Its Friday!  It has been a busy week for us, filling out paperwork, spending time on the phone, and talking about all that we must complete the next few weeks.

We are feeling blessed to have found a caseworker to complete our Homestudy.  Her name is Barbara and she is a wealth of knowledge.  For domestic AND international adoption, couples must complete a homestudy.  This includes a caseworker visiting our home multiple times to interview us, assess the safety of our home, learn about our family etc.  Additionally, there is a MOUNTAIN of paperwork that goes along.  Seems very ironic, that anyone can just "have a baby" if they desire, but if you wish to adopt you must have your life scrutinized by a lot of people before getting the permission to adopt.  They leave no stone unturned.  It includes a detailed look at our physical and mental health, our finances, tax returns, references, criminal background checks etc.  Amazing, right?  We certainly understand the need to be thorough when placing a child, but it does seem pretty extreme.

Yesterday we completed our fingerprints with the help of Chief Petersen in Ravenna.  He was very kind and informative about the process. 

Next step, working with our references to complete the needed forms and working through an enormous questionnaire that Matt and I must complete.  It will provide our caseworker with an indepth look at our family life, history and goals for the future.  Will feel like we are in pre-marital counseling again!
Thank you again!  Our hope is to complete the majority of our homestudy work in March.