Homestudy Approved

Just got word that our homestudy has been approved by our placing agency.  Our social worker will be back in the office on Monday.  We should be able to send it on to USCIS next week.  Moving right along!  My goal is to be DTC in January.  That may be a little unrealistic but really hoping we can.  Our boys need to come home.

In honor of this step, I attached a photo of the boys we received in June.

Homestudy Sent for Review

Today our homestudy agency sent our updated homestudy to our placing agency for review.  We are excited to be at this step. It may take 2 weeks to get approval but at least it is there.  Once it is approved hopefully within a week we will have it.

Homestudy Update Rough Draft

I wrote a post yesterday complaining about a few things.  Today I decided it was best to delete it.  We had another surprise today but we got it done within hours and I am delighted to say that we received our homestudy update rough draft this afternoon.  There are some minor things that need to be fixed but all and all not bad.  Sent it back to our social worker before the end of the day but I doubt she got back to it.  They are closed tomorrow.  She is still waiting for NC child abuse checks to come back.  Hopefully it will be there Monday and it can be sent to our placing agency.  Then we wait again.  Our placing agency typically takes 2 weeks to review it.

Requested an Update

I wanted to put this on the blog so I wouldn't forget the date.  I just sent BLAS an email requesting updated information on the boys.  We are now suppose to go through BLAS to get updates.  This is a new rule started shortly before we brought Alyssa home.  From what I understand if their file is more than a year old there will be no charge.  Hoping that is true otherwise it will cost us $180 to get updates and photos of the boys.

No news on the homestudy.  If we don't hear anything towards the end of next week we will definitely be calling our social worker.  We are in limbo until we get the homestudy completed.

Homestudy Update Begins

Today, Dallas delivered all our homestudy update paperwork to our home study agency.  Our social worker said she should have a rough draft for us next week.  That would be so awesome!  We never expected it could be done so soon.  Moving right along...

A Great Week

I am believing that God really wants us to get these boys home.  Everything we needed to begin the home study update came this week.  All the physical forms are in my possession.  The state fingerprinting background check usually takes weeks.  It came in 3 days.  If our home study agency would have been open we could have dropped everything off today.  Unfortunately they are closed on Fridays.  It will be dropped off on Monday.  Praying our social worker will work quickly this time.  Hoping and praying everything goes smoothly and at record speed.  We want to get these boys home!  I would be very happy with early summer travel.  I really need Zachary's help so Summer would be ideal.

We celebrated Nicholas' birthday this week too.  On November 1 he turned 17 years old.  Where has the time gone?  I still remember taking Kristopher  Trick or Treating the night before he was born.  Nicholas was induced so we knew he was going to be born on November 1.  After Trick or Treating Kristopher went to spend the night with his cousins.  Nicholas has turned out to be such a great kid.  This year he has really grown up.  He got a job at McDonalds while we were in China.  He works 20 -25 hours a week and maintains honor roll status.  He has his driver's license and takes himself most places.  He has proven to be very responsible.   Now if he could just learn to wake himself up in the morning.  This kid requires more sleep than any of our other kids.  An alarm clock will not wake him up.   You can wake him up, make sure he is in the shower and then he will still fall back asleep.  Don't know what he is going to do when he goes to college.