We're moving right along with the home study portion of things. Our home study requires that we gather all of the paperwork BEFORE they come to do the interviews, so that's where our efforts have been focused. For those who are not doing the Paper Pregnancy along with us, here's a list of things we've been assigned to gather...
- birth certificates for all 4 of us
- (4) letters of reference
- certified copy of marriage license
- letters of employment
- a copy of our deed
- letters from each of our physicians stating we're physically and mentally healthy
- copies of tax returns for the past 3 years
- State police clearances
- Local police clearances
- FBI clearances (also had to get fingerprinted for this)
- child abuse clearances
- copies of passports
- copies of driver's licenses
- copies of health insurance cards
- current bank statements
- another financial statement stating our net worth
- guardianship info in the case of our death
- Signed contracts
- completion of adoption education
Whew! It's taken a lot of lunch breaks to get through that list. There were also fees involved with most of the things on the list. My favorite: two expedited passports - $380. Ouch
We just finished our online adoption education today. Our adoption agency and home-study agency use the same online courses, so that was nice. Now we just have to finish the "With Eyes Wide Open" workbook, and we'll be able to cross it off of both lists.
Besides the seemingly endless paperwork chase, I think the most daunting part of the adoption has been the financial aspect. With costs approaching $30,000 for an Ethiopian adoption, we've been doing a lot of brainstorming for fundraisers. Our first fundraiser will be something very near and dear to my marriage - coffee! Coffee is a staple in our marriage, and we were excited to find out that coffee actually originated in Ethiopia. How cool is that? So when I saw this adoption fundraiser, I knew it was meant to be :-) For every bag of coffee sold, $5 will go directly towards our adoption fund. Please help us in spreading the word!
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