Second/Last Homestudy Visit

Our homestudy is complete! Our wonderful homestudy case worker came over on Monday morning for our final homestudy visit. She will have it written up in about a week and then it gets passed around for review and approval before we will get a copy. Once we get a copy and approve it, it will be translated to Russian and on to the powers that be!
We still have a long road ahead, but it is a GREAT feeling to have another thing checked off our list!
Thank you again to everyone who has been amazing support to us, it means more to us than you will ever know! :)

Homestudy Visit #1 completed....1 more to go!

We had our first homestudy visit today! She was amazing and made us feel very comfortable. They ask alot of very personal questions, all for very good reasons, but its definitely nice to share your background and private information with someone who makes you feel comfortable. We will have our second visit on Monday and then..we wait. :)

Homestudy Scheduled!!!

We have our homestudy scheduled for Tuesday morning! We are sooo excited to meet our social worker and continue this journey! Here is an explanation of what a homestudy is and what we can expect:

The adoption home study is a detailed written report compiled and prepared by a social worker. Through a series of visits and interviews the social worker can get a complete picture of who you are and what life is like in your family. The adoption home study is a part of the decision making process for both the prospective family and the workers. The adoption home study can include the following pieces of information.

*Autobiography/Family Background
*Neighborhood/Schools
*Physical Health
*Financial Statements
*Criminal Clearances
*References

Это не забава = THIS SUCKS!

Most of you know that J.D. has ...well what some would say "a sick passion" for WWII and Civil War history....and by "some people" I mean ME! Our bookshelves look like the 1940's threw up more useless knowledge than could possibly be written. Not saying that I dont think history is important because I absolutely do....But when I have to make him promise me he will leave his hands in his pockets anytime we walk into a Barnes and Noble, because I know that he will end up buying yet ANOTHER WWII book which he mostly likely already has....you get my point.
I have never had any strong passion for any specific era or region when it comes to American or World History. And honestly, I wish I knew more and had paid attention in high school and college. The international adoption process has opened our eyes to so many other countries, cultures, languages, customs, etc that we never would have been exposed to otherwise. We are so eager to learn about our childs country and its history.
We have started to TRY to learn Russian....but It's hard!! LOL for those of you who have tried to learn a language as an adult, especially a difficult one, It is NOT fun! In all honesty, we are having a good time learning the language...mostly making fun of each other when we completely mess up the pronunciation of the word and it sounds like we are choking or hyperventilating! We'll keep you updated on how its going!
pa-kAh (goodbye!)

We had a couple of requests for a few more wedding pics, so here are some of our favorites. We hope to have some more adoption news for you next week!