We met with Cameron again Friday. This meeting was our third of four. Our fourth meeting will be held after our adoption classes are completed in June. We start the first of the 5 classes this Saturday. I am excited to get started but not at all looking forward to sitting through 7 hours of speakers for the next several weekends. Anna says it will all be worth it, and it will be!
Each time we meet with Cameron we learn a little more about the process. In our last meeting we gave her our preference form which is maybe a list of 100 or so 'issues' children can have and we had to rank them 1-3. A 1 means we can parent a child with that issue, a 2 means we can discuss that issue, and a 3 means absolutely no way can we parent a child with that issue. This was a tricky task to accomplish. For the most part we put 2s. I mean 'soils pants' . . . if the child is 4 I can parent that. If the child is 12, well, that's different. We put a 2. The issues ranged from wears glasses to wishes to be the opposite sex or cuts or is severely handicapped. The spectrum is wide.
We learned that if we have all of our paperwork completed by the end of our classes Cameron will then be working to match us with a child or sibling group. But, before this can happen all of our paperwork (our PPA - cannot remember for the life of me what that stands for, some sort of assessment - maybe pre-placement??) has to be approved by the state. She said that usually takes less than a month. So, we're looking at hopefully being in a position to receive referrals by mid-July!! That makes me shiver.
This month Josh has to work on making some changes in the house like switching the deadbolts, adding a couple of smoke detectors, and getting a new fire extinguisher. We have to lock all of our meds up and our cleaning supplies. I'm thinking if the cleaning supplies are locked up somewhere I will be cleaning less. No problem. We have to find another bed in order to meet the requirements to add two more kids to the house. We are looking to get Ava a bunk bed. I have to work on making a fire evacuation route and posting it somewhere in the house. All of this is because once a child is placed in our home we are considered foster parents until they are officially declared adopted by the courts. While we are fostering, the child(ren) will be the state's responsibility. They have to make sure our home is safe. There are some other things we have to work on but I can't recall them. Of course, I have a checklist . . . somewhere.
All the while we are praying for the little one or ones that will be a part of our family soon enough. We pray that God is bringing them a peace even now, that they will understand that God is working in their favor because they have called out to Him. It's just incredibly humbling, His faithfulness and His love.
On a lighter note, it was quite humorous listening to Cameron quiz Josh on the 8 charges he had on his record. They dated all the way back to like his 3rd week with a license. She did comment on how they are now fewer and further between. Somehow, my 3 charges were non-existent. Hee Hee
What charges!! Driving charges?
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