One Step Closer

So the last few weeks have been very crazy as the school year came to an end and we transitioned into summer. For some, things tend to calm down during the summer, but for me at church, it's been quite busy with preparing and doing Vacation Bible School, followed by patriotic services on July 3. Add to that new responsibilities at church, all the stuff we've had to do for our adoption, plus trying to prepare our home for a baby, and it's been quite a juggling act! I know I haven't done much in the way of updating this blog lately, so I asked Rachael if she would share with you all. Here it is: 

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster. We had our first home study visit on June 21^st. This visit was more of a “get to know you” with our caseworker.  She interviewed us together, and she did a walk-through of our home to make sure it was safe for a little one.  It went very well, and we eagerly anticipated our next visit.

On top of the Castillo de San Marcos

Between our first and second visits, David was very busy with Vacation Bible School at church, and I attended a teacher’s conference in Orlando that I have been wanting to attend for a couple years now.  When I came back home, David and I took a few days for a quick get-away in St. Augustine.  It was VERY hot, but we had a great time! It was perhaps the last vacation that we would have a chance to take before we bring our child home!  It was good to spend some time away just the two of us and reconnect with each other.  We are so grateful to David’s parents for helping us make that get-away happen! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Our view of the fireworks in St. Augustine

While we were in St. Augustine, our caseworker called us to schedule our next home study visit.  It was scheduled for the day after we returned from vacation! Yikes! This visit was the second of three visits and also the LONGEST one, where she interviewed us separately for about 2 hours each.  If the first visit was a “get to know you” visit, this visit was a “REALLY get to know you” visit!  We knew that these questions could be very personal, and for two people who are very much introverts and who don’t like to talk about themselves or their personal lives much, this was very intimidating for us.

So, we had our second home study visit this past Thursday.  David and I couldn’t be in the same room as each other during these interviews, so I met with our caseworker first while David was at work.  David came home on his lunch break for his interview.  We both agreed that the questions were not nearly as invasive as we were told they would be.  Think of it more as telling your life story.  Where were you born?  What schools did you go to?  Who were some people who were influential in your life growing up?  What traditions did you have growing up? What were family vacations like? Where did you go to college and what did you study? How did the two of you meet?  How did David propose? (That was my favorite story to tell!)  What is the rest of your family like? What are your strengths and weaknesses as a couple? On and on it goes...

A lot of the questions asked gives insight into how we will parent our child.  How we were disciplined as children can influence how we will discipline our child.  The values and beliefs that we were raised with will influence the values and beliefs that we teach our child.  As nervous as we were leading up to this second visit, God gave us a lot of peace during the interviews, and we both felt that they went much better than we had anticipated! We know there were a lot of you all who were praying for us, and we really appreciated that during our interviews. 

We still have one more home study visit to go.  We were told that we should be done with the home study before the end of July.  In the meantime, David and I have several things that we still have to take care of.  We have some “homework” that needs to be completed, which includes some required reading and writing summaries of what we’ve learned – almost like short book reports!  We will also be taking a “Newborn Care” class at the hospital next Tuesday night.  This is also required by our adoption agency. 

David and I are also in the process of putting together our “profile book.”  This will be a book that our agency will have and share with expectant mothers/parents around the state (and possibly the country). It introduces the expectant mothers and fathers to us, and tells all about us, our families and friends, our home and community, and essentially shares why we think we would make good parents for their child in the hopes that they will choose us to parent their child. It’s kind of strange putting this together – like trying to market yourselves as parents.

It is so exciting to see how God is providing for us during this time!  Currently, we are less than $10,000 away from reaching our fundraising goal!  A large chunk of the adoption fees are due when our home study is completed.  The great thing is….we have EXACTLY what we need (and I mean down to the penny!) to make the next payment!  God is so good!  He provides everything we need in HIS timing!  The rest of the fees, which is another large chunk, will be due when we bring our child home.  We are continuing to raise funds through our blog (PayPal) and through GoFundMe.  Please consider sharing our story and those links with others through social media to help us spread the word about our adoption and to help us raise the remainder of our funds. Our GoFundMe address is gofundme.com/halladoption and our blog site is hallfamilyadoption.blogspot.com.

So many of you have allowed God to use you to be a blessing to us as we raise the necessary funds to bring our child home.  “Thank you” is not adequate to express how very grateful we are to each of you.  None of this would be possible without your generosity!  David and I so appreciate the love and support that we have received from you all.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  We love you all!  Please continue to pray for us and encourage us as we anticipate bringing our child home!