September 29, 2008

We drove to the Bethany office in Columbia, SC, today to check in and see how much we had to start over from the move, and where things stood. After a long meeting, we can now announce:

We're "pregnant". :)

We have no more paperwork to do. We have to take 14 hours of training in special needs kids, because it covers things that happen in foster care, and our house has to pass inspection. Then we're free to find our child. I'm pretty sure (though not positive) that we will be parents within the standard 9 months. Plus, SC completely subsidizes and gives us stipends for waiting children. Amazing. I can't describe how we feel right now.

Anyone want to come help us fix our house so we can pass inspection? :P

September 28, 2008

We meet with Bethany Christian Services tomorrow at 1:30 for our first SC informational meeting on adoption. We'll probably leave around 11:30 to give us time to get there and other unexpected things, and be a little early. Finished up some paperwork today.

We started this process three years ago in NY, and had to put it on hold when Lanse lost his job and we moved. Now we're settled and officially picking it back up. We're hoping to adopt a child between walking and age 5. I prefer closer to preschool, Lanse prefers closer to infant, so we're open to agency input. Prefer racial characteristics as close to ours as possible, but also open to agency input.

Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, we can bring someone home tomorrow; I'm tired of waiting. But our homestudy's not approved, so I highly doubt that's legally possible.More information will probably follow after the meeting.

July 15, 2008

We had originally planned to adopt from social services, toddler-preschool age. But since Bethany doesn't have the waiting children's program in SC, we're discussing what we want to do. Here's the latest influences on our discussion:

Baby we know: Month born
Lily: last fall
Daisy: last fall
Kaylee: Feb
Amaya: June
Dorothy: July
Gresham: July
Grace: TBD (due Aug)
Pierce family (one every 16 mo. or so... due Aug with #5)
baby Fanning: TBD (due Nov)

I think I'm forgetting someone. There's also a new baby across the street from us, but I haven't seen him yet. I am having some serious baby cravings. *heh*

December 11, 2007

Well, I talked to the SC office, and they have our records, and have assigned us to a case worker. Yay! Apparently, though it did take them a couple months to get it done, the biggest problem was that when we gave our change of address and phone number to the person in NY, she changed it in their office rolodex but not in the computer directory, so the SC office has been trying to call us on a discontinued phone number. Siiiiigh. She also told me that our case worker has been out somewhat severely ill the last couple of days, so when she's better and back on her case load, we should be hearing from her. So this is good.Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

December 10, 2007

Sorry it's been a while. I'm going to rant for a minute, because I'm pissed. We had only one short meeting left in NY for our homestudy to be approved when Lanse lost his job. We moved to SC, with the full assurances of the NY people that we could transfer things as soon as we "got settled". So, I called the NY office -and- the SC office the last week of July, and was told they'd call me back as soon as the director talked to the other director. When I didn't hear anything, I called again the second week of August. And again the third week of September. And the first week of October. NO ONE HAS CALLED US OR (I assume) TRANSFERRED OUR RECORDS. Keep in mind that I'm talking directly to the directors of the state offices, not just a secretary.

And we just got a letter - TO THE ADDRESS WE HAVEN'T LIVED AT IN SIX MONTHS - telling us that the agency newsletter, which we get as long as we're involved with the agency, will stop arriving unless we send them a donation.

THEY FREAKING WROTE US OFF! AFTER CALLING EVERY MONTH FOR SIX. FREAKING. MONTHS.

I am severely incensed. Of course, I get all riled up after business hours. *sigh* I hope I can rile myself up again tomorrow afternoon when I can call and yell at them.

I don't know whether or not to be just done with them. It could either be one of those things where we're supposed to fight for it, (I've heard that a -lot- of agencies depend on the adopting families to keep on top of things), or if God's trying to tell us to do something else, agency-wise. I'm not willing to give up kids yet. So I dunno. I give them ONE more phone call, in which I give time and date of all my other phone calls, and see if anything happens by the end of the week. Possibly.

Pray for wisdom for us, and God opening our eyes to His will.