Home Study #1 is in the books! Yesterday was Easter and we hosted over 20 family members for lunch. Last week our home study was scheduled for today, Monday, so we (ok, just me) were a little stressed! To prepare, we finished some small projects around the house, cleaned really well, and put some things in the attic that needed to be moved up there. Honestly, we really didn't know what to expect. We knew the social worker was going to do a tour of the house as well, so that was a little anxiety producing. Turns out, there really wasn't anything to worry about. Graham didn't want to nap today, so he was awake and into things during the visit, but that's real life. She asked about our relationship, our work, our families, our expectations, and other similar topics. The home tour was pretty quick and painless. She talked about bonding and how things might change after the adoption, but said we'll talk more about that at later visits too. Overall, I think it went well! We had already communicated with the social worker, so we already knew she was nice and it was a pretty laid back visit. Even Bennett (our usually-jumpy-with-new-people dog) behaved himself! Graham was super excited to show off his room, which was cute. We have another visit scheduled in two weeks, which will be separate interviews for Tom and I to talk about ourselves. We were originally told we would have to wait 8 weeks to update our home study after "little baby" was born and then could continue to the adoption process. Today we were told 6 months, so that's being clarified. I'm not the most patient person ever, so 6 months seems like a long time! Basically that means it would be almost a year from now before we could really pick up the process, submit what is needed to China, and, a few months later, get a referral. I'm just trying to remember that, however it works out, God's timing is perfect.
In "little baby" news, so far, so good! I have felt him/her moving around some, which is very reassuring! I fell (face planted) last week at Little Gym with Graham, so had to go to the OB so they could listen to baby's heart beat. They couldn't find it with the doppler and ended up doing a bedside ultrasound. The machine was easily from 1989, so not the best picture ever, but it was good to see the baby's heart beating and he/she moving around. We have our anatomy scan next Monday and will find out little baby's gender next Friday night!
Graham/Mommy selfie after the home study visit
