It's a Girl! ... Make that 2 Girls!

I'm not sure if I will ever get to announce a pregnancy in my lifetime, but this comes darn close! This also gets me close enough to the excitement of expected parenthood. BECAUSE WE ARE DANG EXCITED!

For those of you who are coming into this journey right at this very moment, Brandon and I began the adoption process exactly one year ago. We decided to go through the state rather than an independent agency. They are just too dang expensive. Don't get me wrong, we would pay top dollar for children to be a part of our family. We just looked around and found foster-to-adopt fit our ideal.

So March of 2010 we meet with a lady, whom would later become our case worker. We got a very brief description of what DFCS does and then were given the opportunity to sign up for IMPACT classes. We were told we would get a call when those classes would start...and that we probably couldn't attend until AUGUST!!

After school started again and August was nearing the end, we got our phone call. Three classes that covered 3 Saturdays. 9am-4pm. In the neighboring county.

The classes were fun, but long. We learned a lot about the system and the life of a child that goes through foster care.

In the end, we have since learned, the state of Georgia pays for all of the legal fees, medical care and provides financial support etc. for the child/ren. This sweetened the deal. I've never heard of a state doing this for free.

I had pondered what the state provides and if this was a good route for us to pursue. Unreal, right? That was when I received personal revelation; this was one of the reasons we were guided to GA. Someone special needed to be a part of our family.

We have been sooo impatient at times. Our faith has wavered. We indulged ourselves in more home projects and W.O.W. to pacify us.

We were the 2nd couple to turn in our completed application which meant we would be the 2nd to get a home study. For those of you who don't know what that is....they come and inspect your home to make sure it's kid proof and interview you. We turned our application in Sept. 18th, 2010. Late November we got our home-study and were told we would be hearing from our case worker the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Well, we didn't get a call after Thanksgiving so I called them; just to let them know, we hadn't forgotten. LOL... I'm sure they have been going crazy with my phone calls and emails, but they told us we could do it =).

February 2011 we got a phone call from our case worker. The next appt. was to meet her supervisor.

We met the supervisor in early March 2011. It was at this interview where Beth "spilled the beans." She asked if our case worker had talked to us about the prospective children. That peaked our interest. Whaaa?

She told us just enough to whet our taste buds. Two little children under the age of 6 were nearing the expired time of parental rights.

We drove home on cloud nine that day.

Just last Tuesday we were asked back to talk to our case worker. We went into her office and that is where they revealed they had TWO GIRLS waiting for us to adopt them.

This is what we know so far:

McKenzie (age 2) Birthday is Apr or June. African American.

Her sister....

Azzarah (age 1) Birthday is Apr or June. African American.

They live up north just 30 miles from us in a town called, Brunswick, GA. We forgot which birthday matched with what girl because they were telling us lots of information.

The parents gave up their rights a month ago. The court gives the parents a 30 day appeal window. When we were sitting in the office we were told the 30 day window had expired. . . Meaning the girls were freely legal to adopt then.

The next step is to view their life history. This is a record of their health in all aspects. Even the foster parents record behaviors and more. We were waiting for the appointment to read the history, but the phone call I received Thursday (Mar. 24th) was one that brought great JOY.

Marie, our case worker, told me the Life History hadn't been prepared for McKenzie and Azzarah due to the newly hired staff in Glynn County. At first my heart dropped with disappointment and I imagined going through a lot of red tape to get that paperwork completed. With the time that has already gone by, this was going to be another obstacle in our way.... another test of patience.

With a smile in her voice, Marie explained this was in our favor! There is no law that states we have to read the life history before having the girls come home with us. Just that the first visit can't be an overnighter. I was about to cry. ARE YOU SERIOUS???

So next week, Wednesday, we get to meet our future daughters. Then we get to whip out our calendar and plan how many visits and when they are moving home with us!!!!!

If we bond well they could move in with us on the 2nd visit! =) SOOOO CRAZY.

WE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS VERY SOON!!!

And yup, our friends are going to be throwing us a "babies shower"!

We will let you know what we need. We don't know what the girls will come with. It may be just the clothes they wear. We will get that info on Wednesday.

HAPPY DAYS!

~R