Hello everyone!

Today we reached a milestone in the adoption process---we survived the 'home visit.' Our social worker, Julia, came to the house today at 4pm and was here until 6:30pm or so. She started by interviewing Jason and me together, asking many questions about why we have decided to adopt, what our expectations are, and how we plan to help Leila adapt in the United States. Julia then interviewed us separately, which felt a little like being on the "Newlywed Game." We couldn't help but compare answers after she left and decided that we were pretty consistent overall. She then took a tour of the home, which went well. The only things we were asked to do were to place our fire extinguisher in the kitchen and come up with an 'evacuation plan' in case of fire. Otherwise, she felt like we had enough space and plenty of 'room to play.' Finally, Madison got a chance to be 'interviewed.' She was a little shy at first, but soon warmed up and put on a show for the social worker. A sampling of the interview:

Julia: What do you think about having a sister?
Madison: Um, It's OK.

Julia: Are you excited at all?
Madison: Yes, half excited.

Julia: Well, what about the other half of you?
Madison: Well, I'm just worried that she'll only speak Chinese and I don't have a Chinese dictionary.

Julia: What is the most fun about living in this family?
Madison: Being the oldest. Oh, and, I have a lot of great resources.

Julia (looking puzzled): Resources...okay...what do you mean by that?
Madison: Oops, I meant to say relatives. I have a lot of great relatives.

Sometimes the kid just can't keep up with her vocabulary!

All in all, the visit went well. The home visit was the last piece of the puzzle in our home study, which is still at the typist. We now move toward finishing our Dossier and getting all of our documents certified and authenticated. Thanks to those of you that were praying for us today, and for Traci Mattis who came over for a couple hours to help me clean my house before the social worker got here. Now that's a great resource!

Good news! Our home study has been sent to the typist and will be sent to us in the next 2 weeks for revisions. We also set up our appointment today for our home visit, which will occur September 25, 2005. All of these seem like small steps, but they are all part of the journey!

As a follow-up to my story below about Caeden sharing his plans as a big brother to Leila on the way to mail our paperwork...

This past weekend we were visiting Jason's grandmother down in Cherokee, Kansas. We were talking about this blog and mentioned Leila's name. Caeden immediately lit up and said, "Leila's going to be my baby sister!" We said, "That's right, Caeden, and where is Leila right now?" Caeden thought for a moment and replied, "At the post office!" Hmm...seems we need to do a little more explaining, but we all got quite a kick out of that one.

No other news to report...waiting to hear about our home study and just waiting on a couple more documents for our Dossier. Thanks to all who have visited, and thanks for your ongoing prayers and support.

We can't wait to have a sister!

Madison Claire, Age 6

Caeden Michael, Age 3

Rudy Charles, Age 2

Hooray! We have reached a milestone today by mailing in our home study to our agency here in Kansas City. It was a great feeling to take that envelope to the post office this morning! The agency will now read and revise the documents, send certain items back to us for changes, and then submit the study as the first big step completed in this process. In the meantime, we will have our home visit in September, and begin working on our Dossier. The Dossier is many of the same documents, but require a notarization, certification, and authentication process for each of them. (In short, you must send them all over the country and have them signed and resigned by important people such as the Secretary of State and the Chinese Consulate).

On a more personal note: the kids are getting very excited about this process. Madison has been helping me organize the copies necessary for each part of the process. Caeden finally seems to be understanding what is going on and often says "Leila is going to be my baby sister!" Today in the car, I was telling Caeden that we were going to the post office to turn in important papers in order for Leila to come home. He replied, 'I'm going to be Leila's big brother. And if she decides to jump, I'm going to catch her.' I'm not sure where he is expecting her to jump from, and why this same sentiment doesn't apply to his very cute and adorable 2 year old brother, but it was sweet nonetheless.

I decided to post a little poem I wrote for Leila when we first decided to adopt. Please remember that I am not gifted in this area, but I do think that it is a clear picture of Jason and my feelings at this time.

Leila Grace

Maybe you are but a twinkle in His eye. If this is true, you can be assured you are the apple of His eye, and you can trust that He has been thinking about you since time began.

Maybe He has already knit you together in your mother’s womb. If this is true, you can be assured that He has created you in His image, and you were crafted with a purpose in this life. Your mother may already be wondering, “What will be the fate of this child?” while you, dear one, grow each day, closer to your debut in this big, confusing world.

Maybe, you lie in a hospital nursery, while your sweet mother cries in the next room. Maybe she wonders “why?” Why must she part with the most beautiful gift she has ever been given? Does she feel the loving hand of God on her shoulder?

Maybe you lay sleeping in a basket…on a roadside…in a marketplace…or on a soft bed in a crowded room. Do you know that you are already loved?

Wherever you are, Leila Grace, your Creator is with you and loves you more that you can imagine. He is crazy about you, do you know that? And somewhere, halfway across the world, waits your family.

Until we meet, sweet baby, I pray that the God of both of us will hold you in His loving arms until He places you in mine.

Love,
Mommy

Welcome!

This blog is for the purpose of keeping our friends and families updated on the status of our adoption of a little girl from China. For those of you who do not know what has been happening over the past several months, here is a quick update:

Jason and I have known for a long time that we wanted to adopt someday. Jason's heart had always been geared toward international adoption, whereas I originally thought we would have foster children, and then follow the path towards domestic adoption. However, after praying about adoption and going to a seminar together last fall, as well as witnessing several of our close friends adopt from China, God made it so clear that international adoption was what we should pursue. I find it so awesome that God changed my heart to line up with my husband’s heart, so that we were of one mind in this great adventure.

Last winter, we began obtaining the necessary paperwork but placed everything on hold until we moved into our new home. We did not want to have to duplicate any parts of the home study process. We moved in May and in July, officially 'signed on' with America World Adoption Agency, an amazing Christian adoption agency that we learned about through our church. (www.awaa.org). At that time, we began the 'paper pregnancy,' as it is called and are now ready to turn in our home study packet.

The home study process itself has been amazing. I never knew how many documents were necessary, not to mention disclaimers, agreements, autobiographies, child abuse reports, references, physicals...just to name a few. Although the process has been a lot of work, the listmaker/organizer in me, has loved every minute of it. Jason teases me because although the agency does a fine job of giving us checklists and timelines, I find it necessary to make my own checklists, spreadsheets, and databases.

By next Tuesday, we will have all forms necessary for Step One of this process, and will mail our form to our agency here in Kansas City. We will then wait to have the actual home visit, which should occur mid-September. We will keep you updated during the process over the next several months, and we anticipate flying to China next Spring or early Summer. In the meantime, we would ask for your prayers in terms of finances and patience with all the paperwork. Most of all, we ask that you would pray for this baby, wherever she may be at this time. We have requested a 6-18 month old girl, and we'll name her after my Great-Grandmother, who was such a wonderful role model and one of the Godliest women I've ever known. Her name will be Leila Grace, and we can't wait to meet her!