Well, it's official...I'm paper pregnant! Gene and I had our first home study interview this past Thursday with our GA social worker. I received the jump drive in the mail that contains the adoption manual on it. In a throw back to our last adoption, we printed out all 126 pages and stuck it in a big, fat binder....aka, Bertha...that's what I have named the adoption manual. Why? Because she will be everywhere I go for the next year or so, making her an official member of the family...thus, she needs a name :0)
I read Bertha in her entirety on Wednesday night before our phone interview so I would know if I had any questions. Pretty standard...fingerprints (3 sets), medical exams, documentation that I'm alive, married, have never been arrested, have no warrants out for my arrest, passports, photos, biographies, educational readings, financial records, proof of employment, proof of unemployment...the list goes on. Whew...it's a lot!
I expected to feel overwhelmed. But I don't. I feel this strange sense of calm. I feel excitement and eagerness. I've done this before. I know there is likely to be delays and hiccups...and I know that at the end of all of it there's a child, or children, that God has hand-selected. Wait, no, not hand selected, created, for our family. I believe that. I see the reality of it every day with Eden.
So bring on the paperwork, the invasion of privacy, the fund raising and budget cutting. Bring it! I love it! I love adoption. While the process is certainly frustrating at times, I will not lose the joy and hope I feel. A baby is coming home at the end of this. God is going to unite a family in the way that only He can. That's what will drive me and keep me on my knees before the Lord. His grace poured out on the orphan...that is why I love my home study.
Well, Bertha and I have an appointment with a passport application for Eden so I guess I'll go. More updates soon.
P.S. Remind me of this post when I complain later on..he, he, he...yall know what I'm talking about. Today I love my home study.
1 comment:
OK, this is funny but whenever I introduce myself to someone new, I always call myself Bertha. There was a girl in 5th grade with that name and I thought it was cool...seriously. Funny that my name is being carried around everywhere. Ours is Dell (mainly because it stays on the computer). Love it!
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