Hi friends, family, and future baby,
How are things going with your adoption? This is the most common question we get. We appreciate it! It shows you’re interested, you care, and you want to show support. Our responses probably don’t reveal how much we value the question.
The short answer is a shrug and “We’re waiting.” The word “waiting” has a nuanced meaning in the adoption world, made more confusing due to the worldwide pause that was Covid. Significant events happen, but it doesn’t change our status as “waiting”.
This is a more specific timeline of events. I may write future blog posts to explain some of these further later on.
March 4, 2021 We said no for the first time. We were asked if we wanted to be presented to a family who was making a plan fir a baby boy born on Katrina’s birthday. Saying no was incredibly hard, but the baby had more medical issues than we felt equipped for. We decided to step aside for any families that felt called to him. We did ask to be contacted if no one else stepped forward.
February 14, 2021 Some of our Home Study documents had already expired from last year and needed to be renewed. This included a dramatic chasing of fingerprints and historic mail delays.
December 28, 2020 After some confusion, our online profile goes live.
October 21, 2020 We are officially a Waiting Family!
October 20, 2020 We submitted our final Profile Key.
September 12, 2020 We filmed our video (after a harrowing morning run for Katrina involving someone intentionally pooping on the trail).
September 11, 2020 We submitted our profile book for approval.
August 19, 2020 As we’re leaving to drive to Delaware to film. the video that is shown to interested families, we get a call that the videographer was in an accident and the shoot had to be canceled. (He was ok, just needed to take care of the situation at hand.)
August 10, 2020 We received and approved the draft of our Home Study
July 21, 2020 After a four month delay due to Covid, our Home Visit was completed! Immediately after, Katrina left to drop-off a check for the next phase at the agency and got a flat tire.
March 18, 2020 We sent the final Home Study documents to the agency. (These included: Liabilities Paperwork, Assets Paperwork, Biographical Statements, Transracial Adoption Reflections, Insurance Documents, Background Checks, Corporal Punishment, Guardianship, Medical Forms, Diplomas, References. I definitely forgot some.)
Fall of 2019/Winter of 2020 We meet with our social worker a number of times as part of a”Home Study”/Assessment process. We complete a set of mandatory courses that include Infant Care, Transracial Adoption, Prenatal Drug and Alcohol Exposure, creating a Profile and Key, and Adoption Education.
September 24, 2019 Our first meeting with our wonderful Social Worker, Katie.
September 12, 2019 We submitted our application to work with Adoptions from the Heart.
Summer 2019 We tell our families about our plan. We eventually choose Domestic Infant Adoption and begin researching agencies.
Spring 2019 We decide to grow our family through adoption and begin researching what that means.
Thank you for your consistent and patient encouragement over the past year and a half.
With love,
Katrina
Waiting 