So Excited

January 30, 2012

Hey, people!  Wanna' hear something pretty cool?  (You're probably thinking it's hard to get cooler than this little hot-shot and her rockin' dress up outfit, am I right?  Understandable.)
WE FINISHED OUR HOMESTUDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, for those of you wondering, "What in the world is a homestudy and why in the world does it matter?" let me fill you in. :)

The first big part of the adoption process is the homestudy where it's determined whether or not you can be legally approved to adopt.  So since November we have been filling out lots of paperwork, getting physicals and TB tests, writing a short autobiography, having friends fill out reference forms, reading some assigned material about birthmothers, watching some adoption education videos, doing 10 hours of adoptive training, paying the homestudy fee (about $2800) and spending time with our social workers answering lots of questions about our marriage/parenting/family background/etc.  The final part of the homestudy is a visit where the caseworkers come out to your house to make sure it's a safe place and that's what we did today soooooooooo...we are legit!


I'm sure everyone's experience with a homestudy is different, but we found it to be fairly easy and enjoyable, just time consuming.  But the reason why this is so awesome is that now we're one HUGE step closer to bringing home our baby/babies!!!! Super exciting stuff!

Our next steps are to apply for grants (we need about $10,000 before we will start applying to agencies...I'll explain that in another post), then apply to agencies, then wait to be matched with a birthmom!  We really have no idea how long these next steps will take but we're excited to be one step closer today!

God's been so faithful to get us here!  We are so excited!!!!!!

13 comments:

  1. WONDERFUL NEWS!!!! SUch a sigh of relief :)

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  2. Exactly, Jessy. Big sighs of relief all day long!

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  3. Praise the Lord! So happy for your family!

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  4. Praise God! So happy for you. And you guys are adorable, by the way - great picture of the two of you!

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  5. We're looking forward to following along the next stages of the journey. :)

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  6. YEAH, great news! love the picture of you both- you are so cute!

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  7. Yippee! Love walking with you guys through this process. I know we only see small pieces, but it's such a joy to pray and partner with you in this.

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  8. Such a good feeling to have that homestudy done, isn't it?!! Yay!

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  9. oh roommate! this is amazing!!! it has been so good for my heart to watch God moving in my friends' families that are adopting. i don't nurse in the middle of the night anymore (that's when i was praying for you guys) so i have moved it to the last feeding of the night -- prayers for the witts and fenskas!!!

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  10. Rejoicing with you that you've completed this step! It is a joy to walk alongside you in the adoption process, and we can't wait to meet the newest member of the Fenska family! (And, you're right, it IS hard to get cooler than sweet miss A.B.!)

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  11. Awesome! Good for you! Now, I just have to say, Katie...did you notice that your cup says HOT? :)

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  12. Praise God, Katie! Can't wait to meet those new babies when you bring them home. They will be very blessed to be a part of your sweet family. Appreciate you and josh so much.....

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  13. Thanks for celebrating with us!

    And p.s. to my good friend, Sarah-I totally did not even see what my cup said until you mentioned it but that's pretty funny. :)

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