Saturday, October 18, 2008

Paperwork Part #2 = DONE!


Go ahead...LAUGH.  Ben did.  He even had the UPS guy giving me a hard time.  That's right, folks...I took a picture of Paperwork Round #2 as we were shipping it off because IT'S A HUGE DEAL!  This packet included all 80 of our pictures, our Dear BirthMother letter, write-ups about us, our home, our family...  This is all the information that potential birth moms will be viewing to decide if they choose us or not.  IT'S A BIG DEAL.  And it feels so good to have it completed =)  We haven't decided if we're going to share our Dear Birth Mother letter yet or not...we may leave that up to Baby P since it is so private, and he/she can share it with people if and when Baby P chooses.

Now we're on to Paperwork Round #3...THE HOME STUDY.  



This is a pic of the first packet of questions that we have to fill out (yep...over 50 pages of questions that require full essay answers).  Questions like... "What is our most rewarding and most tragic experiences thus far in life?"... "What religion do you practice and how does it fit in your life?"..."What are your positive and negative character qualities?"..."How do you express affection towards a child?"... "How do you plan on disciplining a child?"...  and the list goes on... and on... and on.  

On top of that, we also have to include the following for each of us:
- A full autobiography of our life from childhood through the present time.
- Marriage Certificate
- Tax returns
- Three personal references
- Physical examinations
- Birth Certificates
- Social Security Cards
- Driver's Licenses
- Floor plan of our home, complete with room dimensions and color photos.
- MORE pictures.
- FBI fingerprint clearances

Once all of this info is in, then the social service worker will begin our interviews and home visits.

We have our work cut out for us, that is for sure.  But, we're pushing through and so excited about the fact that potential birthmothers will start viewing our info in the next two weeks or so... one step closer to Baby P!

6 comments:

Jayme said...

wow! i think i would take a picture, too! that's HUGE! how exciting!! i didn't know you guys were starting the process of adoption. that's amazing. good for you!!!

Beth Goff said...

I would take a picture too!! That is HUGE!!!! I am so excited for yall. I took a picture of me taking all my wedding invitaions to the post office! :)

Sally said...

Wow...good for you! I would be totally overwhelmed with all of the paperwork. There is a part of me though (I think it comes from being a teacher for 7 years) that thinks it would be a good idea for anyone who wants to be a parent to go through something like this!!! :) We're praying for y'all!

Blaire said...

Way to go on the paperwork! Ihave loved reading about your journey through all this Holly. Baby P is already loved so much. I am sending prayers your way from OK!!! Love you guys!

Unknown said...

Yay! So exciting!!! Thanks for all of the updates, its so fun to keep up!

Sang McDonnell said...

Congratulations, Holly! I am so excited for you two!

Mark was adopted, so he knows how important this process is for the special child out there who will be one day be blessed to have you and Ben as parents.

Good luck with the rest of the process!