Home Study Interview

Well the county finally got back in touch with us after I emailed and called every number they gave me! :-) So after speaking with the county and with the private agency T and I have decided that we will go with the County program.

The main reason being is that the private agency is a therapeutic agency. This means that they will only receive high level need kids in the areas of medical needs and in behavior. That being said its not that we would not love this child with all our hearts but having lived separately for several years with Keebbie in and out of the Hospital in several different states. We just don't feel we could ask that of the boys to do it again knowingly.

So we have set up our training and our first home visit with the county. The county will come out NEXT Friday!!! This will be an initial interview with us and to just take a look at the house. We then are scheduled to begin training with them on February 21st! I can't believe how quickly things are moving once they decide to move. The training is about 9 weeks and our home study is done during that time. So we will be ready for child placement in about 4 to 6 months. Then the wait begins for the child God plans to bring into our home.

How can you be praying for us during this time....

Prayer for T.... and his job. He has just finished gathering his 15 years of work experience and such and handed it over to a professional resume writer that happens to be a good friend of ours. So he is projected to begin job hunting next week some time.

Pray for GAB that they will be patient during the training and wait as will I :-)
That they will not feel threatened or scared from the many new faces they will meet and be asking them so many questions. Specifically pray for G as he still DOES NOT like to talk about Keebie's hospital time and death. He will have to be interviewed by a social worker this topic will come up and I expect it will be difficult for him.

Pray for the child or children that will be coming into our home that we can demonstrate love and compassion to them. For them not to be fearful and feel very comfortable with us and our family.

Thanks everyone

TnT and GAB too

Our Meeting

Well, we attended the meeting in winchester last night. I never realize how far away anything is since I rarely leave my little circle here in our area. It was far!

The meeting was full of great information. We were sent home with ten million pieces of paperwork to fill out. We have to decide on going with this agency that is private or going directly with the county. We are not sure of which way to go.

The one thing that T and I both left there thinking of how scary it seems at times. One thing that did interest both of us is the thought of taking on a pregnant teen. The sad situations they are facing just broke our hearts. As he was talking, that many of the teens they have in custody that are pregnant are because of being raped by their parents boyfriend. So they have been taken from their mother.

We have many questions to ask and many things to think about as we go forward. If we begin this program then the first training is January 31st. We would be licensed as soon as three months to take a child. So we are filling out papers and praying as to which way to go. Do we go with the state program or go with the private agency?

Any one out there having done this before what is the benefits of going with the private or state?

Thanks everyone,
TnT

So Much

Well So much can change in a day. On Thursday of this week our main man T was laid off from his job that he has had for 15 years. We are heartbroken but not without hope. For we know that God will continue to provide for us as he always has.

We are still going to attend the meeting in January but are uncertain if we can continue with the foster program since he is out of work.

So we will keep you updated. Pray that God will provide a new job quickly for my wonderful husband.

All our love,
TnT

In January

Well, we have another meeting with social workers and trainers to determine if this program is right for us, this meeting will take place in Winchester, VA on January 12Th. If this program is the one then we begin training on the following Saturdays. The training will be complete on February 14Th! What a perfect Valentine gift. What they tell us is that while we are completing the training the Home Study will be completed at the same time. Now, this being the government we are expecting many delays and lags in communication.

So that is what we have going on. The kids are so excited, before each meeting they ask if this is the meeting we are going to bring home a brother or sister! They are too cute.

I am still nervous but they tell us that is normal. That they would be concerned if we were not at the thought of having a child come into the home and have to give them back. We have learned a lot and in some ways I am feeling a little more comfortable after having time to review and read more about the process.

Well, we pray everyone has a very happy and Merry Christmas.

Love
T n T

The Meeting

We attended the meeting last night. I have some mixed feelings about the meeting. In some ways I feel as though I am grieving the loss of my dream to adopt from Russia, and having a hard time with the whole foster process. Trav really likes the idea of the adoption through foster program. The chance to get to know the child and their personality, the opportunity to bond with them.

The adoption program does not have a child 0 to 5 available for adoption. So we will have to do a high risk adoption which is through the foster to adopt program. We will be with the foster program with the goal of Reunification of mother and child. So we will be taking the child to visits with the parent weekly. A Social worker will be coming out monthly to check on the child as well.

To begin we will have to take 27 hours of training, a home interview and home study that consists of everyone getting a background check. The dog will have to be cleared by the vet that she is safe and is up to date on her vaccinations. Everyone in the home as well will have to have a letter from the Doctor as well that all are healthy.

The training will begin in February so we have some time before this ride begins. I am most nervous about having a child in my arms and having to return them to their Mother or Father. Am I strong enough? No but praying that God will give me the strength to handle this heartache.

Terri

Informational meeting

Well, a lot has changed in our thinking as you can tell from our blog title. We are now pursuing becoming a licenced foster to adopt foster parents. After much prayer and many different discussions, tons of research we have found that adoption is possible in the US. So we are going to stay in-country and try to adopt locally first.

We researched doing a straight adoption and found it to be just as expensive as an international adoption. This is just not something that is possible for us at this time. We may come back to it at a later time (when the economy is booming again! :)

But in the mean time, we begin training to become foster parents this month! So exciting to say the least. We are going to our first informational meeting in one week. We are counting down the days and are so anxious to get started.

We will do much better to keep you updated now that things are on a roll.

T n T and Family!

Narrowing down the long list

So we started with a list of about 15 agencies. Travis and I had a list of questions as well and then we sent them off to each agency. From there we began researching the agencies and their reputations. So far we have it narrowed down to three agencies. Hopefully soon we will have an idea of who God is going to use to bring home our Princess!

Blessings.
Terri and Crew

Update:
We have spoken to all three agencies. After many discussions we believe that the international adoption is just not an option at this time. We are researching domestic adoption and also the foster programs. We will keep you updated.