What everyone wants to know

Friends and family keep asking us how the new house and adoption processes are going. The answer is two fold. One, that we are slowly getting the last of the boxes unpacked and little projects like re-caulking the bathtub done. Two, that we are trying to be patient because we cannot hurry the government.

We've got all the bedrooms done except that we need to hang two more curtains. At least the boxes are unpacked and the floors are clean finally. The living room still has a little clutter, but I can't really claim that is entirely moving related. The kitchen feels about 90% done. We still have a chunk of counter top missing. We're going to have to just give up on our contractor ever coming back and try to cut the thing ourselves. Also, the base boards aren't done yet. I know it's just trim, but it will make a difference to me.

We have two doors that aren't done in the basement, because the guy we paid to do it never came back. I think he will if we just call and harrass him, but we've been trying to be nice about it since he just got a new job.

As far as we know, child services hasn't gotten our FBI background check back yet. But they haven't returned our calls either, so we don't actually know for sure. Once again, we may just need to be more persistent in that area. We'll let everyone know as soon as we have anything new to tell on that front. Please keep praying with us. We're also praying God's protection on the kids he has planned for us, although we don't know who they are yet. He knows!

In the mean time we are feeling more at home, the girls are claiming their territory with chalk drawings all over our front yard, and we are checking out local amenities like the library.

Counting our Chickens...

Today we bought and assembled new bunk beds for the kids we hope to adopt! Maybe we are 'counting our chickens before they hatch', but we see it more as being prepared and hoping for the best. Daniel and I are looking forward all the time to having more little chickadees in our nest!

We keep talking and dreaming about what it will be like to have a larger family. We bought a membership to Sam's club and spent a day comparing prices to see what is worth purchasing in bulk. We are going to attempt to do our shopping once a month. We're going to put a big metal rack out in the garage next to the extra refrigerator. It will be an extra pantry, so that we can keep more of our frequently used items on hand. We figure we'll basically be doubling our grocery budget with that many extra kids!

The bunk beds look great and smell strongly of pine. We'll hopefully be able to purchase the mattresses next pay day. The girls lifted one side of the top bunk and set it on top of the bottom bunk! I wasn't there to help because I'd gone to get dinner. Daniel said he didn't think they could lift it, but they proved they are super strong girls! I wonder whether there will be girls or boys sleeping in these beds soon?

Fire Engine Red

This is the 2000 Chevrolet Express Van G3500 Ext Sport Van that we bought today. It's a 12 passenger van so we can fit all the new kids we hope to adopt in it! It was $9,000, but we traded our van in for $2,400, so it ended up actually being only about $7,600.

That's a pretty good trade in price for our old van considering that it was missing a hub cap, the hatch wouldn't open, and it was squealing like it needed new brakes. Kelly Blue Book listed our old van as only being worth $2,800 even if it had been in good condition.

The new van is great! It runs good, has a nice interior, and even has power windows, locks, and mirrors. Daniel likes the running boards on the sides since it's so tall. It's only about a foot and a half longer than our old van. The only thing I regret is that it doesn't have a sliding side door (or better yet, two sliding doors). We'll also miss having a compass and thermostat in the car.

Hopefully we'll have the house stuff done in another week or so. With this van, we should be set for the home study where they evaluate our home and us for the adoption. You're all welcome to join us in praying that we will become a larger family sometime in April!

Adoption Classes

In order for us to be allowed to adopt we have to complete certain requirements for Adams County. We had to take 20 hours of classes about foster care and adoption. Complete 5 hours of extra classes or read books and watch videos about foster care, adoption, or parenting and write a report about what we learned.

We get to count two more hours when we complete our home study, which includes multiple interviews separately and together. Today we finished our last class which was a 10 hour CPR and first aid class. Now we are both certified to give CPR to infants, children, and adults. (Ask me if I actually feel confident about those skills. Eek!)

Our kids have had to endure alot of time in daycare and with our babysitters. They had two eight hour days in the Adams County childcare center and one 4 hour day. Then they had today. Danya had a meltdown today after the CPR class because she felt like she hadn't seen us all day long. We had to leave at 7:30 am this morning to get to the class. At least it's finally over and we can spend more time with our kids again.

Kids: Adopting and Raising Them

Dealing with the ups and downs of raising our three kids, it sure is difficult to imagine what our lives will be like once the adoption process is almost completed. Kevin was sick on Sunday with

a stomach flu. He seems mostly better today. Daniel had to deal with that and both girls while I was at an 8 hour super bowl crop at our local scrapbook store. If we do adopt 4 kids, he would be taking care of all 7 of our children anytime that I'm not home...and vice versa. I think we can handle it with God's help and a good sense of humor.

This week we attended a meeting and a class on adoption. They were both very informative and helpful. We learned alot about what a foster child goes through before they finally make it to their adoptive family's home. We also got fingerprinted in Boulder, CO. On the way back home we got caught in a traffic jam. We used the two hour drive (to go 30 miles!) well. I read the DHS questionaire out loud to Daniel and wrote down his answers. We were only going 5 miles an hour, so I don't think I distracted him too much.

This month we have to finish taking the required adoption/foster classes, take a CPR/first aid class, read some books on adoption and write book reports, turn in our proof of car insurance, get physicals from our doctor, and hopefully have 3 of our friends write reference letters saying what great parents we are. (modest, aren't we?) Next month, hopefully, they will start the homestudy.