Sorry we are just now posting this update! We had a whirlwind of a weekend! It started with our Home Study “visit” on Friday. Because of COVID policies and procedures still being in place, our adoption specialist met with us through a Zoom meeting. It actually went really well and felt less like an interrogation (which they really are not, but some perceive it that way) and it was more like catching up with a friend or family member you haven’t seen in a while.
We met with the same adoption specialist who was with us through it all in our first adoption, and we largely talked about what’s been going on in our family since Andrew was born. Of course, Andrew, being a typical two year old, was hamming it up and was all up in our business doing everything he could to grab our attention, look at himself on screen, or interrupt by climbing all over us. That certainly made things interesting! But it also allowed our specialist to see how we interact as parents, and I’m glad we did not lose our cool during that time. Thank you to everyone who was praying for us for a good “visit” with our specialist! We really appreciate it!
Next week, we’re supposed to have a follow up visit where our adoption specialist comes to our house. It’s intended as a type of inspection of our home and to make sure it’s fit for children to live in. There are also certain checkboxes we need to have taken care of, such as making sure we’ve got child safety locks and other safety measures in place, fire extinguishers up to date, cleaning supplies and other harmful chemicals out of reach and so on. After this visit, there are not supposed to be any other visits we will have, and our home study report should be finished shortly after! In the meantime, we’re working on completing our adoption book. This is the book expectant mothers/families look at when choosing an adoptive family for their child. We should be wrapping that up about the same time that our home study is completed. So, we’re hoping that by the beginning of May, we’ll be a “waiting family!”
As far as where we are with our fundraising, we are thrilled to share that we are now MORE THAN HALF WAY to our goal! With the recent donations we’ve been given, we’ll be able to take care of ALL our home study fees and move on to the next phase of our adoption journey with our agency! This means that once our home study is finalized, we have the potential to be matched soon afterwards!
As a side note, someone who donated to our Puzzle Fundraiser this week also chose numbered pieces that corresponded with a scripture reference (chapter and verse) they wanted to share with us. We thought that was SO COOL and made it that much more special!
God is so good and we can see Him working to bring all the pieces together! Thank you all so much for your generous giving and for getting us this far!
The Hall Family Adoption 