Final Meeting in our Home

Our SW came over on, Tuesday 12.22. , to complete our final homestudy meeting. It went very well. She stayed for about 3 hours. The time seemed to fly by while we were talking, answering questions, and walking through the house.

The meeting started off with a short "Q & A" between G and our SW. K and I left the room so they could talk privately. When we returned, our SW recapped a few things for us. They discussed how Korea and America were on opposites ends of the ocean; how her little brother is going to look different than her; and how things around here may be a little a different when he comes home. G mentioned to SW that we've discussed this mostly through reading books...her favorite being Katie -Bo by Iris L. Fisher. I think she enjoys reading this one the most because it's very age appropriate. Our SW said the best thing G said to her was "I pray real hard every night for my baby brother to come home soon". ....smiling big smiles right now.

The rest of the meeting was fairly simple. We answered a good amount of basic questions (about our home and how we will provide basic care and needs for a new child) for DCFS licensing. We then went over the 'Child Acceptance List'.

We are so happy the homestudy is complete. I will be even more excited when it has been submitted and we are DCFS approved. Our SW told us she will start putting it together but, won’t submit anything until we are closer to #10 on the list.

We are guessing we are someone in the teens right now but, really can’t be sure. It will definitely be exciting to hear from her when we are at #10.

We did touch a little on timing with her. She mentioned most families have been getting referrals right around the 12 month of waiting mark. Although, I have been following other families on the Yahoo group and kind of already knew this, it was nice to hear her thoughts.

We think this was a great way to complete our adoption journey steps in 2009 and can’t wait for the changes, excitement, and blessings 2010 will bring!

Our Princess is 5!

G turned 5 on Sunday! I can't believe we have a 5 year old, sounds crazy to me. 5 years went way too fast! She had a great birthday weekend. Friday -- I brought cookies to her class and read a story while she wore the birthday crown. Saturday--- she had a party at gymnastics with her friends. Sunday --- we had some family over to sing and blow out candles. .


Happy Birthday, sweet princess!

Quick Update

Once again, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving here at our house with family. K cooked a yummy turkey to go along with all the usual sides. We had 13 at our table this year and we really enjoyed ourselves. The star of the day was our new nephew little S. G was so intrigued by him. She followed M and A around and wanted to watch his every move. After dinner, a few of us played Yahtzee while the others watched a movie. It was a great day. So much to be thankful for!!!

Some goings on with the adoption..... Our referral letters were sent out right after our last meeting with our SW. We've heard from all our friends that we choose to be referrals. We are so grateful and thankful to them for filling out the questionnaire and being a part of this journey with us! Thank you!

When we last met with our SW, she mentioned that LL was expecting a few more referrals before the end of the year. I am happy to say, she was correct. Since our last meeting, I know (through emails posted on a LL message board) that a few families have been matched with their children.

It brings such a feeling of joy when I read that another family has a received a referral. I can't help but smile and even tear up thinking about the excitement they must feel....such a blessing for each family.