Paper Chase

Once the adoption agency was selected, since the one I chose is not in my state of residence, the next step was to find a local home study agency. I was blessed to find another great agency to handle that part of the process ... the digging into who I am and what made me, and how and why I will be a good parent. The well of one's soul is laid bare.

And I'm so glad I'm organized by nature and actually like paperwork! The beginning of the adoption process, as those of you who done or are doing it, is a mountain of paperwork and gathering of records. Some documents are required for the home study, some by the adoption agency, some by both, and copies of almost all everything for the international dossier -- a huge package of everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know and more about the PAP (prospective adoptive parent). And for the dossier it is not just copies mind you, but certified originals, with each and every last one notarized -- by a notary whose commission doesn't expire for at least a year! With a few documents they even go one step beyond, and need the notary signature authenticated by the Secretary of State. I had no idea!

I've been busy as a little bee gathering up tax returns, police clearance letters, birth certificates, bank statements, medical reports, proof of insurance coverage, marriage licenses and divorce decrees, employment verification, getting fingerprinted, background checked, passport photos, family photos, a statement of Christian faith and personal testimony (required for the Ethiopia program director my adoption agency works with) and somehow convincing my friends to find time in their busy lives to write the all important reference letters! I so much appreciate each one. You're a blessing to me!

But I am done! I have survived all of my social worker visits and just need to attend one more required training class for my home study to be complete. Yippee! That is coming up in a couple of weeks, so I am hoping that the home study will be all approved and complete by late October. It is the last item to add to my dossier and then off to Ethiopia. I am so excited!