Getting Started

I had our dossier run through call last Thursday with our case worker, Kiersten. It was nice to finally "meet" her. She gave me a detailed description of everything we need to do in the next couple of weeks. It was overwhelming, but not as overwhelming as it could have been. She broke things down for us and let us know what we need to focus on first. It is a lot to do, but I don't think it will be too bad. Maybe I am being naive. Kiersten will call at least once every 2 weeks while we are in the paperwork stage of the adoption. It is nice to have someone with us every step of the way.

Justin was off work Friday, so we ran a bunch of much needed errands. We got our fingerprints and passport applications in the mail. I also ordered certified copies of our birth certificates and marriage license. We also finally got Louisiana licenses. We have been here a year, so it was about time. We made copies of lots of papers that our home study coordinator needs and I plan to drop those off at her office on Monday. We also took our dog to get shots just to make sure she is up to date on everything. Everyone in the house is doing there part, including Jasmine the dog.

The next thing we really need to focus on is our adoption education. We have some on line education courses to complete as well as a pretty thick workbook with a lot of blanks to complete and turn in. I have decided that we need to start putting the boys to bed earlier, so we can have time to work on this stuff. They have been staying up late during the summer, but school starts for Sawyer in one week (sniff, sniff), so they probably need to get used to getting in bed a little earlier.

We were told that the dossier takes on average 3-4 months to complete. I would love to have everything completed by November. We will do our best to reach that goal, but much of it is out of our hands. We are trusting the Lord to guide us through this stage of our adoption.