Adoption Update #4

We are celebrating the end of our paperwork stage today! :) We might even take a trip out of town this weekend to celebrate! For the past 5 months we have been work on completing the steps it takes to do a domestic adoption. I'd like to list what we have accomplished in that time.
1. A pre-application to Buckner.
2. Domestic and International Workshops.
3. Our Formal application to Buckner which included:
a. a 14 page application
b. a 14 page pre-adoptive home screening questionaire (this took many hours!)
c. 10 year residency history report - which took us back to our college and Estonia days!
d. Driver's License & Criminal History checks
e. Adoption Fee Agreement
f. Firearms Safety Verification
g. Current credit report
h. Agreement to terminate services
i. Waiver of confidentiality
j. Acknowledgement of notice to require testing
k. Policy of ethical practice
l. copies birth certificates, driver's licenses and marriage license.
m. Copies of tax returns for the past 3 years.
n. Proof of Health insurance
o. Proof of Life Insurance
p. Proof of Will
q. Emergency phone #'s
r. Pet Vaccinations
s. Map & Directions to our home
t. Picture of me & Cameron
u. Two pics of our home.
v. Drawing of our home floor plan showing purposes of all rooms
w. HIPPA relases for all f our family members
x. Reference letters from our pastor and friends (thanks guys!)
y. Physicals and medical statements on all members of our family.
z. A statement from our bank.

4. Interviews with our case worker.
5. 2-day Seminar at Buckner about domestic adoption.
6. God raised our support for this adoption! Praise Him! Truly God provided. We had very little to do with it. We are humbled and thankful.
7. Wrote our profile - which is a 2 page deal- 1 of writing and 1 of pictures that the birthmoms will read and choose us from initially.
8. Read and wrote book reports (separately) on each of our 3 required books..about 780 pages of material on domestic adoption...not exactly light reading.


I've said that this adoption has been my part-time job. At times it has been rather full-time, like the past three weeks have been. But the work is done for now and I am proud of what we have accomplished. I think we deserve some kind of continuing education credit for this or even a minor in domestic adoption! For the first time in months I woke up today without an agenda. That was nice! Now, we are moving on to prepare our house for the home study. Hopefully we will hear from our case worker soon about a date when she is coming (we hope within the next 3 weeks). After our home study will begin the wait to be matched with a birth family.