Crossing Things Off the List

Yesterday was my first meeting with the homestudy social worker.

I thought about titling this post "Five things not to say to your social worker," but I figured in case anyone actually came across this post and didn't realize I was joking, it could be disastrous.  But my social worker is incredibly nice, very motivated to get stuff done (as am I!), and super helpful.  She answered all of my questions, we talked a lot about adoption in general and my adoption specifically, and it was actually just a really nice appointment!  She also commended my paperwork organization and liked my fancy file folder.  (It's the little things.)

The next big step is my home visit (said with a little dread and fear in one's voice).  That will occur in a week or so.  Apparently the house doesn't have to be "white glove" clean, and it's mainly about making sure the house is safe for a child to live in. So that's good and will be fun, I hope!  There are a few things I need to do around the house (namely, get a fire extinguisher and update the dog's shots) but all in all we are in pretty good shape.  After that there is one more visit then my homestudy will be complete.  And then once it is approved, I can apply for USCIS approval...so things are moving along. Hooray!  It's hard to wait, and sometimes boring to wait, in between steps.  But ticking off the increments of time does help and I know that the year will pass more quickly than I realize!

The other big thing I checked off the list was getting my first set of documents notarized!  I was very afraid of getting anything on my dossier documents.  Have you seen the episode of "Friends" where Rachel is supposed to be addressing Monica's wedding invitations (The One with the Videotape...and yes I knew that offhand)?  I felt like Monica in that episode..."There will be no food or drink around the dossier documents..."  They survived.  So did I.  So the next step there is to get them certified by both the county and the state, and then sent to DC for authentication.

SUPER interesting, huh.

At any rate.  There is a lot to do, and I am excited to be getting it done!  I will post a little more next week about some things I am doing to prepare for the little lady.