Homestudy and APQ

It's been a few weeks since our last post. We've been busy getting our homestudy documents ready as well as filling out the Adoption Planning document for our agency.

We weren't sure when our homestudy coordinator would be ready for a visit, but once she received our application, fee agreement and payment, she called right away on a Monday and asked if she could come by THAT week - either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday - to conduct the first of two visits and gather what paperwork we had ready. Of course I jumped at the chance to get it done sooner than later and rushed that week to get the house super clean and make sure at least 90% of our paperwork would be ready for her.

So on Thursday, July 1 at 5:30 p.m. the social worker drove into our driveway. The visit was wonderful - she was very relaxed and went through our paperwork, then asked us some questions about our marriage, how we met, our views on parenting, our childhood and then asked for a quick tour of our home. About an hour later and we were done and approved. We were missing 2 reference letters from friends and our doctor's notes, but she informed us that she was going on vacation for the next two weeks so not to worry about what's missing, she'd give us some time to get those things in order and would let us see a draft of her homestudy report before she submitted it. It was a fantastic process!

The other big thing we've been working on is our Adoption Planning Questionnaire (APQ). This document is a series of questions about our preferences about the prospective child and birth parents - they ask you questions about your preference for ethnicity/race and gender of the child, as well as items like medical history and substance use of the birth mother. Thank goodness they provide a lengthy booklet on how to fill the form out, as well as information about what the "typical" birthmother looks like - from age to substance use, to financial needs, to the relationship (if any) between the birthparents. We finished that document tonight and will mail it in the morning, along with a few pictures of us to the agency. Once they receive it, our adoption specialist will call us for a review.

And after that we get to work on the last item before we can become a waiting family - our Family Profile. This section is like Match.com for adoptions! The agency asks that you submit 50+ pictures of you, your home, neighborhood, family, friends, pets, hobbies etc as well as a few mini essays about your life, family traditions, views on adoption, parenting and a letter to the birthmother. We have already selected the 50+ pictures and written catchy captions for each one - that was a LONG process.

So all that to say, we've been a little out of commission doing paperwork! We've tried to keep a little normalcy at home - had a fantastic 4th of July cookout at our house with friends, have attended lots of social things including watching World Cup games with friends at local restaurants and also trying to get outside when it's not too hot to enjoy the summer. But I end every night with reading a little of an adoption book - either "Adopted For Life" and "Raising Adopted Children". I need to buy some regular parenting / baby books too! Who knows when Baby M could show up?

As always, thank you for your kind and encouraging words, either through here, Facebook, my regular email or via snail mail. We love you all and are glad you're on this amazing journey with us.