Almost there...

Well, thankfully, we have some news to pass on! We hadn't heard from our worker in several weeks, so Derrick called her yesterday. When she returned the call today, she had some great news for us! First of all, she has approved our video-all we need to do now is make four copies to hand in. This is really good news because making a video about yourself is really not very fun! Second, she informed us that the state of Illinois has "cleared" us...meaning, we are not criminals and seem to be well adjusted enough to be considered parents! We will receive our certificate in the mail saying that we are approved foster parents which gives us what we need to adopt.

The only thing that it seems we are waiting on is one reference to be mailed in. The problem is that we don't know who didn't send it in, or if someone's was lost in the mail. Now we begin the process of talking to all of the people that we had references sent to in order to discover which one is missing. In the meantime, our worker is sending a duplicate copy of the blank form to everyone. We are unable to know the name of the missing reference for "confidentiality reasons." I know, so weird...it is not like we are asking to read them or anything!

Hopefully, we are only weeks away from being put into the pile of approved adoptive families...then the next wait begins! Thank you all for your prayers as we continue this process. I talked with an adoptive family this last weekend, and she said that "at least you know that all this working and waiting results in an adoption." That is comforting...in the end, we will be able to be the proud parents of some little boy or girl!

Corey

Waiting...

Well-we continue to wait on our adoption worker to hear how she likes the video we made for potential birth parents. These past two weeks have been somewhat difficult. The school that I worked at for four years here, started back yesterday. It was very strange not getting up and going yesterday. I know that I've done the right thing by walking away and that God will bless my obedience, but it still hard. On the first day back though, Derrick and I drove to St. Louis to see a Cardinals game. We have had the tickets for awhile, but we took the opportunity to use them and celebrate Derrick's birthday at the same time! It was a treat and the Cardinals won-definitely a plus!

Last year, when the movie "Fireproof" came out, Derrick and I went to see it in the theater. The following song, from the movie, is by John Waller and speaks to how I am feeling now and how I am sure to feel many times during this process! It really is a beautiful song!

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Home Study is complete!

Derrick and I met with our worker this afternoon and were handed a certificate which shows that we are finished with our Home Study! We have a couple more things to do paperwork wise, and are waiting on approval of our video and birth parent letter. Thanks for all who prayed!

Blessings! Corey

The Journey Begins

What Derrick and I have come to learn in the last several months is that adoption is a journey. Sometimes it seems as if things are moving quickly, and then we have an unexpected delay, a bump along the road! We are so thankful for all of the friends and family God has surrounded us with, especially as we take the careful steps towards completing our adoption. Because of this, we want to keep you updated on how things are moving (or not moving) in the adoption process.

At the end of June, our adoption worker came and visited our home. At the end of that visit, she informed us that she was sending our paperwork to the state and it would take 1-3 months for us to be cleared and issued our Foster Care License. Our job between that meeting in June and tomorrow's meeting, was to finish up any extra paperwork, finish our profile and have a rough copy of our video.

So, Derrick sits at his computer now, and has for many hours, working on burning our video to a DVD. This video is what will be given to prospective birth parents as they make a decision on which family to go with. Also given to the prospective birth parents is our profile. This is a 'scrapbook' which shows the couple who Derrick and I are and what our life is like.

Hopefully tomorrow, we will have an approved video and profile and be finished with all of our paperwork. Then, we wait...on approval from the state and then from our agency.

Thank you again for your prayers! Derrick and Corey