Look what came in the mail today!

We’ve now had 3 home visits. They’ve all gone well. Our case worker did speak with Antioch. I’m still unsure of what was said. It seems like each time Antioch is brought up she says they said something different. But, she doesn’t seem to share Antioch’s concerns. That is good.

As of right now we are waiting on 2 things to move forward.

We’re waiting until Jonathan’s 5 year mark for living in WA (mid Feb.), so we can avoid running a background check through CA.

Our case worker is concerned with our discipline. The fact that we spank Maezie is huge. Even though we know we cannot spank a state child, and are in the process of eliminating it before a child is placed with us, she doesn’t want to move forward until I, specifically, have “reprogrammed” my discipline. In other words, we have to stop spanking immediately.

Also, we (but mostly I) have to take a parenting class. She’s really pushing for this state approved class called Positive Parenting. Just the name puts a bad taste in my mouth. I am hoping that I can find a suitable alternative; suggestions are welcomed. We did agree to go to an “Intro to Positive Parenting” class this Thursday night. Anyone want to babysit? =) Once we’ve done a class, and she’s convinced we have “other tools in our tool belt” then we can finish up the home study. She has said numerous times that her “intent is to approve the home study.” She assures me that we’re not stopping, we’re just waiting…

We submitted our paperwork to the state a week or so ago. The first visit with our case worker was this past Monday. There will be at least 3. This one was mostly getting our paperwork in order. She walked through our house and checked off about 90% of her list! We were asked to sign a consent form allowing her access to ALL of Antioch’s files on us. That means she’ll be reading about why Antioch declined us. So much for acting like all that never happened! We’re not too worried about it, but it is a concern. I do hope that if they are hesitant to approve us, we have a chance to explain our opinions and such. Prayers for wisdom & smooth sailing are appreciated. Our next visit is scheduled for January 4th. Moving quickly!

Here’s to the hope that our major hiccups are behind us!

We’ve changed our course a bit. Instead of working with Antioch, we are going straight to the state. We’ve connected with a lady from Fostering Together, who is helping us get our paperwork ready to submit. Our first steps are to complete an application, background checks, finger print authorizations, medical forms, financial and marital history as well as a fire evacuation plan. Luckily I have saved copies, so some of this is already done.

At this time we’re not planning on getting foster licensed. We’ve been told we don’t need to in order to adopt waiting children. I hope this is true! We’ve been given changing information so much it’s hard to know which to believe.

Two steps forward. One step back. Two steps forward….

Got the new bed set up today.

Here it is with the lower portion in “seat” mode:

And here it is in “bed” mode:

It’s starting to look like a kids’ room!