We did submit our initial application, and now, five months later, we are ALMOST CERTIFIED! What?! It seems almost surreal. We're doing this! We're almost done! We're....going to have more kids in the house??!
Our initial packet of information arrived in the mail from Koinonia and we excitedly jumped in. Names, addresses, general information about us, our families, our kids. No problem. A checklist of things to complete like photocopies of our marriage certificate and driver's licenses, vehicle registrations, trainings to complete, DMV driver's records to aquire, employment income verification, and the list goes on. It really wasn't daunting.
We plowed into our To-Do list with gusto. Doctor appointments for physicals - which were mostly listening to heart, lungs, blood pressure, weight, height, and a tb test.
Then the trainings began. Most of these were on a Tuesday night or all-day Saturdays. There weren't too many and between those and the CPR training, we made it to all of them, meeting two wonderful families doing the exact same things as us along the way. It was difficult to find someone willing to watch our boys for that length of time at times, but our dearest friends would all work together and pull through for us every time.
A second packet came along requiring more information on our extended families and relationships with them. None of the packets or applications took much time. A third and final packet was more signing your understanding of the process and what is required of you.
The inspections for the home were not nearly as horrible as I had worked myself up to believe they would be. No, they did not scrounge around through every single cabinet in the home. (I may have had a friend come over and completely organize my linens closet - but this was very much unnecessary.) They aren't inspecting with white gloves. They aren't looking to hope to find something. They are inspecting to be sure it's a safe environment for a child to live. We had to fix the usual...install locks on cabinets for knives and meds, make sure our trash can had a lid because it sits in the pantry, and a few other things that were small.
After all of these were complete, we began our home study...the interviews. I stressed about those just as much as someone looking at my house. And the stress was also unnecessary. The social worker that came asked us questions together about us as a couple, how we operate as a family, and then asked us individual questions based on the previous applications we had submitted. She asked the boys questions, but we were able to stay with them during the interview.
I would say there was not one part of this whole process so far that was unbearable, or too intrusive, or too difficult. Yes, there were challenges, but we tend to be more of open books.
So far, so good! Our final home study visit to have us review the Home Study packet is in a week. Two more employees of Koinonia will review it, which usually takes a couple of weeks, and then we will be officially certified! And accepting placements!
Oh....and did I mention we are considering sibling sets? :)
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