Home Study's Over. Now the Wait.

We've decided to write posts about our experiences along the adoption journey. And once a baby is placed in our home, I'm sure we'll be posting pictures and expressing parenting adventures in between feedings and diaper changes.

What's a Home Study? 
Our home study was completed on April 21! The home study was essentially a 1-hour visit by our social worker (whom we love!) who inspects to see whether we own a fire extinguisher, have placed cleaning supplies out of reach of baby and will have adequate space for a baby.

During the home study, we also shared our preferences regarding health-related questions of the baby, our potential openness to having a semi-open or open relationship with the birthparent/s and what ethnicities we prefer.

How Long Will We Wait?
Since we are open to a baby of any skin color, we are a little higher on the "waiting list" than we thought, meaning, we could become parents pretty much any time after May. It's a relief that all of this is in God's sovereign control. He already knows the birthmom who will ultimately choose us and He knows the timing of all the events!

Babyfying our Home
In the meantime, we have benefitted from some great Craigslist and consignment shop deals! We have a baby dresser/changing table, pack n play, a stroller, several gender-neutral outfits, cloth diapers (yep, we're going to give them a try) and several toys. Someone I contacted about an item on Craigslist (who, come to find out, has a sister who was adopted) gave us a carload of toys and a baby bathtub for free; just one of many blessings along the way!

Learning to Sit Still
Through the excitement of adopting a baby also comes doubts and fears. The adoption path continues to teach us about our Father's mercy, love and kindness towards us despite our fearfulness which so often turns into various types of sin. Luke 10:38-42 is a great synopsis of our constant temptation to stay busy enough to neglect the most important thing: to sit still and listen to our heavenly Father.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42