First Meeting

Today we had our first meeting with our social worker, Beth, down in Richmond. It was a really, really nice meeting. We liked her so much. She is a rabid Red Sox fan, so of course, it was like meeting the family!

She asked our preferences for a child, and apart from healthy, we don't have a preference in terms of gender or race. We did express our concerns about raising a child of another race in general terms and she gave us some resources about the subject to read up on. So hopefully that will help us feel more prepared.

Because we are so flexible and open in our quest to have babies delivered to our home, she is estimating somewhere in the next 12 months, we should have our little one home. It could take longer, and if we wanted a "kid who looks like us" it would take up to 2 years. We are also the only family they have right now who is open to interracial adoption, which should help.

Our home visit will take place on August 22nd. I am looking forward to it. In the meantime, we are getting our ducks in a row in terms of finishing up the paperwork we have to do--getting fingerprinted, firming up our finances, contacting and hiring an attorney, etc. (Anyone know any good attornies to help with an adoption?)

It's exciting and terrifying to think that this time next year we could be parents. But overall, the meeting was great and I felt like we really got a great fit with the social worker, the agency, and what our goals are.

Is Adoption For You?

Melissa sent this and I really liked it...

The Top 13 Reasons Why Adoption is For You!


1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.

3. You can’t watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child’s “real” parents.

7. You have ever been “pregnant” with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth. (2 years!)

8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you He will provide.

9. You have ever taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met.

10. You believe God’s heart is for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You know what the word “Dossier” means, and you can actually pronounce it!

13. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

The Appointment That Wasn't

So today was supposed to be our initial meeting with the social worker. The General and I have been spending the entire week sweating the paperwork. We've written tons and tons of stuff about ourselves, filled out myriad forms, etc. It's crazy.

We've also spent the last two weekends working on the house--painting, ripping up carpet, washing walls, etc.

Yesterday the housekeeper came, the house was in shipshape, everyone was ready and waiting for word of how the appointment would go.

11:30, no social worker. 11:35, no social worker. 11:40, no social worker. By noon, I figured she was well and truly lost, and then the phone rang. It was here.

Beth: We had an appointment today.

Me: Yes, we did. Where are you?

Beth: I'm calling to find out the same thing.

Me: We're here waiting for you.

Beth: You're supposed to come to my office.

Me: No, you're coming here.

Beth: No, you're coming here.

Lo and behold, the signals got crossed. When I had first spoken to her on the phone, she had mentioned a surcharge of $50 if it took her longer than an hour each way to get to our house, so I just assumed that meant she would be coming here.

Unfortunately, I forgot the ole adage of never assume. So we are rescheduled for next Thursday, 7/31 at 10:30am. Which is kind of funny, since that is also my first PT day.

So I was really upset with myself for not making sure I knew what was going on, and the General wasted a day off work in the process. Still, we now have longer to do some more stuff to the room, so that's good, since I've decided to rip out the closet, and we still need to do some work on the floors. As in, deciding what floors we want and having them installed.

So, that's the news. Hang on for more come next Thursday!

Transfer Post: Getting The Ball Rolling

The General and I attended an adoption 101 seminar in Richmond in June. We wanted to learn about the different types of adoption and hopefully meet some other people that were in the same boat as us.

It was a really great seminar, sponsored by RESOLVE, a national infertility resource center. We met other couples, social workers, an attorney, etc. and got tons of information and were able to make some decisions about how to proceed.

Ultimately, we've decided on a domestic adoption. The tides are turning against the US internationally, for reasons that I can't necessarily say I disagree with. Add in the fact that we're overweight and one of us has a disability, and it seemed like domestic adoption was the way to go. I spoke with a social worker while we were at the seminar, and got her card. I emailed her when we got back about getting the ball rolling when we got back from The Wedding, and we spoke on the phone this morning.

In other words, we're getting started. She's sending us some documentation to get ready and she'll be here to visit us on July 25th. Lara has sent me a copy of her homestudy and some books to read--one of which I devoured already--and it helped us understand what to expect and what to have prepared.

So, there are some things to do before Beth arrives.

The main one is to totally and completely gut the bunny room. TomTom on his own is a very clean rabbit. He's litter trained for peeing in a litter box, he keeps his food in his cage, etc. However, at one point, we were housing 5 rabbits in there, and he got a little territorial. And before I had the bunnies trained, they laid waste to the room. The carpet needs to be torn up. The walls need a good scrubbing. We need new flooring and to touch up the trim and closet doors.

We're starting this weekend.

If anyone out there has any experience installing laminate flooring or is interested in helping with painting, I'd love to hear from you :-) I will happily offer you compensation in the form of pizza and beer. You can drop me an email at s u s a n k ( a t ) m k o s i o r ( d o t ) c o m.

I am excited and terrified... But after 6 years of uncertainty, it feels so good to take a step forward.

I don't think I have it within me to start another new blog, so this blog will be your chief source of information for the latest. And thank you so much to all who have lent their ears, tissues, and support over the past 3 months. It has really meant the world to me.