Yesterday, we had our very last meeting with our trainer from Grandfather Home. The only thing we lacked was my high school diploma (the state won't accept college diplomas as proof of education!), so she took that. She hasn't received our fingerprinting info but she expects to any day. We had to read over everything she had compiled on us, and I have to say, it was interesting to see our whole lives boiled down to 20 pages of excerpts. And provided everything goes as planned, she will send in our licensing packet to Raleigh next Wednesday, October 1.
Because of staffing issues at the state level, we can reasonably expect an 8-week turnaround time. So, if our paperwork goes in October 1, it's safe to estimate we will be licensed by December 1. Obviously, this is much later than we had anticipated or hoped for when we started this journey. BUT. I will be leaving the class I teach during the mornings, and my last day is December 11. So we are choosing to look at this as best for the child(ren), even if it's not our preference. This means we will not have to utilize daycare at all. Even if we get a call that very day (December 1, say), either Jake can take off work until December 11, or my mom can come up, or "worst" case scenario, I could leave my job early. I informed the school of our decision in June, hoping they would find my replacement, and they have! A wonderful lady with tons of experience is currently my "assistant", but when I leave, she will be teaching the class. So it wouldn't be a big deal if I left a few days early.
When I asked if we would have a placement by Christmas, our trainer responded with a "probably"...but she warned us not to accept a placement just because we want a child for Christmas. She said if we aren't sure the child or children would be a good fit, "we want a child by Christmas" should not be the deciding factor. It will not be unicorns and rainbows. The adjustment period will be hard, and likely not over before Christmas, so it won't be Norman Rockwell by any means.
So we are praying for patience, and encouragement, and wisdom to know what to say to the first call we get. We are praying everything goes through quickly and that a nearly ideal placement will come our way ASAP. And in the meantime, I am determined to be a productive member of society and not allow myself to just be sad and waiting around, because who knows when a child will come our way. We are excited to see how God uses us and our time in the coming weeks, months, and years. Thank you again for your continued support and encouragement! It means the world to us :)
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
hurry up and wait
Ok, so this is not the military. But it sure feels like we have been doing a lot of rushing then waiting. So here's another little update for ya.
The agency we are going through, Grandfather Home for Children, is in the middle of merging with Barium Springs. Jake and I are completely done with everything on our end. But until the merger is complete, we can't sign off on our final paperwork and send it in to the state. We are currently hoping to sign everything next week, and have our licensing paperwork sent to Raleigh on October 1. From what I understand, there is about a 30 day turnaround time for us to actually receive our official license in the mail. So that puts us at October 31ish.
As soon as we are licensed, we can get a call at any time. However. We do know we will be doing respite care for some little girls who have foster parents - we will just be providing their foster parents with a little break for an afternoon or a weekend or whatever. That will give us a little practice before we have a child or children placed in our home. So, I'm guessing within a week or two after we get our license, we will watch those girls maybe a couple of times, and within a week or two after that (approximately, of course - one can't plan these things), we will get a placement.
As I've mentioned before, I would have loved to have had a placement by Jake's 30th birthday, but we knew from the get-go that would be basically impossible. I totally thought for sure we would have a placement by my birthday in late October (which will mark two years that we've been trying to conceive - no longer "about a year", but actual "years"). We won't even be licensed by then. I would now love to have a placement by Thanksgiving, but that's cutting it awfully close. So I'm really, really hoping we have one by Christmas. We are honestly getting a little discouraged by all of this. The thought of a Christmas without a child's excitement is pretty sad. Not in general, but for us who have been wanting one, and now actively preparing for one (or more). So, it would be great if you would join us in prayer for that. I feel kind of silly asking that; it seems so trivial. But at this point, I'm walking every day by a closed door leading to a room fully prepared and ready for children, and spending time in my sunroom-turned-part-playroom where no kids have touched the toys and books on the shelves. So, yeah, I've been in a funk lately.
Anyway. Just wanted to keep everyone in the loop since it's apparently been two months since I last posted. I will definitely let you know when things are moving forward! Thanks for all the support and prayers and excitement you've shared with us. We so appreciate it :)
The agency we are going through, Grandfather Home for Children, is in the middle of merging with Barium Springs. Jake and I are completely done with everything on our end. But until the merger is complete, we can't sign off on our final paperwork and send it in to the state. We are currently hoping to sign everything next week, and have our licensing paperwork sent to Raleigh on October 1. From what I understand, there is about a 30 day turnaround time for us to actually receive our official license in the mail. So that puts us at October 31ish.
As soon as we are licensed, we can get a call at any time. However. We do know we will be doing respite care for some little girls who have foster parents - we will just be providing their foster parents with a little break for an afternoon or a weekend or whatever. That will give us a little practice before we have a child or children placed in our home. So, I'm guessing within a week or two after we get our license, we will watch those girls maybe a couple of times, and within a week or two after that (approximately, of course - one can't plan these things), we will get a placement.
As I've mentioned before, I would have loved to have had a placement by Jake's 30th birthday, but we knew from the get-go that would be basically impossible. I totally thought for sure we would have a placement by my birthday in late October (which will mark two years that we've been trying to conceive - no longer "about a year", but actual "years"). We won't even be licensed by then. I would now love to have a placement by Thanksgiving, but that's cutting it awfully close. So I'm really, really hoping we have one by Christmas. We are honestly getting a little discouraged by all of this. The thought of a Christmas without a child's excitement is pretty sad. Not in general, but for us who have been wanting one, and now actively preparing for one (or more). So, it would be great if you would join us in prayer for that. I feel kind of silly asking that; it seems so trivial. But at this point, I'm walking every day by a closed door leading to a room fully prepared and ready for children, and spending time in my sunroom-turned-part-playroom where no kids have touched the toys and books on the shelves. So, yeah, I've been in a funk lately.
Anyway. Just wanted to keep everyone in the loop since it's apparently been two months since I last posted. I will definitely let you know when things are moving forward! Thanks for all the support and prayers and excitement you've shared with us. We so appreciate it :)
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