And about the inspection...

On Tuesday afternoon, Nana took the girls, and Dan and I waited at the house. The social worker (whose name was also Christie) was young and sweet. She's an alum of APU as well, and we were disappointed to learn she won't be OUR social worker when we are assigned one.

The first hour, she did the house inspection. Although it's not a pass/fail thing, we definitely passed! We had everything in order and she didn't have any concerns whatsoever. Woo hoo! This is where I insert a huge shout out to my hubby for all the work he did on the house, to Nana and Papa for taking the kids that day, and to our small group who helped us prepare the last minute stuff this past weekend. Whew. We made it.

After that, we dove into the first interview - which essentially covered Dan and I's entire story together (from when we met, to engagement, through marriage, jobs, ministry, family, decision making and parenting...) - and it took 3 more hours! She took notes the entire time, and will eventually write a 22-page paper on our story and history. Crazy!

I do have to stop for a moment and give the Lord some glory here. When Dan and I have a chance to share our history with others, it never ceases to amaze us how blessed we are, how Jesus is the only reason we have a story, and how it is only with a firm understanding of His grace can we have a "healthy" relationship. Isn't grace a beautiful thing? Maybe because it's been 12 years of practicing, maybe with age comes wisdom, but it is so evident to us that the health of our marriage entirely depends on the grace, forgiveness, and relentless love of Jesus!

Okay, so to sum up - Tuesday went really well. THANK YOU for your prayers! We felt them! So what now?

There are two more interviews. I have one with her this Tuesday, Dan has his this next Thursday. After that, it is our understanding that we will then be certified and ready for placement! We are also still hopeful we could get placed that following week - the first week of June. :) Although it feels so much like we're "almost there", this is in reality just the first leg of the marathon. Placement is "really" the beginning!

Continued Prayer Requests:
- Chloe had a stomach bug this last week, and although she's better now, we haven't gotten sleep in a week. Would you pray all of us would sleep through the night and be renewed?

- A quick process. Would you pray that even after next Thursday, things would move quickly and we would be placed soon? If we aren't placed by June 1, I will need to come up with a childcare plan for the girls.

- Our family. A smooth transition into our home for everyone, good bonding time this summer, and wisdom on how to parent 4 kids!!

- Those boys. For wherever they are now, for sparing them of heavy trauma, for their little hearts even now to be longing for Jesus' love.

And to end on some adorable:
Today in preschool, Chloe received a few sand toys as a party favor for one of the kids' birthdays. As we are leaving, she says out of the blue, "Mommy, I going to share my sandcastles wif my brudders, okay?" (everyone insert the awww sound...) May her heart still be as willing to share with them when her 'brudders' are actually here!

Thanks, team! We will keep you posted!

Inspection Tuesday!

Hi friends,

So fun to share good news with you...the social worker called late Friday afternoon, and scheduled our inspection for Tuesday afternoon! This is both exciting and nerve wrecking, but we are so thankful it's finally HAPPENING.

One, this is the original timeline we were given back in April - we are thankful for that! Seems like the social worker's email was giving me a very conservative timeline, and it is a direct answered prayer that we might still be placed by June 1!

Two, we are even MORE thankful for our AMAZING small group who came over today to help us clean the house top to bottom with short notice! As I reflect how blessed we are to have these peeps in our lives, I pray you have people like this in your life, too. It is so encouraging to know we have friends who will drop anything and rally for us. :)

Well, that's the big update! Prayer requests:

Would you pray for Tuesday afternoon? Would you pray our house meets every requirement they have? Would you pray our interview goes really well?

There are two items I turned in to Serenity, but the social worker hasn't received yet. Would you pray those papers are found and given to the right person? If they lost them, they are not "easy" papers to reproduce. (Please, oh please don't say you've lost Dan's birth certificate!)

It is my understanding that after Tuesday, there will be two more interviews with the social worker - one with Dan separately, and one with myself. If there aren't any "red flags" coming out of the interviews, we will be certified and placed after that. Would you pray those two interviews would go well too?

I hope to have even better news to report next week! Until then, thanks for walking on the journey with us - happy weekend to you!

Oh the Irony!

So, here it is, Mother's Day.

My post this week is about how it's gonna take WAY longer to be placed than we expected.

I find it ironic how I expected to "be a mom again" by this time, but here I wait on Mother's Day. 

And then I remember all those times people asked me when I was gonna have kids when I wasn't ready to yet. And I remember a few of my friends who so desperately want to be a mom, but for different reasons aren't there yet. And I remember those who have had a rough time with their moms or no mom at all...a tumultuous holiday it can be, for sure. And I can't help but wonder what circumstance our future boys are in with their own mother right now. If this is a rough day for you, know that my heart goes out to you and my prayer is that the Lord would be the source of everything you need today.

So here's the update - I finally got an email from the social worker this week (yay!), but it was to tell us that we are "next in line", and we should start getting our house ready for inspection, which wouldn't be happening until the first week in June at the earliest. From there, it could take 2 to 4 more weeks, "depending on what comes up" (boo).

We were hoping to be placed in early May. That got pushed back to early June. Now we are realistically looking at early July. Two logistical things - one, it doesn't really matter if I take May, June or July off of work. Summer is slow in my office, and as long as I'm back by August, we're all good. BUT two, if we are placed that late, there is little to no guarantee the preschool will have spots still open in the fall. And not having the kids at the same preschool would be, well, rough. Logistics, logistics.

Now I know what you're thinking. "It's all in God's timing, Kristi - He's got this." "It's the system - it the way it is - just go with the flow, and don't have any expectations." "Don't worry, it will all work out." Yes, these responses are all true and appropriate. And I spent the entire morning preparing for worship "letting go and letting God", giving these exact thoughts a firm foundation in my heart.

But I also want to give myself the freedom to be sad this week. I am sad that we have done everything we need to, our packet has been approved, and our house ready, and we have to just sit and wait knowing there are kids out there who could fill those beds tonight. That thought just makes me sad. The system is broken, and it's heartbreaking. And I know without a doubt, this isn't the last time this journey will break my heart or disappoint.

So for now, I will grieve the bummer news of not having the whole summer to bond with the boys. And then I will move on to all the things I have to be thankful for, and trust that the Lord will all work it out in the end. Thanks in advance for walking this journey with us, and for being disappointed with us. We can't wait when you are there for all the highs and excitement too! :)

Would you still pray that the system would move miraculously fast through the inspection and interview process? He's a big God, and I'm sure He just laughs at our timelines! Our prayer would still be to have as much time as possible to bond with the boys and adjust as a family in the summer.

Thanks, friends! Much love to you all!

Continued Confirmation -

Yesterday was the day we were hoping to be the start of placement, but as the day passed like most other Sundays, I found myself swallowing my own advice.

I often come across students who tell me they "can't wait". They can't wait to be done with school, they can't wait to find out if they got the position, they can't wait to be engaged...the list goes on. I remember being in those places and wanting the same things. But my response is always the same -

Everything is a phase. Enjoy right now. It'll be here before you know it.

These words echoed through my head a lot yesterday. And aren't they still true? So today I tried to enjoy that both my girls still fit in my arms and on my lap, and I relished watching Kate take her dishes to the sink without being asked. I tried to change my tone of voice after I told Chloe she was forgiven, so she would really know it was true. And just like He always does, the Lord continues to give me patience and contentment during this extra month of waiting. (No, seriously - it has to be from Him, because I don't really have an ounce of patience in my being! Can anyone relate? HA!)

Cool things still keep happening in the waiting, though. Today I got a message from a high school friend (ain't Facebook the coolest thing sometimes??), and he and his wife are fostering and they are going through the adoption process this week. Let me tell you - standing in show choir next to him in the late nineties, never in a million years did I think we'd be having this conversation in the future! :) But it is so encouraging that the Lord keeps surrounding us with people on this same journey. So, so encouraging!

So the update: We are still waiting for Serenity to call and schedule our home inspection. They have said our inspection will be sometime the week of May 19th, but they will call to schedule.

Thank you for waiting with us, and for continuing to pray for us and the boys! We will keep you posted!