I promised to keep you updated on how our home study and adoption of Hannah is going.

We are in the home stretch. Our home study is completed and approved. We are now in the adoption subsidy process.

This is the point where an adoption subsidy is agreed upon. In a normal circumstance this would have been an ongoing process with the paperwork just needing to be signed, but our case is not normal.

In a normal dissolved adoption, the adoption subsidy does not transfer to the new adoptive parents, but Hannah’s state of birth is actually willing... more

When you are doing your home study for the first time it can be very stressful because you don’t know what to expect. Most of us spend more time worrying about how clean our house is (I sure did) than making sure we have everything we need.

If you want to speed up your home study process, having all your documents together when your worker arrives will help to expedite the process, and may even answer many of the typical first visit questions, and allow you to get onto the “meatier” questions earlier on, therefore saving you another visit.

So what... more

To quote the great philosopher, Tom Petty:

“The waiting is the hardest part Every day you see one more card You take it on faith, you take it to the heart The waiting is the hardest part.”

You have all this time to fill and nothing to do with it, but there are plenty of things you can do to help you become more prepared for the child or children that will enter your home.

Talk with other adoptive parents Find out what issues they deal with, what parenting methods they use, what... more

We are at the point of the home study that drives most families crazy – waiting.

We started the process back in March. We did our initial interview, filled out the application, signed all the consent forms for our records to be given to the agency, and all the other paperwork that needs to be done.

Hannah has had her health check done, mine has been completed, and I have submitted my autobiography. My husband has a few things to finish yet.

The big hold up has to do with Sammy. If you have an adolescent child in your home who has been involved with... more

We had our meeting with the adoption social worker this morning to start our home study. We have already submitted the stacks of paperwork so now is the “interview” process.

This is when the worker comes out to talk to you and your spouse (if applicable). Because we have been through this several times before, we were prepared for the questions and nothing surprised us, but it can surprise many people when it starts. I’ll give you a recap of what we discussed so you will have an idea of what to expect when it’s your turn.

What lead you to... more

Today I have been cleaning because the adoption worker is coming out tomorrow. Now I have been through enough of these to know that the worker is not coming to do a white glove inspection, but my house looks like the inside has been hit by a tornado. We haven’t been home much in the past week, and when I was I was doing something that made a mess, like baking and decorating cakes.

The worker is not coming in to check for dust bunnies, or if all the laundry is folded and hung up properly, but rather to do things like safety checks. Are chemicals out of the... more

Our family is in a similar situation as some of your reading this blog. We are starting our home study process to finalize Hannah’s adoption. Ours will progress slightly differently than yours will, since hers is considered a private adoption, but most of it will be the same.

For us, the first hurdle was finding an agency that is willing to do our home study. Because of the complexities of our case, I sent out e-mails to every licensed adoption agency within a 200 mile radius. Here is what I wrote:

We are trying to get some information... more

Who would have thought pouring concrete would lead to blog material?

It’s a happy day at our house. The concrete people are here doing the base for our new garage. We are putting in a new driveway and garage in an attempt to make our house more appealing to buyers. We have had a shared driveway and garage with my dad for 10 years. It works for us, however other buyers are not so willing to sign onto this. The sole reason we are selling our house is that my mother lives two houses away from us. If you read this... more

Before a child can be adopted, there must be a termination of parental rights, on both birth parents. They fall into two categories.

Voluntary - This means that a parent has determined that he/she is unable to care for the child, and is willingly terminating their parental rights.

Involuntary - Generally, this occurs when a child has been removed for abuse or neglect. This is usually done through a court hearing. The parent has the option of choosing a jury trial or a bench trial.

Some... more

In my recent blog titled “Once you have been matched” a reader wrote a great comment regarding reading a child’s profile and case history.

Also look carefully for gaps, or holes in the information. It is better to play connect the dots, and try to get a whole picture BEFORE your child comes home, rather than when they are with you and in crisis.

That is a GREAT answer, and one I wish I could convince parents of, but... more