One down, 3 to go.

We had our first of 4 home study visits yesterday.   The kids were prepped for their interviews ( we just wanted to remind them of their undeniable love for each other and how they always get along LOL), the house was clean, the brownies were fresh out of the oven.   When the social worker pulled into the drive way,  there was the subtle spoken words of "She's here! She's here!"  

Once we settled into our chairs, the discussion began with just Les and I first.  The questions mainly consisted of how we work as a family, how we discipline, how we were raised, our moral compass,  relationships with members in our family,  how we met, and more.   We had previously filled out a long questionnaire, and we basically spent that time, going over in more detail what we had checked on our forms.   And then she said:   It's the kids turn.    Les and I had to leave the room, and just wait patiently for their time to be over.  Curiousity of what they were saying was driving me crazy.   Les was just chilling out, as I was pacing the floor.  

After 2 hours of answering questions, this first visit was over.  We scheduled the rest of our visits, of which will happen every week.  April 17th, 25th, and May 1st.

Once our visits are complete, it will take about a month for the social worker to put our official home study paperwork together.  It will then be sent to the China Team for their approval.  We are hopeful that by the end of May, we will have our APPROVAL.  That means that we can then really start moving forward by filling out our 1-800-A form (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services).  This is approval from the U.S. government for us to adopt internationally and then we'll start filling out our dossier paperwork (legal documents needed to adopt internationally).

Prayer requests:   Pray for this little child in China whom we want to be at home with us.
Pray for each step in our process.  There are SO MANY, and we've only just barely begun.
Pray for fundraising.  This is personally MY biggest struggle.  

Stay tuned.

(: