Home Study Ordered!!! whoopi!

I'm ecstatic! If you can get past the bureaucratic sounding of the phrase "home study,"  I'll fill you in on why this morning I'm emotionally connecting to this crocodile in the photo. I've been waiting to say those three words 'home study ordered' since February.  It's a big mile stone for Scott and I, and it took a lot of prays, and some creative budgeting to make it happen.  Thanks everyone for your prayers and support as Scott and I continue to pursue adopting a child(ren) from Ethiopia.  I'm waiting to hear back from our rock'n adoption agency Gladney in Fort Worth to know what date the home study will take place, but I'm guessing sometime in August.

So what's the big deal? Everyone in the adoption process wants a peek at your home study before they sign off on your application -- the US gov't, your adoption agency, the Ethiopian gov't, etc.  It's the meat and potatoes of your application.  It's the report a social worker provides after visiting your home and interviewing you about your adoption.  And it's what Scott and I need before we get three big things:

1. To get on the waiting list with the Ethiopian government for a child
2. To get approval from US immigration so we can adopt and have our child become a US citizen
3. To apply for adoption grants and interest free loans to help us meet the costs of international adoption.

"So, do we get to keep this emotional high for a while?" Scott asked me last night.  It made me laugh.  With six months under our belt in the adoption process, its been a long emotional rollercoaster of waiting, praying, expectations, the unknown and a lot of excitement. Like I told Scott, I'm going to try and keep a postive outlook and working on my 'waiting well' skills.  God's been very good to us, and this journey continues to stretch my faith.  Stay tuned, and I'll let you know when the home study will happen.