Home Study, Classes, and more

  

   I can finally say that spring has come to Indiana!  I know it has been a while since I posted, but there has been a lot going on and I have been outside enjoying the sunshine!    We had our home study visit a few weeks ago.  If you are not familiar with the process, part of the home study consists of collecting paperwork and writing an autobiography, and the other part is having a social worker come to your home for a visit.  We prepared for the visit by cleaning the house from top to bottom.  We needed to do some spring cleaning anyway. I wish my house could stay that nice all the time! 
     When the social worker came, she interviewed Kevin and I together. She asked questions about our families, why we are adopting, our history together, our views on child rearing, etc.  She then interviewed us separately about our personal histories.  After we passed that (whew!), we showed her around the house.  Our daughters' room is still a guest room for now.  It didn't need to be set up as a child's room for the home study, they just need to see the room to make sure it is a safe environment. She requested a few more documents that we just needed to make copies of and that was it.  The whole thing didn't take very long and we were happy with how it turned out.  The social worker writes up a report then and sends it to our home study agency and our placing agency.  I haven't heard yet if they have received it, but I'm sure I will hear something soon.
   As part of the adoption process, each country requires so much training for adoptive parents.  Adopted children, especially those that have been in orphanages, may require different parenting techniques.  These classes help equip parents to deal with any challenges they may face.  Poland only requires 10 hours of training and although Kevin and I had already met that requirement we wanted to attend the 4th and last class of the series that our first agency teaches. We are always glad to attend these classes and meet other adoptive parents because we share advice and valuable support.  Part of this class was about whether or not you should rename your child which has its pros and cons because your child is probably already responding to their name.  Kevin and I talked about how we are hoping to Americanize our child's Polish name so that it will be similar, but not the same. We are not sure how close we will get since the Polish language has so many different characters than our American alphabet.
    

Once we get a copy of our home study, I can start working on applying for grants.  Until then, our Ebay/Craigslist fundraiser is going really well!  I cannot thank enough all of our friends who have donated items for me to sell.  We have been so blessed by your support!  As you are spring cleaning this year, we are always taking donations.  I am continually putting things on Ebay and larger items on Craigslist.  We will also be having a rummage sale this summer for any extra items.  Items that sell well on Ebay include electronics, cell phones, video consoles and games, and kids items. Thanks for thinking of us!
    
We have also had a very generous offer from our friend Beth Kresja, a hairstylist at The Salon and Spa here in Muncie. She is donating $5 for every service to our adoption fund.  So if you need a new hairdo, call Beth at 744-8788!
  








 God is still moving and we are feeling His blessing. Thanks again to all of our family and friends. We couldn't do this without your support!
    

Learn to do good.

Seek justice.

Help the oppressed.

Defend the cause of orphans.

Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17