of wind, snow and cold....but rather a blizzard of paperwork!

Anyone that has adopted has experienced this blizzard. But, considering the sunshine that awaits at the end of this storm, we don't mind one bit.

We are underway with the paperwork process with 3 different entities assisting us in this journey. Of course, the wonderful Andrea at Reece's Rainbow helped us to begin our journey. And now we are also underway with our adoption agency in Missouri, as well as the homestudy agency here in Nashville, with whom we have our first meeting tonight!

Our hope is that, after contracts are executed with the adoption agency in another week or so, we will begin to receive more information on Mindy, including additional photos. We will share what we can, when we can, so that everyone interested can share in this journey with us. It is truly a journey of faith, and we will be honored if you will come along with us.

Love,
David and Christy