Getting down to the nitty gritty

If you've ever even thought about adoption then you are aware of how intense and thought provoking it can be. It is nothing like getting pregnant, do the deed and bam there it is just put it in the oven and wait til the timer goes off (alright I know that there is more to it than that but its more physical than mental). Over the past few months we have talked a lot about how we want to expand our family. We both agreed that eventually we do want to have another biological child, but more than anything, we NEED to adopt. I say need and not want because to want something means more as though its something that would be nice to have but you'll be fine without it. To us we NEED to adopt because its something that we cannot live without doing. Something that we're willing to give up most anything in order to accomplish. There's just a part of both of us that knows that this is what we're supposed to do next. Everyone keeps telling us that we should wait for "the right time". Well I'm here to tell you that there is NEVER a "right time" to do something as life changing as having another child (whether biologically or through adoption). Life will never stop throwing things in your way and its not about waiting until our lives can accommodate adopting a child, its about knowing that we WILL adapt our life in order to adopt. Its not a matter of can or cannot because there is no cannot in this, its a matter of will and will not and we're here to tell you that no matter what happens we WILL adopt, no matter what sacrifices we have to make in order to do so. Anyways... Brook and I have finally decided on an adoption agency to do our home study. It may seem like an easy choice but once you filter through the mountains of reviews online both good and bad and filter out the unethical, for profit, and deceptive agencies there aren't too many too choose from. After we filtered through we found about 8 that we felt good about using. From there we narrowed it down based on cost(adoption is BEYOND expensive), ease of use, and their policies regarding the adoption of two unrelated children at the same time. After staying up until the wee hours of the morning (its the only time that the agencies are open because of the time difference) we found two agencies that fit all of our criteria and told both of them to email us the information so that we could get started. We waited 24 hours and only one of the agencies actually sent us the paperwork. BAM choice made. If an agency can't even send out the application form to us in a timely manner then we definitely don't want them handing all of our time sensitive important documents. So we've decided that we will be using Adoption Makes Family as our home study provider and we are beyond excited. It finally feels like we can start making some progress and getting this ball rolling. Brook and I will be filling out the paperwork when he gets home from work today and sending in our application with the application fee tomorrow. Once they receive our application they will set us up with an online id and we can start uploading our necessary documents. Just to give you an idea here's a list of what we need in order to start our home study. BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR ADOPTIVE APPLICANTS AND ALL CHILDREN RESIDING WITHIN THE HOME MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE DIVORCE DECREES FOR EITHER ADOPTIVE APPLICANT FOR ALL PREVIOUS MARRIAGES PHYSICIAN'S REPORTS FOR ADOPTIVE APPLICANTS AND ALL OTHER ADULTS AND CHILDREN RESIDING WITHIN THE HOME (ON AGENCY FORM WITH ORIGINAL SIGNATURE). * VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT FOR BOTH ADOPTIVE APPLICANTS (MUST BE ON LETTERHEAD, CONTAIN A SALARY AND AN ORIGINAL SIGNATURE) PAGES ONE AND TWO OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURNS FOR THE TWO PREVIOUS YEARS THREE REFERENCE LETTERS - If you have a child or children in the household attending school, one reference Letter shall be from a teacher, administrator, or counselor employed by the school where the child or children attend. * REPORT OF HOME SANITATION INSPECTION BY THE LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR A SANITARIAN LICENSED IN MARYLAND * REPORT OF A HOME FIRE SAFETY INSPECTION OR A STATEMENT INDICATING THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL NOT COMPLETE THE FIRE SAFETY INSPECTION * AUTHORIZATION TO RELEASE INFORMATION - CHILD ABUSE REGISTRY CLEARANCE FOR ADOPTION APPLICANTS * AUTHORIZATION TO RELEASE INFORMATION - CHILD SUPPORT VERIFICATION FOR ADOPTION APPLICANTS * FINGERPRINT CARDS FOR BOTH CJIS AND FBI MUST HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED WITH PAYMENT FOR PROCESSING OF CRIMINAL CLEARANCES BY ADOPTION APPLICANTS AND ALL OTHER ADULTS RESIDING IN THE HOME (VERIFICATION WILL BE RETURNED TO AFI BY CHIS AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN FINGERPRINTED) * CERTIFIED COPY OF THE DRIVING RECORD FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION FOR THE ADOPTIVE APPLICANTS and a photocopy of your driver’s license DISCLOSURE REGARDING CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS AND/OR PENDING CHARGES FOR ADOPTION APPLICANTS AND ALL ADULTS RESIDING IN THE HOME * IF EITHER ADOPTIVE APPLICANT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PAYMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT, PLEASE PROVIDE A STATEMENT FROM THE COUNTY CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY SUPERVISING YOUR CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS CONFIRMING THAT CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS ARE CURRENT AND THAT THERE IS NO ARREARAGE. * IF AN ADOPTIVE APPLICANT MAINTAINS FIREARMS IN THE HOME, PLEASE PROVIDE PHOTOCOPIES OF THE REGISTRATION AND PERMIT FOR EACH FIREARM. IF AN ADOPTIVE APPLICANT MAINTAINS A PET IN THE HOME, PLEASE PROVIDE PHOTOCOPIES OF LICENSE OR REGISTRATION (IF REQUIRED BY STATE LAW OR LOCAL ORDINANCE) AND PROOF OF RABIES VACCINATION. As you can see there really is alot to this... and this is just for the home study. There is even more paperwork that we have to do for the Dossier. Welp that's enough typing, Brook and I have an application to fill out! :D