Spring Cleaning

Hello all, and happy Wednesday to you!  If you're like us you've had some unusually warm weather lately.  In fact, it's been so balmy around these parts that, if you add in a general (and in Em's opinion glaring) lack of snow, you couldn't be blamed for thinking spring was on its way.  We thought we'd get with the spirit, then, and do some spring cleaning.  You know, all that stuff you've been meaning to do...such as saying THANK YOU!  Thank you to all those friends and family out there who have seen fit to donate some of their hard earned take home to our cause.  We'd like to take this moment to extend gratitude especially to our CO family.  We hosted a going away last June in the Springs before we set off for DC, and we're blown away by the generosity of the community that came out to say goodbye.  We love and miss you all terribly!

Because we know everyone appreciates a visual, check out the progress you're donations have helped us achieve in bringing an adopted child into our home.

     $1,000 - Pre-adoption Training Fee and Formal Application Fee
     $3,000 - Adoptive Family Assessment Fee (Home Study)
     $2,000 - Initial Birth Parent Counseling Fee
     $2,000 - Initial Birth Parent Expense and Outreach
     $17,000 - Child Placement Fee

     Total - $25,000  $21,000

We're not there yet, so if you haven't donated please consider it!  And thanks again, we mean it.  


        

Rested and Ready

Happy New Year all!

We've had a busy holiday season, what with Em finishing her first semester of graduate school and Sean gone for a month in Africa (more on that later...).  But rest assured, we've got our eye on the prize more than ever these days.  In other words, we're closer than we've ever been to bringing an adopted baby into our home!

We're rested, ready and looking forward to an exciting 2013.  We wish you all a year full of God's blessings!

Home Studied

Maddy makes herself comfortable

We're done!  ...pretty much.  We met for the last time with the social worker administering our home study earlier this month to hand in a bit more paperwork and cover some final topics.  The rough draft is in production now, we'll get a chance to read through it and comment.  Once it's been published,  A Step Ahead will use it to introduce us to adoption agencies.  It's our calling card, our foot in the door.  It says that Sean and Emily are a well adjusted, loving couple who can't wait to accept a child into their home.  We're paraphrasing of course, but you get the idea.

Now we move on to the profile, we'll keep you posted!

Here's to Family

 

We've met with the social worker administering our home study twice now, one more to go.  Almost there, and it feels good.  The paperwork is still a headache, but it's well worth the effort when you consider the objective! 

During this last meet we discussed our family histories.  While reflecting, we both realized again how grateful we are to our families for their love and support.  Can't say it enough really.  You have informed our identities in so many important and positive ways!  

    

Driving records, child abuse and neglect registry checks, medical records, state and federal background checks, fingerprints, birth certificates, reference letters, tax returns:  adoption requires tons of paperwork!  It can be frustrating sometimes, but for every phone call to an agency in search of such and such form (of which no one seems to have ever heard, but can I transfer you to another department?) is one step closer. It's a nod to the level of commitment it takes to see adoption through to the beautiful end.  All that being said, we're also down one meet with the home study social worker!  Two more to go.

Thanks to those who continue to come back here and check in on us, we appreciate it more than we can say!  

Open Adoption

Open adoption is a form of adoption where the birth family and the adopted child maintain some kind of ongoing relationship.  Phone calls, email updates, face to face interaction.  The terms of these relationships vary but the concept is the same; child-centric adoptions involve consideration by all parties involved for the adoptee's needs first.

We like open adoption.

Follow this link for an interesting article by the WSJ on the growing trend towards open adoption in the US.    

     

Made It

Hey everyone,

Sorry for slacking on the updates.  Sean and I made it almost without incident to the right coast. We've been sub-leasing the home of one of Sean's coworkers until our place becomes available...which happens to be tomorrow!  Our stuff is due for delivery on Friday.  If anyone needs some brown cardboard moving boxes, we're about to have a ton of empty extras.

As for the adoption, we sent away the initial paperwork and check for $1,500 yesterday to get our home study started.  Another huge shout-out to all those who have thought/prayed/donated of/for/to us, we are blessed to have such wonderful and loving family and friends!