We're Approved....Again!

It's been a while since I posted anything about our status and we appreciate your patience as we have been working to figure out just what our status was ourselves!

It turns out that when we were "approved" in August, our home wasn't really approved. That's sounds confusing right? Well, I wish I had a better explanation to offer other than, I don't get it either! :) We did find out today that we were OFFICIALLY APPROVED on 9/23/08!!!!! The bad news is, I don't know what happened a month ago...the good news is WE ARE FINALLY FOR REAL ACTUALLY APPROVED!!!! Woo hoo! :)

Again, we wait to hear who is being assigned as our case worker. Once we know who our case worker is, we will likley begin the process of identifying our first child placement. Our excitement is cautiously renewed as we will hopefully hear something soon. Despite the unexplained delay, we are thankful to the CPS workers who have helped us to get our home approved and are looking forward to being able to send out that long-awaited message that we have our first child!

Till then, I guess I should make sure the house stays clean and we'll do one more sweep of the nursery to make sure all is in order! :)

Thanks are never enough to show you all how much we have relied on and appreciate all of your encouragement and support thus far. We hope that one day soon we can attempt to return the favor! :) Much Love!

Someday....

It has been about two weeks since we have heard anything about our status...case worker assigned...how long does it take before our first placement...what should we expect going forward, etc. We have been giving it a little time (as I mentioned in my last post) to just make sure we are not "pushing" or anything like that. So today I sent a "quick check-in" email to our contact about our status. I got a response back in less than 15 minutes. She told me that they have been very short handed the last couple of weeks and therefore very busy - which I would have expected considering I am sure they have some large case loads. She apologized for the delay and promised us that our file would be officially approved and entered by Friday. She said that she would know then who our case worker is and she would let us know asap.

Though it has been difficult to keep waiting like this, it has also been a blessing and makes me continue to realize that it is all about God's timing. As I mentioned before, we have plenty to keep ourselves busy right now! I hate that feeling of always being behind when you are short-staffed and I am sure our contact feels the exact same way. I find myself hoping that things will get easier for her and her co-workers very soon - not just so that it will "speed up" our process, but also to alleviate any added stress they are dealing with right now. Patrick and I both know this will happen when it is our time.

I remind myself of that fact when I hear stories about babies in the NICU at the hospital and I think to myself - We could take them! But I also know that if that child was meant for us, we would have them. So we maintain our wait (as patiently as possible) and look forward to the day that we get to say "we will take them home with us" and it be true! :)

Thanks again for your continued prayers and support!

The Wait Continues

The rush and excitement of being approved was so great that we almost forgot that we would likely have more waiting to do before we had our first placement. So the last couple of weeks have been just that...waiting...and waiting...and some more waiting. Thankfully we have plenty to keep us occupied while we, well you know....wait. Between work, getting the last minute "supplies" ready and Megan (Patrick's sister) getting married we have plenty to juggle right now (though admittedly not as much as Megan has! :) ). But I still find my thoughts filling with that ever nagging hope that maybe today we will get that phone call that sets us on the next path to starting our family. I am finding it more and more difficult to have patience and wait, but I am thankful for Patrick who is the most patient man I have ever met (thank God, too, because you have to be to be married to me! :) ). So he continues to be my rock as we continue to wait.

I did finally allow myself to get to a place last week where I could trully let go and give all the frustration over to God. It has been much easier to wait this last week - not quite as bad as I thought not being in COMPLETE control over the situation. :) And as we still wait - don't you worry ladies and gentlemen, if there was an olympic sport in waiting, I think Patrick and I would be very good contenders! - we silently and mentally prepare ourselves for that one phone call that will change everything. We have finished painting the nursery and assembling all of the fantastically fun toys and accessories (why don't they make these things in adult size???), we have located a day care that is a Christian based day care with plenty of openings and at exactly the right price (thank you again God!) and we are getting in all of our Girls' and Guys' nights we can to prepare for the days when showering is a luxury! :)

As for actual updates, there aren't any really. We are *waiting* to hear who our assigned case worker is. We are *waiting* to find out if we are supposed to get a letter or some kind of documentation in the mail confirming our licenses. And we are *waiting* for that phone call with information about our first child. While we wait we appreciate your continued prayers and support. Rest assured that when the waiting is over (at least for this part of the journey) you all will be the first to know! :)