Homestudy Part 1

We had our first homestudy meeting on March 18th (one of 3). It lasted about 3 hours and was actually a really neat session. Luke had just gotten home from being in Asia for 10 days, so our meeting was actually the first time we had really talked in 2 weeks (other than a quick hello on a daily basis). Yikes! We weren't sure what to expect, but it ended up being pretty fun. Even after being together for 12 years, we learned new things about eachother. Ok, so maybe we knew these things, but it was a good reminder on the ways we could use improvement and an opportunity to take joy in the ones we "think" we have nailed. A thought provoking session. In the meantime, we have about 12 credit hours of training to do....no, that's not an actual 12 hours....more like 112 hours of training. We started the workbook "With eyes wide open" while in Florida this past week and it took us 3 evenings (once the kids were in bed) to complete 2 of the 22 chapters. This is just one of the 10 assignments. But, I'm not complaining-this training is really preparing our hearts. This week we'll do round two. This session is an individual session where our caseworker will meet with each of us alone. I'm sure we'll pass with flying colors-ya right! Along side all of the training, we're working on our paperwork for the USCIS. We've got dr's appts, letters to gather from school, work, friends, neighbors, criminal background checks, oodles of paperwork, you get the picture. Once our homestudy is completed, we will submit the paperwork for the USCIS portion and file an orphan petition. Then it's on to the dossier paperwork, which I'm speculating will be our most challenging portion of the paper chase!