Home Study...here we go

WOW!! I mean, I knew that a home study was intense, but I don't think I understood the use of the word intense for this process until I was actively participating in completing it. For those who have not completed a home study (and those who have and want to pat yourself on the back for all your hard work) here is a list of what we've been doing since I last posted on 4/16:

1. 1. Application


2. 2. Financial form - basically every piece of financial information you could imagine and then several that you have never thought about much less know where to find :)


3. 3. Physician form - get a physical and test for things you'd never imagined you'd have to be tested for


4. 4. Letter from Pediatrician regarding children in the home - stating that they are healthy, normal and not likely to fall apart physically any time soon


5. 5. Reference Letters from:
   


6. 1. Employer
   2. Parents of each parent-to-be
   3. Someone in leadership at church (assuming you're involved in church which we are)
   4. Three separate friends who know you well enough to speak intelligently on your character and you parenting style/skills



7. 7. Child abuse disclaimer form - a form that states you've never been convicted of child abuse...seriously


8. 8. Fingerprints for each adult in the home - to run background checks through the TBI


9. 9. Local background check for each adult in the home...why don't the local officials and TBI have the same background checking data...hmmmm...


10. 10. Copy of income tax return


11. 11. Copy of W-2


12. 12. Copy of marriage certificate


13. 13. Copy of birth certificate for each person in the family


14. 14. Self study - a 6 to 10 page autobiography detailing how you grew up, were raised, disciplined, schooled, made fun of on the play ground and how that has effected your adult relationships....oh sorry, that was just me ;)


15. 15. Questions titled "Thoughts about adoption" - these were easy, just questions like "How will you talk to your child about her adoption story?" and "What do you think could make your placement succeed or fail?" You know just simple questions like that...


16. 16. Certificates of Completion for 10 hours worth of Adoptive Parent Education classes


17. 17. Completed US Citizenship and Immigration Services form titled "Form I800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a (Hague) Convention Country" - This simple and easy to use form is only 11 pages long, so really, no biggie

Whew! Now that we are in the home stretch and trying to also gather all our dossier materials (more on that in another post!) I would ask each of you who reads this blog to begin praying for our little girl and her birth family. We won't know what circumstances have surrounded her in the Philippines until we get her packet, and maybe not even then, so I just ask you to pray. Pray for her safety (both real and perceived), her health, her comfort, that her birth mother is safe and healthy, and that God would pierce her heart (the mother's) and reveal Himself to her as the God who Sees, Heals, Protects, Fights for, and Provides.