Mary and I have been approved for adoption!

Our adoption home study has been officially approved, and Mary and I are now eligible to adopt a child through the state of Florida’s Department of Children and Families.  Almost exactly one year ago we began the adoption process.  

First we had to take parenting classes.  The classes taught us what to expect of our adopted children and how to mitigate any issues that might arise because of their past experiences.  

Once we graduated from the class we were assigned a caseworker and our home study began.  There are many different pieces that come together to make a complete home study.  The caseworker visited our house several times to make sure that it was suitable for children.  We had to have space for a child to sleep and play, for example.  During the visits our caseworker interviewed us about our past, our family and our marriage.   We had to fill out a bunch of paperwork and we asked several friends to fill out reference forms for us.  We also had to get fingerprinted and have background checks run on everyone who lives in the house.  

Because Sara lives with us, she had to get fingerprinted and have a background check, as well.  About two months after we had all submitted our fingerprints, Sara’s came back unreadable.  Her fingerprints are very difficult to record; she spent over an hour at the fingerprinting location just trying to get a good enough print to send off.  Even still, she had to go back and do it all again.  Because of her work and school schedule Sara couldn’t go back right away.  By the time Sara had her fingerprints retaken Mary was in her last semester of law school and we had to delay our final home study interview.  

Because of these delays, it took us a year to get approved for adoption.   Now that we are approved, we have begun the next stage of the adoption process, which is waiting to get matched with a child (or two).

We can’t even express how happy we are right now. Our caseworker told us that it normally takes about a year for a family to find the right child. Even though it might take a long time to get matched, we know the wait is worth it.