Adventures in Adoption Homestudies

I promise I hadn't abandoned you again. Our internet was hit by lightning a couple of weeks ago and we've been offline and out of commission for a while. We're back now, though, so here's the latest on our homestudy.

The Hubs had his first interview for our homestudy two weeks ago on Friday, July 6. It went well, but The Hubs felt that he and our caseworker had not gotten very far into the questions he had to answer. He was a little disappointed. I teased him about being talkative (which he tends not to be with other people but is a totally different story when it's just the two of us).

On Monday, July 9, I had my first interview. My interview didn't get as far with questions as The Hubs' did, lol. So, it is official that I am the more talkative spouse. However, the interview did at least go very well.

Our next interviews were scheduled for two weeks later which meant The Hubs had his two days ago and mine is tomorrow. In a surprising turn of events, The Hubs completed his interview questions! I was incredibly impressed that he and our caseworker managed to complete the rest of his interview. Hopefully, I'll be able to accomplish the same feat tomorrow.

During The Hubs' appointment, our caseworker mentioned something that she thought would be of real interest to us and it seems that next Saturday The Hubs and I will be attending an adoption party cruise with the Savannah Riverboat Cruises and Wendy’s Kids! This cruise is an opportunity for prospective adoptive parents to meet some of the hard-to-place children who are available for adoption in Georgia. Now, this does not necessarily mean that the little girl we are interested in will definitely be there, but there is a possibility. There will be approximately 19 children on the cruise. There are 153 children listed as available for adoption on Georgia’s hard-to-place listing. That means there is a 1 in 8 chance of her being there. We’re willing to give it a go and hope she’s there! Even if she’s not there, it’s still an excellent opportunity for us to interact with some children who are available for placement. Until she is actually in our home, there are no guarantees, so meeting other children will be a good experience for us.

In case you’re wondering, hard-to-place children can be anything from children who are older to those with physical disabilities to those with mental disabilities to those with behavioral problems to sibling groups. We’re willing to consider any of these apart from those with severe physical or mental disabilities, simply because we don’t have the time to devote to these children that they deserve. We are both going to have to work (at least the way things are right now), so do not have the time to devote round the clock care. We would hate to take on something that would not be in the best interest of the child we adopt.

So, there you go! The Hubs is done and we’re meeting children next weekend…..now to just get my portion of the homestudy done, get our birth certificates and drug screens, get our smoke alarms and fire extinguishers and have the final visit with our caseworker and we’ll be all set to be submitted to our caseworker’s supervisor and our county director. Hopefully, we’ll be good to go before too long! I’ll let you know how my interview goes!

The Return of the Prodigal Blogger

As you're probably aware (if you read my blog very often), I've been MIA again the last month or so. I apologize for leaving you hanging - real life kind of took over for a bit.

In case you're wondering what the last month or so has held, here goes:

• My mom had her surgery and everything went well. After several weeks recuperating, she is now back at work.
• My ankle has still been giving me a lot of trouble with swelling and pain. I finally broke down and had x-rays and an MRI done of both ankles since they've both given me trouble over the years. The right ankle has a torn ligament and joint effusion, along with degenerative joint disease showing and os trigonum syndrome. The left (which I had an MRI of a year and a half ago that showed some damage) is now showing two ligaments with complete tears, flattening of the talar dome (weight-bearing bone), degenerative joint disease and osteonecrosis in the joint. I have an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon I saw in 2010 on Monday.
• My eldest niece graduated from high school! I can't believe it! She should not be that old!
• Remember the job I was interviewing for? Well, I was offered the job!! Unfortunately, I had to turn it down as they were offering me $6000 a year less than what I'm making now and, no matter how much I hate my job, I can't afford to take that much of a paycut.
• The Hubs (he's not happy at his job either) and I have concentrated our job hunt on the area we really want to live in, which is a town about 2 hours from where we live now. We have high hopes we'll be successful soon. (So, watch out Junebug! If things go to plan, we'll soon be moving closer to you!)
• My job at work has changed a little. I've actually been moved to doing a different job, which is better than it was, but I still just simply don't enjoy the workplace or the work. I'd rather be somewhere where I feel happier.

So, I think that about sums it up. Oh, yeah!! One more thing.....

• WE HAD OUR FIRST VISIT FOR OUR HOMESTUDY YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything went really well and we are super excited! Next up is our individual interviews. The Hubs has his first one on Friday, July 6 (our caseworker is on vacation for the next couple of weeks) and mine is Monday, July 9. These will be the first of several individual interviews, but, hopefully, by mid-August we'll be approved and our home will be open! Our homestudy will then be submitted to the caseworker of the little girl we're hoping to adopt and we'll then just be waiting (on pins and needles!) to see if we're approved to proceed with her adoption. I pray the next few months will go by swiftly! We're ready to bring our daughter home!

Roadtrip Aftermath

Now that the Blogging A to Z in April Challenge is over, I figured I would give you a follow-up post to our roadtrip to Iowa for my graduation.

1. Rather than staying over in a hotel on Sunday night, we decided to drive on home. We got home around 2:45 a.m. Monday morning.
2. Our puppy (whom my mom had been coming over to feed and tend to) was insanely happy to see us. She went a little mad when we got here. It was funny.
3. I had to go back to work today. It was not my favourite part of coming home.
4. I have developed an unhealthy addiction to Skittles while we've been gone. I had to have Skittles fairly constantly while we were driving. It's insane and not at all healthy.
5. Our trip home was not a complete rush to get home. We did take a little time to have fun. In fact, we stopped in Metropolis, IL to see their giant Superman statue. The Hubs took a photo of me posing with the giant Superman.
   
6. My ankle has decided to swell up again. It's hideously painful at the moment. I've resorted to the heavy painkillers and it still isn't reducing the pain.
7. My mom is having surgery to repair a hiatal hernia on Thursday. I'm taking the day off from work to go with her. Please say a prayer or send up a thought for her that day. Thanks!

I think that's all for now! I'll give you another update later!

Z - Zombie - The Cranberries

We are safely back home now - feeling something like zombies ourselves - and preparing to head back tomorrow. My stomach has already filled with dread. I really have to find a new job. Anyway, I've completed the Blogging A to Z in April Challenge again! I hope you've enjoyed my posts this month. I've enjoyed reading many of yours as well! Thanks for joining me for the ride!