Here We Go!

After multiple attempts and several hang ups, we were finally able to send out our applications for Wyoming Children's Society and Holt. It was an overwhelming and daunting task, but we made it! We couldn't believe the amount of information that had to be collected and written down to begin this process. The pile of paperwork was quite large and we often double and triple checked everything to make sure that we had it all.

For Wyoming Children's Society, the agency that we will be working with to complete our homestudy, we had to complete and gather:
*The application, which included our personal and financial information, the information for our five references, our agreement to their policies and finances, and our explanation of why we want to adopt.
*A current medical exam and TB test, then signed and sealed by our physician.
*A copy of our marriage license.
*A copy of our last years taxes.
*Photos of our family and our home.
*Our autobiographies which needed to discuss: our childhood, our educational history, our courtship and marriage history, our employment, our interests, and again why we want to adopt (This was probably the most overwhelming part).

For Holt International, the agency that we will be working with to complete the remainder of the paperwork to adopt from Ethiopia, we had to complete and gather:
*The application, which again included our personal and financial information, and our explanation of why we want to adopt.
*The agreement to their policies, signed and notarized.
*A copy of our last three years of taxes.
*Photos of our family and home.

Micah photocopied all of the information and then sent it out in the mail, and we couldn't have been more excited! We breathed a little deeper and felt a little lighter. We had a conversation about how we are really ready for this to happen and excited to be moving a little further along in the process. There is definitely anticipation as we wait for a response from both agencies. Once our applications are approved we will then complete our background check and fingerprinting. After that we will have to wait for our references to complete their letters of recommendation before we start the homestudy process.

We are very excited to begin this process and know that despite the moments of being overwhelmed, it will all be worth it.