3 Home Study Visits... Check

That's right! Monday evening was our third and final home study visit with our social worker, R. Our visits have been really great. We've enjoyed getting to know R and telling her about our "story" (after all, who doesn't enjoy talking about themselves?), and it's also been a good opportunity to think about and discuss some of the "tough" questions (such as whether we are "open" to a baby that was exposed to drugs or alcohol during the mother's pregnancy, and what kind of "parenting techniques" we are planning on using, etc).

I have to say the entire process has been rather enlightening, and not at all what I had expected. I originally thought the visits would be somewhat awkward and stressful, especially the "walk through" inspection of the house. I also thought we would constantly feel we were "on display" having to almost "convince" the agency that we were "fit" to be parents. But it wasn't like that at all. Instead, it was just like telling a new friend a bit about where growing up, our marriage, hopes and dreams, and whatever else happened to come up. If anything, it felt like therapy - in a good way, like processing where you come from and why you are the way you are. The "walk through" is really just to check that your home is safe, not perfect. The only difference is really that there is a report (not as scary as it sounds) at the end that outlines our lives, and that the agency is in agreement that adoption is a good plan for us (also not as scary as it sounds).

So, anyway, all that to say, the process was great. We're only glad it's "over" in the sense that it means we are one step closer to baby. (!!)

With the visits now under our belts, R will work on putting together a home study report on all of the information she gathered during the visit. A draft will be sent to us to ensure all of the information is correct, we will sign and return it, and then a final copy will be sent to Pact (and eventually the state). I was expecting the whole home study process would take some time, but so far it's been actually going pretty quickly.

We're also working on getting our final draft together of the profile... hope to have some screenshots up over the next week or so.

Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas!