The Home Study

Since August our focus has been on completing our home study. This is the first step in the process and requires all types of paperwork such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, autobiographies (yes, we had to write about ourselves and all of our family members!), letters of references from friends and work, etc. (I have to say you get a mighty big head when you read what people write about you in a letter of reference.) It also requires a fire and safety inspection of the home and meetings with the social worker to ensure we're not off our rockers. (Contrary to popular belief).

Right now we're waiting on Tom's fingerprint clearance to come back and for the social worker to finish doing our study. Once all of the ducks are in the row about 80 different people review the home study to ensure it meets Ohio's requirements as well as the Fed and the Colombian Gov't. Okay - not quite 80 - but it sure seems like it.

The fun news is we received a letter from Johan last week! It was a thank you note that we're guessing he did when he first got back to Colombia while he was still with the Kidsave group. It was a nice surprise.

Johan turned 11 in September. We were able to send him a small package to let him know we were thinking about him. We were advised not to send anything too large since items often go missing in customs - so we kept it to one of those musical cards and some stickers.

We're pretty sure he doesn't know about the adoption yet. I imagine they won't tell him until the time gets closer - just in case something would happen. We do know that he still wants to find a forever family and he had a great time when he was with us this summer.

Another bit of exciting news is that a couple in Dayton - about 20 minutes from here - have decided to adopt Diana & Mauricio - two other Kidsave children that were hosted in the Columbus area this summer. It's been nice sharing the experience of the adoption process with someone else who is going through it at the same time and it will be great for the kids when we get them all home.

One of my biggest worries is how to best help Johan fit into American life but also help him to retain his Colombian heritage. Having other Colombian children nearby will help.

Speaking of which I attended a seminar on Diversity in Adoption last week. It was a panel of 4 couples who had adopted children of another race, multiracial or special needs children. It was interesting listening to everyone's stories and about how they handle different situations that arise due to their interracial family. The subjects that came up are many that I have wondered about - or have been pushed to think about from the Social Worker and adoption agency. It was great to hear the positive outcomes and reinforced the idea that while everyone's situation is different there are many parallels - and the challenges are just hurdles to overcome - definitely not insurmountable.

Carrie