Skip to main content

Homestudy Update

Both Erica and I completed our homestudy self-assessment paperwork and we got it mailed in last week. Lots of questions about family of origin, communication and conflict resolution, parenting styles, disciplinary preferences, and the like. Erica wrapped her answers up in 15 pages. I took 26. No surprises there. :)

Next up is financial information and medicals. Both Erica and I got labs drawn last week for medical reports, as well as a standard annual physical. It is really remarkable how thoroughly everything is reviewed when you apply for adoption. No one asked me about how I was disciplined as a child during pregnancy classes!

Great news! Our Puzzle Fundraiser was successful beyond our wildest dreams. Thanks to your support we raised the full $5,000 goal for our puzzle, and a generous donor contributing a matching gift as well. These funds will be vital in 1) completing our homestudy, and 2) making a significant start towards our Dossier. The Dossier is the Brazilian version of the homestudy. It will contain all the information about our family, including the entire homestudy once completed. The Dossier has to be translated into Portuguese and then it is sent to Brazil. It will be used to the Brazilian adoption agencies in the matching process to help us identify kids who will be a good fit for our family.

We are looking for sibling groups of up to 3 kids and up to 10 years of age. Please be praying for the right match for us and for God's continued blessing and provision on the journey.

January has seen us improving safety around our home with certain suggested additions in preparation for the homestudy. We have also expanded our garden and built a chicken coop in our backyard. Fresh eggs here we come!

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. We appreciate you!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Puzzle

We were still deciding whether or not to try a fundraiser in 2018, or if we should wait until 2019, when Erica suggested this "Piece of The Puzzle" idea to me. For $5 family and friends can sponsor a piece. We will do a 1,000 piece puzzle, and raise $5,000 for the adoption. I honestly didn't think we would get close to our goal. Then we had a loving patron pledge to match anything we raised between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then the gifts started pouring in. From over 30 different people, we have been blessed with $2,060 as of Dec. 16, 2018! Piecing this puzzle together has been an absolute blast and I wanted to share some photos with you so you can visualize the great support we have received. First, the puzzle itself. This is an InGoooood puzzle, purchase from Amazon.com (we redeemed Discover Cash Back Points for it). We wanted something that would be colorful and fun, that our future kids can hang in their room and keep for a long time. We wanted a 1,000 pi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Home

I caught a glimpse of heaven today. No, it was not the sun rising in Miami, or setting in west Texas. No, it was not the genuine kindness if strangers who simply said, "God bless your family" as they saw Erica Blaschke and I with our precious 7 little ones. It was not the U.S. Customs official or even the flag of the fallen to honor those who died in service on Sept. 11. The glimpse of heaven was the bright-eyed wonder in my son's eyes when he saw our house for the first time. Lincon has been through things in his little life that I will never understand. He has been lied to by adults, betrayed, abandoned, neglected, and worse his whole life. He does not trust easily. And he has asked, almost incessantly, for the past week, "Estados Unidos?" And every time, my answer is the same. Trust me son, just wait a little longer. He wanted to believe me. But it has never happened before. We left the apartment in Curitiba on Thursday morning at 4:00. Airport. F...
Post a Comment
Read more

Buckle Up!

Passports? Check. Travel Visa? Check. Adoption Travel Approval? Check. Airline Tickets? Check. Place to live? Well ... we're working on it! We are officially counting down the days to take off. Once we get to Brazil, the kids will be with us for a 30 day "co-habitation" period before the adoption is finalized. We are taking all of our girls with us, so it will be the full house for our whole time in country. Photo by  Johan Van Wambeke  on  Unsplash I have absolutely been humbled and impressed by all of the social workers, court representatives, and others who have served us and taken care of the children through this whole process. They have been a joy to work with and throughout every step it is clear that they care about the kids and put the needs of the child ahead of their own. Working in the system to facilitate care for orphans is such a beautiful ministry and service. These are angels on earth and deserve our prayers and support. Speaking of prayers...
Post a Comment
Read more