Month of June and July

We have been working on the information that is due to Villa Hope, the Clearance Packet/ Formal Alabama Application.
-We typed our Intent to Adopt, Our Child Statement.
-We have completed our online Course Work. There are 3 courses required by the Hague Act. Villa Hope has selected the following for their adoptive parents: Conspicuous Families (challenges faced as a multicultural family), Eyes Wide Open (looking at what our child's life is like as an orphan and ways we can prepare for her), Medical Issues Facing Adoptive Parents (summary of the main medical issues). Each course contained several chapters with homework. The homework had to be evaluated and approved before credit was given.
-We collected insurance & financial paperwork and copied identification documents. -There were several other forms to read and sign.
-We are enrolled in a one-day Seminar for September. We are excited to meet other families on this journey and learn a lot more about what is to come.
-We wrote our life stories..that was interesting to put on paper.
-We spoke with Dr. Chambers and discussed all of the disabilities we would consider. We also did our own research into certain disabilities. We finalized our Special Needs Acceptance list and discussed it with our China Coordinator. She will use this list when she selects our referrals from the China Special Needs list.
-We developed a picture of our family and our home. These are turned in with our information.
-We paid part of the fees.

I am learning soo much from the course work, blogs and books that I am reading. This is a definite life changing journey. It has made us think outside our little life here and think about how others live. It has changed what we spend our money on. There are so many things we can do without and so many ways to save money. The course work is very blunt about the challenge adoption brings. It has really made us 'think-out' a lot of issues we will face. We will be a multicultural family. With that comes stares and comments from others. There will be many daily challenges within our family that we will deal with; developmental and emotional. It has not made us want this child any less. We are ready to embrace this challenge God has given us. I want to be a better mother to my boys and to this special child we will add to our family. I love that God has called us to adopt!