It's official today. We go on the waiting list this week. Our social worker (who is also our case manager) said while there are several families ahead of us, we are the only family in our county willing to take such a wide array of age, race and gender.
I noticed while updating our adoption timeline that today is one year to date that I attended the first information meeting. I never would've believed it would take us this long to finish.
I will post again if anything changes!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Almost there... again!
I received an e-mail from our Social Worker this week saying our approval was in the works and could come any day now. She also apologized for how long things were taking. I told her everything was in God's timing and not to worry about it.
The more I think about becoming a parent the more I wonder what we've gotten ourselves into :) I wonder how selfish I will be with my time... we are used to doing what we want with our free time. I really like waking up when I want to wake up. Everything will change. However, the idea of NOT having kids in the house makes me so sad. I know it will be different/difficult/life altering but I believe it will be worth it.
By the way, I really like having a "kids room". Monday night we had some friends over, and both couples have toddlers. The first thing the boys wanted to know was, "Where are your toys?". We actually had some! Woohoo!
I had a "womanly" checkup done at the University clinic. They ran some tests and said that if they call me, there is a problem, otherwise, I could call a 1-800 number for my results. Friday someone from the clinic left me a message and asked me to call back. Great. I'm trying not to worry about it until I have a reason. Feel free to pray about this!! I won't be able to talk to anyone about my results until Tuesday.
Greg did NOT hear back about the job he applied for. He will keep calling until they tell him he was not chosen. I would expect an e-mail, phone call or letter from the company letting him know one way or the other, so maybe something went wrong in the hiring process. You never know, meanwhile he will continue to look.
The more I think about becoming a parent the more I wonder what we've gotten ourselves into :) I wonder how selfish I will be with my time... we are used to doing what we want with our free time. I really like waking up when I want to wake up. Everything will change. However, the idea of NOT having kids in the house makes me so sad. I know it will be different/difficult/life altering but I believe it will be worth it.
By the way, I really like having a "kids room". Monday night we had some friends over, and both couples have toddlers. The first thing the boys wanted to know was, "Where are your toys?". We actually had some! Woohoo!
I had a "womanly" checkup done at the University clinic. They ran some tests and said that if they call me, there is a problem, otherwise, I could call a 1-800 number for my results. Friday someone from the clinic left me a message and asked me to call back. Great. I'm trying not to worry about it until I have a reason. Feel free to pray about this!! I won't be able to talk to anyone about my results until Tuesday.
Greg did NOT hear back about the job he applied for. He will keep calling until they tell him he was not chosen. I would expect an e-mail, phone call or letter from the company letting him know one way or the other, so maybe something went wrong in the hiring process. You never know, meanwhile he will continue to look.
Friday, January 16, 2009
"Waiting is the hardest part of hope" - Lewis Smede
The social worker called my sister this week. She also talked to Greg and thought they would let us know something this week. I guess I'll call Monday and find out.
Greg went to take a "test" for one of his job interviews. If he passed it (and we think he did) he'll get a second interview. Please pray for this situation. We are concerned about him working Sundays but we won't have any details about what hours on Sunday until he has a job offer. Hopefully the company will call him early next week and let him know.
Today was a teacher-in-service day at our school. I had a really good time having lunch away from the school with the other teachers, and getting to know them better. Although I wouldn't consider myself a shy person, I am a little intimidated being the lowest man on the totem pole. It has been tough to open up but that ice has been cracked :) I am still working through Macbeth. The more I get into it, the more I like it.
Have a great weekend!
Greg went to take a "test" for one of his job interviews. If he passed it (and we think he did) he'll get a second interview. Please pray for this situation. We are concerned about him working Sundays but we won't have any details about what hours on Sunday until he has a job offer. Hopefully the company will call him early next week and let him know.
Today was a teacher-in-service day at our school. I had a really good time having lunch away from the school with the other teachers, and getting to know them better. Although I wouldn't consider myself a shy person, I am a little intimidated being the lowest man on the totem pole. It has been tough to open up but that ice has been cracked :) I am still working through Macbeth. The more I get into it, the more I like it.
Have a great weekend!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Still Waiting...
I took the initiative to call our Social Worker yesterday. She said she had just been reviewing our case file with the agency director and they still needed clarification on two things.
The first was the issue of having our own children. Okay. We get this A LOT. But I thought we had already hashed this out. So, I talked to her about it again. I told her we did not know if we were having our own kids, but were not going to rule it out. I told her that we felt God was calling us to expand our family through adoption first. I told her that there were almost 40,000 kids in the Texas foster care system and that we were burdened about that. She said okay. She also said it would be an issue with CPS so they needed to be prepared to explain. I told her that if anything, having our own kids would be easier at this point but we wanted to be in God's will. Thank goodness He is truly in control, and not our agency or CPS. I was honestly tempted to tell her that I had lied, and I really was infertile. Shoot, maybe I am? I have no idea really :)
The next item up for clarification was Greg's employment. The agency felt that he might be a "job hopper". I explained that he left his job of five years because they cut their staff, doubled his work load, and didn't raise his salary. So he left to work for Brinks, but in commissioned sales you are expected to be pushy and keep asking after someone tells you no. Greg was not cut out for that. He also got in trouble for telling people they would be better off financially sticking with their current company. My husband has integrity and I am proud of that. I am not saying that everyone in sales lacks integrity. It just wasn't the job for Greg. I explained that Greg always has a job with his Dad and so when he left Brinks of course he went there so that we would have income. He is also working a part-time job. Either the agency is afraid that Greg is not stable financially (although we had to disclose our savings and other assets to them) OR, they are afraid we are trying to do this for the money. Ha! Basic kids have a reimbursement of $22 a day. About $660 a month. Wow, with two kids (the most we will take) we could be raking in a big $1320 a month! Whoopee, I think I'll just skip the teaching job and live off that. Please. After daycare (yes my mother-in-law will probably keep them if they are not school aged but I will not let her do it for free), food, clothing, activities, medication and whatever other misc. items they will need, how much of that will really be left over? Anyway the social worker said my explanation made sense and she would share that with the agency director. I told her that if she thought this could be a real issue I would rather that she just tell me so we would be prepared for a wait. She said no, that she didn't think it would be a problem. But hey she also told me in November that we could be getting calls by mid-December, early January :)
On a brighter note, I started my student teaching residency this week. It is going really well. I am currently studying Macbeth, so I can start teaching that in two weeks. I will be honest and say that I am an English major who does not like Shakespeare. I knew that teaching was a hard job but I never truly realized how much work it was. I can see how hard my first year will be, starting from scratch and no mentor teacher there to help. But at least I will have a paycheck - this working for free stuff is for the birds!
Greg should hear about one of his job interviews this week, hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday. It will involve long hours and possibly working on Sundays (we are hoping he could still make the morning or evening service, one) but in this economy, we're interested. He also heard back from a city job that he had past their test so he will call them Monday to find out what happens next.
God is faithful! This whole "adventure" has really tested our faith and (I believe) made it stronger.
The first was the issue of having our own children. Okay. We get this A LOT. But I thought we had already hashed this out. So, I talked to her about it again. I told her we did not know if we were having our own kids, but were not going to rule it out. I told her that we felt God was calling us to expand our family through adoption first. I told her that there were almost 40,000 kids in the Texas foster care system and that we were burdened about that. She said okay. She also said it would be an issue with CPS so they needed to be prepared to explain. I told her that if anything, having our own kids would be easier at this point but we wanted to be in God's will. Thank goodness He is truly in control, and not our agency or CPS. I was honestly tempted to tell her that I had lied, and I really was infertile. Shoot, maybe I am? I have no idea really :)
The next item up for clarification was Greg's employment. The agency felt that he might be a "job hopper". I explained that he left his job of five years because they cut their staff, doubled his work load, and didn't raise his salary. So he left to work for Brinks, but in commissioned sales you are expected to be pushy and keep asking after someone tells you no. Greg was not cut out for that. He also got in trouble for telling people they would be better off financially sticking with their current company. My husband has integrity and I am proud of that. I am not saying that everyone in sales lacks integrity. It just wasn't the job for Greg. I explained that Greg always has a job with his Dad and so when he left Brinks of course he went there so that we would have income. He is also working a part-time job. Either the agency is afraid that Greg is not stable financially (although we had to disclose our savings and other assets to them) OR, they are afraid we are trying to do this for the money. Ha! Basic kids have a reimbursement of $22 a day. About $660 a month. Wow, with two kids (the most we will take) we could be raking in a big $1320 a month! Whoopee, I think I'll just skip the teaching job and live off that. Please. After daycare (yes my mother-in-law will probably keep them if they are not school aged but I will not let her do it for free), food, clothing, activities, medication and whatever other misc. items they will need, how much of that will really be left over? Anyway the social worker said my explanation made sense and she would share that with the agency director. I told her that if she thought this could be a real issue I would rather that she just tell me so we would be prepared for a wait. She said no, that she didn't think it would be a problem. But hey she also told me in November that we could be getting calls by mid-December, early January :)
On a brighter note, I started my student teaching residency this week. It is going really well. I am currently studying Macbeth, so I can start teaching that in two weeks. I will be honest and say that I am an English major who does not like Shakespeare. I knew that teaching was a hard job but I never truly realized how much work it was. I can see how hard my first year will be, starting from scratch and no mentor teacher there to help. But at least I will have a paycheck - this working for free stuff is for the birds!
Greg should hear about one of his job interviews this week, hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday. It will involve long hours and possibly working on Sundays (we are hoping he could still make the morning or evening service, one) but in this economy, we're interested. He also heard back from a city job that he had past their test so he will call them Monday to find out what happens next.
God is faithful! This whole "adventure" has really tested our faith and (I believe) made it stronger.
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