First Home Visit

We just finished up with our first home visit from the licensing caseworker.  She informs us that we will probably be transitioned to a new person before long. But, she did give us all the paperwork that we need to have completed throughout the licensing journey.

Wow, almost an inch of forms and instructions.  Emergency Evacuation Plan, home safety plan, etc.

Some of this is stuff we should have already figured out as a family, and some of it is new.

However, old or new...it's a LOT of paperwork to be completed and submitted.  And some stuff that we need other people to fill out on our behalf.

Keep us in your prayers!

D

Two steps forward...one back

Well, we had our intake interview with AASK last week. I thought it went pretty well, but I'm not the best judge of these types of things.  The interviewer said that the next steps would involve her presenting our file to an internal committee/team to review.  Based on that review, a decision would be made whether or not they would partner with us on the foster care licensing journey.

Well, she called us on Tuesday, and said that the review went well, and they were ready to proceed with our application.  We would be hearing from our assigned Family Specialist regarding home inspections, and other "fun" stuff.

Yesterday we received an email from our assigned Family Specialist, wanting to make an appointment to meet with us at home!  WOOHOO!!!

And then, another email came, from the intake specialist who is setting up everything.  It seems that our old adoption activity is still in the State database, and only our old agency (AzPAC) can access it.  So, we need to sign a document, and then she will forward it to AzPAC for them to sign, releasing our "file" to AASK.  Another delay.

But, at least we're moving in the right direction!!!

Please keep us in your prayers!

Our First Step on the Foster Path

We met with an Intake Specialist at the East Valley AASK office on Thursday.  It was a 2 hour interview, that ended with lots of questions answered, and some new ones to consider.

I had to send her our PS-MAPP completion Certificates from 2008.

She advised that we would not need to take the classes again, but there would be some refresher "homework" for us to do.

The next step is processing the paperwork.  We'll see what happens from here on!

Starting Over

The end of 2010 saw the fading of our hopes for Adoption from the AZ Foster Care system.  It just didn't seem right, and nothing was working out.

So, we put that aside and pushed on with the family that we had, dealing with day-to-day issues.

Well, Matthew is a Senior this year and Isaiah is a Sophomore.

Through recent interactions with a family who has adopted successfully from the Foster Care system, we are looking at the process through different eyes.

At the family's recommendation, we contact AASK (Aid to Adoption of Special Kids), another agency that works with the State of Arizona.

We attended an orientation meeting, and filled out the initial application packet.  Because we completed the PS-MAPP training back in 2008, we do not need to take it again.  But we would need refresher training.

My wife is getting excited again.  Hopefully the results will be different, since we are focusing on Foster Care first, and maybe Adoption if it works out.

Please pray for us!

Thank you

On this day each year, we stop to formally thank those who have stood in the breech and defended this country.

Every Veteran is a hero.  Thank you for your service.


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-Lt. Col. John McCrae

And time goes by

I'm sitting at work right now. It's been forever since I even thought about what to write on here.

It seems the adoption process is going exactly nowhere. We thought about becoming a licensed Foster Care family, but that didn't go anywhere either. Missed contacts with the Licensing person resulted in loss of momentum and interest.

Now we look online every so often. It seems that apathy has taken the place of excitement. Maybe work and financial stress has caused us to stop for a while.

The certification is still in place. It will happen when it happens. We just nede to keep our spirits up.

Update

The move to Wordpress has been aborted. Too many settings and setup for a simple blog.

Last week we were involved in a match meeting for a brother/sister sibling group. It didn't work. We were not chosen.

It is so easy and sterile to write a simple two sentence update, but that doesn't come anywhere near to the heartache, hope, fears and prayers that went into this potential match-up.

We are still looking, and will be broadening our search to include younger girls. Hopefully the Lord will show us the right person soon.

Ok...in summary.

I guess it's bad taste to treat your blog like a Twitter or Facebook update. Every blog I read is usually full of agonizingly long soliloquies about life and stuff. And here I went and posted three short blurbs yesterday. Shame on me. Or not.

Here is the long wrap up from yesterday.

We arrived at a bowling alley in Tucson (actually Marana) yesterday morning at 9:15am. We checked in, got our name tags and started wandering around. About 9:30, the children started to arrive. At 9:45, the prospective parents met and went over some ground rules for the event. Total confidentiality. Do not talk about adoption to the kids. Do not favor one child over another. Have a good time.

If you've ever seen Speed Dating on TV, or even participated yourself, it is similar. Each child (or group of children) is assigned a bowling lane. Each parental group is assigned a lane to start from. You interact with the child/children in that lane for about 10 minutes and then rotate to the next lane. That way everyone gets to meet everyone else, and you get to bowl. At least that's how it's supposed to work. Some of the kids want you to bowl with them, and then some of the younger ones just want you to watch while they bowl. You get to chat with them about superficial stuff, and interact on a casual level.

It is really heart-warming to watch what happens during the event. The kids are shy and nervous at the start, but about halfway through they are chatting with everyone and having a great time. After 2 hours of bowling, each child is given tokens and everyone moves to the arcade area for another hour or so of play.

After the event, the parents-to-be meet for a debriefing. We are each given a packet with info on each child, and a interest form. You look through the packet, read a short generic bio of each child, and write down the names of the ones you are interested in. This information is pared with your home-study info and passed along to the case worker for that child.

I also found out that the kids are asked who they liked, too. So you are being graded by them as well. Some of the older ones had notebooks and kept notes on each parent group they met.

If I could, I'd adopt them all. Foster care sucks. While it is necessary, it still is not pleasant.

GET INVOLVED! You have room in your home and heart for one (or more) of these children!

Fun Times

Well, we had fun at the Match Party. We met several children that we are interested in learning more about, and we are waiting to hear back from the case workers.

Bowling Fun

There is something cathartic about watching kids bowl. They do it with such abandon and fun.

Great match party.

Adoption Match Party

Here we are at the Adoption Match event in Tucson. There are several prospective parents and a lot of kids. This should be a fun event.

Pray for us!

Is enough, enough?

Is there a point when you can't sustain the raised hopes any longer?

We received a call from our case worker today, and she said that the case worker for the child that was available was being "difficult" (my word), and our chances were somewhere between slim and none.

And, the Adopt US Kids website is not showing much in the way of children that meet our desires...which is probably a good thing overall, but a bit frustrating to us.

Yet still, we trudge ever onward.

Surprise!

Well, we had about given up on Adoption. And then last week we were contacted by our case worker regarding a 2 month old girl that might be up for adoption.

So, the excitement is built back up again. We know that the odds are long against us, but we're praying!!!!

If at first you don't succeed...

Well, since the well for adoption has dried up, we are going to start the process to become licensed as a Foster Care home. At least this way we can help out, and who knows. Something might work out.

Hey, did you hear the one about the...

Nevermind. We are still in a waiting cycle. We went to the adoption party/event/thingee and had a blast. There were some children there that we were interested in, but they were boys. When we talked it over with Matt and Isaiah, they shot it down real quick. They want a big SISTER, and no boy will do.

So, still we wait. It will happen in God's appointed time, and nothing we do will make that change.

However, we'll keep you updated when things change.

Keep your chin up!

Next week is an adoption party in Tucson. We are still in a waiting cycle. Some days we think about it, but most days we are in our work-home-bed routine.

Still waiting for that phone call!

Update

We have had a couple of "hits" so far, but both were a wash. One girl decided she didn't want to be adopted, and the other one wasn't a good match with our two boys.

So the waiting continues. We strive to not get discouraged, but occasionally we end up a little down. Overall it's a good thing there are not more older children available for adoption, I guess.

"It Is Ordered that the above named applicant(s)...

...is/are certified as acceptable to adopt children pursuant to the laws of the State of Arizona."

WE'RE APPROVED!!!

On Dec 8, 2008, our application for adoption was approved by the Arizona Superior Court system!

Now the real hunt begins. We are praying that the Lord shows his plan for us in this matter.

Merry Christmas! This is the best present we could have gotten!

I spoke way to soon...

According to my last post, everything was supposed to go to the courts back in October. Not so fast.

After a number of "we need this form before we can proceed" delaying tactics, we finally completed our application packet to the satisification of all involved and it was FINALLY submitted to the courts two weeks ago.

And then we needed to hurry up and finish our photo book so that our case worker could show it to a couple of girls we might be interested in.

I want this done already. The people we went through the MAPP training with have all been cleared and are working with kids. This is killing us.

Please pray that there is nothing found amiss and that everything gets pushed through and we get approved before Christmas.

God Bless and keep praying for us. Merry Christmas

Dave & Yessika

Finally, some forward motion

Well, thanks to the ultra slow pace that the Commonwealth of Virginia took in processing our background paperwork, it has taken over a month to get it back.

But, now it's back for both of us.

So, the Home Visit was supposed to be submitted to the court today. Now we wait for that process to work its magic.

We're hopefully, still!!!