Happy Monday everyone! Hope you are all having a great start to the week so far! Today, Russell called our case worker to inquire as to the status of the adoption, and we got some great news! One of her colleagues is mailing us paperwork on children that need to be adopted. Once we get the paperwork, we can choose a child we are interested in adopting and will go forward with meeting the child and pursuing adoption.
We will be sure to update you all when we receive the paperwork. We are so excited!!! Finally getting closer!!
Showing posts with label paperwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paperwork. Show all posts
Monday, April 23, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
2011-a look back
Hello! No new child news yet, but I thought I would take this time to reflect back on our year. It has been an eventful year, full of ups and downs. Here is a (brief) list of things I consider important that happened to us this year.
January-I traveled to New Jersey/New York with my Mom to help her with arrangements for my Uncle's funeral. He was my Mom's only brother and they were very close. It was difficult, not only to see everything, but it was hard to watch my Mom get upset knowing there was nothing I could do to help. The positive side was that I got to meet alot of my New York family that I didn't know so that was great. I got to meet my Great Aunt who is one of the most wonderful women on this planet. She is just a terrific lady who, at 81 years old, is more feisty than I am at times!
February-We officially begin the adoption process by attending orientation at the local DFCS office. We were so excited that we could not hold in our news and we began telling family and friends our good news. This is when we officially became "paper pregnant". Also, Russell began his new job!
March/April-Slowly begin paperwork, first home study completed. On April 20, our new niece Kylie was born! On April 25, our baby Sunny turned 8!
May-We unexpectedly lose Russell's mother on May 20. This was definitely, by far, the most difficult and saddest event of the year for both of us. It is extremely heartbreaking knowing that our child will never get to know either of their paternal grandparents. However, Russell's mother knew about and supported our adoption very much. She was one of our biggest cheerleaders. I am grateful that my parents have been supportive of both Russell and I through this ordeal.
June-Taryn's very busy summer reading program at work. Parenting classes start at the end of June. We meet some wonderful couples and single people who we hope, for their sake, are farther along in the process than we are. We hope that they have not had to deal with as much loss of paperwork and miscommunication as we have! During the classes, we received over 100 pages of paperwork to fill out.
July-Complete our 100+ page paperwork "Bible" for the adoption. Our first great nephew, Aiden, is born! Taryn breathes a sigh of relief as the summer reading program is over....until next year. :)
August-Nothing exciting happens because our paperwork was stuck under someone's desk for a month!! Talk about miscommunication...
September-Taryn turns the Big "3-0". Ouch! More miscommunication and paperwork from the case workers.... We begin going back to church and are enjoying the services, pastor, and meeting new people.
October-All paperwork is completed. Home study #2 is scheduled for November 1! Russell and I celebrated 8 wonderful years of marriage on the 11th.
November-Home studies #2 and #3 completed and passed with flying colors!
December-Case worker says we are in the middle of the approval process and everything is going as planned.
So what does 2012 hold in store for us? I'm not sure, but I hope that, by this time next year, I will posting about the cute things our child does or says, and hopefully asking advice from other parents!
Russell and I hope each and every one of you have a happy and safe New Year's holiday!
-Taryn
January-I traveled to New Jersey/New York with my Mom to help her with arrangements for my Uncle's funeral. He was my Mom's only brother and they were very close. It was difficult, not only to see everything, but it was hard to watch my Mom get upset knowing there was nothing I could do to help. The positive side was that I got to meet alot of my New York family that I didn't know so that was great. I got to meet my Great Aunt who is one of the most wonderful women on this planet. She is just a terrific lady who, at 81 years old, is more feisty than I am at times!
February-We officially begin the adoption process by attending orientation at the local DFCS office. We were so excited that we could not hold in our news and we began telling family and friends our good news. This is when we officially became "paper pregnant". Also, Russell began his new job!
March/April-Slowly begin paperwork, first home study completed. On April 20, our new niece Kylie was born! On April 25, our baby Sunny turned 8!
May-We unexpectedly lose Russell's mother on May 20. This was definitely, by far, the most difficult and saddest event of the year for both of us. It is extremely heartbreaking knowing that our child will never get to know either of their paternal grandparents. However, Russell's mother knew about and supported our adoption very much. She was one of our biggest cheerleaders. I am grateful that my parents have been supportive of both Russell and I through this ordeal.
June-Taryn's very busy summer reading program at work. Parenting classes start at the end of June. We meet some wonderful couples and single people who we hope, for their sake, are farther along in the process than we are. We hope that they have not had to deal with as much loss of paperwork and miscommunication as we have! During the classes, we received over 100 pages of paperwork to fill out.
July-Complete our 100+ page paperwork "Bible" for the adoption. Our first great nephew, Aiden, is born! Taryn breathes a sigh of relief as the summer reading program is over....until next year. :)
August-Nothing exciting happens because our paperwork was stuck under someone's desk for a month!! Talk about miscommunication...
September-Taryn turns the Big "3-0". Ouch! More miscommunication and paperwork from the case workers.... We begin going back to church and are enjoying the services, pastor, and meeting new people.
October-All paperwork is completed. Home study #2 is scheduled for November 1! Russell and I celebrated 8 wonderful years of marriage on the 11th.
November-Home studies #2 and #3 completed and passed with flying colors!
December-Case worker says we are in the middle of the approval process and everything is going as planned.
So what does 2012 hold in store for us? I'm not sure, but I hope that, by this time next year, I will posting about the cute things our child does or says, and hopefully asking advice from other parents!
Russell and I hope each and every one of you have a happy and safe New Year's holiday!
-Taryn
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Hoping and waiting...
...And waiting some more. This morning, Russell called the case worker to find out what's going on since we hadn't heard from them lately. We mailed the remaining paperwork 2 weeks ago. Supposedly, we are going to get a call from the agency that does the home study this week. If it happens, we will be so excited!! I do hope this is going to happen this week. Our case worker told us to call her next Tuesday if we don't hear from the agency by then. Until then, we are just hoping and waiting....
Friday, September 9, 2011
What's going on?
Yeah...you're all asking me what's going on with the process. Until a week ago, it was absolutely nothing. Last week, I was beginning to get worried because I hadn't heard anything from our case worker in over a month. So Russell called our case worker last Wednesday and found out that our paperwork had been sitting on a person's desk in Thomasville for A MONTH!!! COLLECTING DUST!!! (As you can see, I'm pretty upset about it.)
We then found out that our paperwork was FINALLY transferred to this woman in Thomasville's boss in Albany for her staff to review. She told us that her aides were reviewing the paperwork, and that they would get back with us in 1-2 weeks.
Well, we received a letter last night from the DFCS office in Albany. It was pretty thick so we were excited. In it was a letter stating they need another copy of our driver's licenses and auto insurance cards. OK-no big deal. Also, they wanted us to fill out the enclosed paperwork. When we started looking through it, it just didn't seem right. There were sheets on physicals that needed to be done on our own children. Considering we don't have children, we were concerned. As we were looking at the paperwork they sent, we received someone else's paperwork!! Of course, it wasn't everything, but there were 6 pages of someone else's paperwork!! And none of the forms we needed to fill out were in the envelope.
This morning, Russell called our case worker to find out what was going on. The person from Thomasville drove up to Albany to find out personally what had happened. The person who was responsible for sending us the paperwork blamed it on her assistants. That's ridiculous, because she should have made sure the correct paperwork was going out to the right people. They called Russell around 11 a.m. and explained that we did not need to fill out any of the paperwork that they sent us (Duh!) and that they sent us the correct paperwork on Wednesday. We are seriously doubting that statement. We are giving them until Saturday to receive the paperwork, and if we still do not receive anything, we are taking action on Monday.
If they send us the correct paperwork, we are planning to fill it out and send it back to them on Monday. The case workers have told us that we should hear from the company that does the home study within 1-2 weeks of their receiving our paperwork. If I do not hear from that company, we will be calling in exactly 2 weeks.
We are so upset over everything that has happened lately, but are still optimistic and anxious to meet our child. This will all be worth it in the end.
We then found out that our paperwork was FINALLY transferred to this woman in Thomasville's boss in Albany for her staff to review. She told us that her aides were reviewing the paperwork, and that they would get back with us in 1-2 weeks.
Well, we received a letter last night from the DFCS office in Albany. It was pretty thick so we were excited. In it was a letter stating they need another copy of our driver's licenses and auto insurance cards. OK-no big deal. Also, they wanted us to fill out the enclosed paperwork. When we started looking through it, it just didn't seem right. There were sheets on physicals that needed to be done on our own children. Considering we don't have children, we were concerned. As we were looking at the paperwork they sent, we received someone else's paperwork!! Of course, it wasn't everything, but there were 6 pages of someone else's paperwork!! And none of the forms we needed to fill out were in the envelope.
This morning, Russell called our case worker to find out what was going on. The person from Thomasville drove up to Albany to find out personally what had happened. The person who was responsible for sending us the paperwork blamed it on her assistants. That's ridiculous, because she should have made sure the correct paperwork was going out to the right people. They called Russell around 11 a.m. and explained that we did not need to fill out any of the paperwork that they sent us (Duh!) and that they sent us the correct paperwork on Wednesday. We are seriously doubting that statement. We are giving them until Saturday to receive the paperwork, and if we still do not receive anything, we are taking action on Monday.
If they send us the correct paperwork, we are planning to fill it out and send it back to them on Monday. The case workers have told us that we should hear from the company that does the home study within 1-2 weeks of their receiving our paperwork. If I do not hear from that company, we will be calling in exactly 2 weeks.
We are so upset over everything that has happened lately, but are still optimistic and anxious to meet our child. This will all be worth it in the end.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Our paperwork is done!
Hello everyone! We finally turned our paperwork in, so we are one step closer to getting our child. We have referred to it as our 133 page Bible, lol. On Thursday, our case worker called and said she would be in her office whenever we wanted to turn it in. So I went at 4:00 and spent an hour going over all of the paperwork to make sure we had everything.
So what happens now? We have to call the head of Resource Development, who is the second person to look over the paperwork to make sure everything is in there, on Wednesday to confirm she received the paperwork. She is located in Thomasville, which for those of you who are unfamiliar with south Georgia geography, is about 45 minutes-1 hour away from Bainbridge. Once we confirm that this person has received our paperwork, she calls the vendor who will complete our home study. Then, that vendor will call us to set up an appointment for the first home study. We will have to have 2 home studies. Both home studies must be completed within 30 days of each other. After the home studies are complete, we go for approval and then the fun stuff begins!!
On another note, Russell spoke to his oldest brother today and told him our news. They haven't always had the best relationship, but he was so excited for us. I can't express how uplifting it was for us to have the support of Russell's oldest brother and his wife.
Overall, everything on the adoption front is looking up!!
So what happens now? We have to call the head of Resource Development, who is the second person to look over the paperwork to make sure everything is in there, on Wednesday to confirm she received the paperwork. She is located in Thomasville, which for those of you who are unfamiliar with south Georgia geography, is about 45 minutes-1 hour away from Bainbridge. Once we confirm that this person has received our paperwork, she calls the vendor who will complete our home study. Then, that vendor will call us to set up an appointment for the first home study. We will have to have 2 home studies. Both home studies must be completed within 30 days of each other. After the home studies are complete, we go for approval and then the fun stuff begins!!
On another note, Russell spoke to his oldest brother today and told him our news. They haven't always had the best relationship, but he was so excited for us. I can't express how uplifting it was for us to have the support of Russell's oldest brother and his wife.
Overall, everything on the adoption front is looking up!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Our Life Story...
What an interesting past few weeks it has been. Russ and I have been consumed with filling out our adoption paperwork and getting everything we need done in order to move on to the next step in the process. We have had to fill out about 100 pages of questionnaires, dealing with every aspect of our lives you can imagine. I will share just a few questions with you that we have had to answer:
On top of that, we FINALLY got our Georgia driver's licenses last week! Most of our records and tests that we have needed to get done are finished. Our goal is to have the last bit of paperwork ready by Monday so we can turn it in and move closer towards getting our child.
- What was your childhood like?
- What were your pre-teen years like?
- What were your teenage years like?
- Describe your relationship with your parents as a child, and now as an adult.
- Describe your relationship with your siblings as a child, and now as an adult.
- What role does each person play in your family relationship?
- Please give us a physical description and layout of your home, including sleeping arrangements.
On top of that, we FINALLY got our Georgia driver's licenses last week! Most of our records and tests that we have needed to get done are finished. Our goal is to have the last bit of paperwork ready by Monday so we can turn it in and move closer towards getting our child.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Timeline
So many of you have been asking me what happens next. I'm sorry for taking so long but I've been busy with work and then I've been just plain tired!
During the parenting classes last week, we received a HUGE packet of paperwork that we need to fill out. It's probably about 100 pages worth. Let's just say that it pretty much asks for our life story. We have 60 days to fill it out, but our goal is to get it back to our social worker around July 15. After that, we will have two more home studies which will be much more extensive than the first one. The person conducting the two home studies, I'm told, will ask us alot of questions, and will be similar to some of the questions we are answering in our packet of paperwork.
After the home studies are complete (which should be late August or early September), our packet goes before local, regional, and state approval. Once we are approved by the state (late September, hopefully!), we are then considered a resource family for adoption. Our case worker works with other case workers in the state of Georgia to find a child that matches our needs. Once they find a child, they call us with the information and set up a meeting with the child's foster parent (if they are in a foster home), our case worker, the child's case worker, and the director of the local DFCS to work out pre-placement visits. Pre-placement visits are scheduled times where we get to spend time with the child. These visits start out at just a few hours each to overnight visits.
If everything works out in pre-placement, then the child will come to live with us. During the time the child is living with us, we work with our attorney and the court to make the child legally ours. It takes approximately 6 months for the adoption to be finalized through a judge. During that time, the case worker will make monthly visits to ensure everything is going well. If things do not work out in pre-placement visits, then we will go back to the drawing board as a resource family for adoption. Of course, this is an extremely quick version of the entire process. I would probably bore most of you with all the gritty details.
My hope is that we will at least be in pre-placement visits with our future child by Christmas. Wouldn't that be the best Christmas gift of all for us?
During the parenting classes last week, we received a HUGE packet of paperwork that we need to fill out. It's probably about 100 pages worth. Let's just say that it pretty much asks for our life story. We have 60 days to fill it out, but our goal is to get it back to our social worker around July 15. After that, we will have two more home studies which will be much more extensive than the first one. The person conducting the two home studies, I'm told, will ask us alot of questions, and will be similar to some of the questions we are answering in our packet of paperwork.
After the home studies are complete (which should be late August or early September), our packet goes before local, regional, and state approval. Once we are approved by the state (late September, hopefully!), we are then considered a resource family for adoption. Our case worker works with other case workers in the state of Georgia to find a child that matches our needs. Once they find a child, they call us with the information and set up a meeting with the child's foster parent (if they are in a foster home), our case worker, the child's case worker, and the director of the local DFCS to work out pre-placement visits. Pre-placement visits are scheduled times where we get to spend time with the child. These visits start out at just a few hours each to overnight visits.
If everything works out in pre-placement, then the child will come to live with us. During the time the child is living with us, we work with our attorney and the court to make the child legally ours. It takes approximately 6 months for the adoption to be finalized through a judge. During that time, the case worker will make monthly visits to ensure everything is going well. If things do not work out in pre-placement visits, then we will go back to the drawing board as a resource family for adoption. Of course, this is an extremely quick version of the entire process. I would probably bore most of you with all the gritty details.
My hope is that we will at least be in pre-placement visits with our future child by Christmas. Wouldn't that be the best Christmas gift of all for us?
Friday, May 13, 2011
Update!
Yesterday, we received a call from our social worker/resource coordinator regarding the timetable for our adoption. The next step is parenting classes in June; however, they have moved them to July due to budget cuts. I certainly hope this does not put a major delay in the date we will be able to get the child. I can't wait for this fall-it's going to be so exciting!
Also, we have our drug screening scheduled for May 31st in the afternoon. That is the last major test we have to do. We still have to get some other paperwork finished, but it should be pretty easy.
Oh yeah I finally announced our adoption on Facebook! It was great to see so many positive comments and likes from family and friends.
Until next time...
Also, we have our drug screening scheduled for May 31st in the afternoon. That is the last major test we have to do. We still have to get some other paperwork finished, but it should be pretty easy.
Oh yeah I finally announced our adoption on Facebook! It was great to see so many positive comments and likes from family and friends.
Until next time...
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunny's Vaccinations
On Friday, we took our darling Sunny (our 7-year old miniature pinscher) to the vet to get her vaccinations. She acts like she usually does at the vet! When I got her out of the truck, she jumped back in to the truck! Then, when I picked her up, I had to carry her into the vet's office because she would not walk in there on the leash. Keep in mind, she only weighs 11 pounds!! When we finally made it inside, she kept staring at the door because she couldn't wait to get out of there. The receptionist called her "Gretchen", which is extremely funny because that is my mother-in-law's dog's name! Gretchen is also a miniature pinscher, btw. We finally got back to the examination room, where I put a muzzle on her. Every time we go, she tries to bite the vet, so this is why she needs the muzzle. After all of the painful shots and nail trims were completed, I was able to take the muzzle off and she started barking at the vet and the techs! But, the important thing is, the vet said Sunny is doing great and I got her vaccination certificate! Yeah! One thing to cross off the list!
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