Homestudy scheduled

Great news! We have the homestudy scheduled for the weekend of the 21st! We are in the process of filling out all of the paperwork, and boy there is a lot of paperwork! It is kind of like filling out a job application, but even more in-depth. There's a background check, and we both have to write a small autobiography. Also, all three of us will have to be interviewed and we'll have to go have physicals done. Wow! The entire process culminates in the home visit, where the social worker will come out and spend three hours interviewing us and checking to make sure our home is a safe environment for adopted children. I think that if we had started this process a year ago we would be very intimidated at the thought of doing this, but the experience of having the social workers and therapists come out to work with Alexander over the past year has really helped us to be prepared for the homestudy. We really see the experiences of the last year as being the Lord's hand in preparing us for this. God is good!

Also, we went and applied for Melissa's passport last Saturday. (I already have mine from the mission trip in August) It was a small, seemingly insignificant step in the overall process, but it was still exciting! I think it is important to set goals along the way and this was one that we actually got done! Woohoo!

After the homestudy, we need to get our USCIS approval. This is basically pre-approval from the United States government to adopt a foreign child. This costs $830, so that will be our next big financial goal.

Also we are very quickly approaching the point where we will have to make a decision about an adoption agency. This is a very huge and important decision, and I'm still not even sure how to begin to make it. There are so many factors to consider. So, please pray that we would have wisdom in making this decision.