We are officially done with all of our requirements for the home study! What a great feeling. Our social worker came over last week to make sure our house is suitable for a child and meets the safety requirements. Needless to say, we (okay I) were just a little nervous. We spent quite a few days beforehand cleaning, washing windows, organizing closets, and scrubbing the bathrooms and kitchen. Wouldn't you know, she didn't open one closet door or look in one bathroom! We also spent time making sure the outside of our house looked just as presentable (and it did, mostly thanks to our "mum fairy"). I felt the need to pull out every single weed from our flower gardens, because I reasoned that she might wonder what kind of mother I'd be if I couldn't even take care of our yard! (I know it's silly, but these were the kind of thoughts running through my head.) As for Travis, he claimed he wasn't worried at all, but just happened to mow the lawn twice in two days. And then there was our dog, Nyla. She's very sweet, but also very hyper. She jumps on anyone who comes over, slobbers on their clothes, and is a big pest in general. We tried to bribe her beforehand, "Nyla, we'll take you for as many walks and bike rides as you want, just be good! Please!" We filled her kong with peanut butter and a treat, made sure we had rawhides ready, and she was all set. Despite a few initial jumps, licks, and joyful barks, she was a good girl. Thank goodness! We couldn't imagine the humiliation of not passing our home study because of our dog! All in all, most of our worries were for nothing.
So, now that we are done with our requirements, our social worker will write up our home study, submit it to her supervisor for approval, send it to DCFS for approval, then send it to USCIS for approval. When that's all said and done, we'll send it to our New York agency along with a few other papers, and they will submit it to South Korea. So we still have awhile before we are on the waiting list for the referral, but we are getting there! We absolutely cannot wait to see a picture of our child and hold him or her for the first time. Waiting is not my forte, but I am trying very hard to be patient and take things one step at a time. God is doing a pretty good job of teaching me patience through this journey!
So, now that we are done with our requirements, our social worker will write up our home study, submit it to her supervisor for approval, send it to DCFS for approval, then send it to USCIS for approval. When that's all said and done, we'll send it to our New York agency along with a few other papers, and they will submit it to South Korea. So we still have awhile before we are on the waiting list for the referral, but we are getting there! We absolutely cannot wait to see a picture of our child and hold him or her for the first time. Waiting is not my forte, but I am trying very hard to be patient and take things one step at a time. God is doing a pretty good job of teaching me patience through this journey!
