Homestudy, Part 1

One of the first steps in the adoption process is the home study! Yay. (No, seriously, its a GOOD thing! Homestudies are essential to the adoption process. They are needed, and worth while.)

A homestudy, basically, is just what it sounds like. It's the opportunity for your social worker to study your home.

But before they even study your actual home, they gather lots of facts about you in documentation that you provide to them. Anyone and everyone will tell you that there's an ENORMOUS amount of paperwork involved with adoption. Tedious, yes. Frustrating at times, you betcha! Worth it and ultimately good, ABSOLUTELY!


So. What does a home study actually look like? It starts with a thick envelope from your agency to help you get started on the "paper chase." The forms are pretty mindless and not really out of the ordinary. Basic forms proving who you are, you're an upstanding citizen, and you're in good health.

But what happens when you don't have all these files and documents laying around at your disposal in your home?

You go on fun "adventures" with your kids downtown to gather said documents! You make sure to pack a backpack full of knick-knacks to keep little hands preoccupied, and you pray there won't be any catastrophes along the way! Catastrophes as in no pee-pee pants, no flying fists and no gnashing of teeth… from you or the littles. Standing in a long line waiting on 1 little document, going from office to the next isn't very fun for Momma. So, you can't expect it to be too fun for the people under 4ft tall in your life, either. As most kids who've been raised in the 'burbs though, they were ECSTATIC to be downtown and amongst the tall buildings.

When your number is finally called to be helped by an attendant, you see her tag holder thing-a-ma-jig says "I love Jesus" and she's playing the latest Hillsong album at her desk. You might just get leaky eyes and say a quick prayer of Thanks and praise Him for putting believers in your path to encourage you!

When your adventures are done for the day, you keep trekking along on all those documents. Those mind-numbing documents that in any other circumstance might make you scream. But knowing its bring you one step closer to bringing your son home, gives you a slight thrill and keeps you humbly praying as each thing is checked off that list. You will spend many nights like this. You and the computer screen. You and the gently hum of that scanner loading documents onto your harddrive, only to be emailed a few minutes later. You and the gentle klickity-klackity of that keyboard. Each keystroke on that 20 page autobiography that your pouring your heart out on… its not for nothing. It's your steady "pregnancy" & "labor" to bring a precious boy into your home that needs your unconditional love!

This is what the first part of the home study process looks like. Tedious, mind-numbing at times, heartfelt, worth it.