Adoption Update: Moving Beyond Paperwork

Last adoption (April 2010) -- showering our social worker with flower bouquets to thank her for completing our home study

Today we took an important step forward in our adoption. Our home study is now underway!

This afternoon our social worker, Janette, made the first of three visits. In past adoptions, the home visits have left us anxious as they approached. This time, however, it just felt as though we greeting an old friend at the door when Janette arrived. She was our home study social worker when we adopted Daria, Alexander and Oksana. The photo above was taken on the day we all celebrated the completion of the home study, a big milestone in any adoption. Our nine children (at the time) had each picked out a flower bouquet for Janette. Janette is happy-hearted, kind and generous with her time. She is a real favorite with our kids, probably because she speaks to them as though they're adults and yet hugs them like a beloved aunt.

Janette is also the social worker responsible for doing the post placement reports for our most recent adoption and has visited us twice in that role since the trio became members of the family in November 2010.

After we've completed our paperwork, we'll submit it to Janette. She then uses that information, as well as the impressions she's gathered in the three visits and turns that into a report that's about eight pages long. The homestudy's purpose is to verify for the Russian judge that a qualified professional believes us to be safe and capable parents, ready to add more children to the family.

Janette is ready to move forward at as quick a pace as the combination of our schedules will allow so that we can get those four precious children out of their orphange and into a family. Thus, our next visit is Monday, May 21.

We thank God that we're already this deep into the process!