Confession

So we didn't meet our goal. But, given that we have been on this road (well, off and on) for over two years, I can accept being a bit behind. We are so close to being done: one more medical exam, tax info (which we still don't have back from our tax attorney), and a few more paragraphs on our report (written about us, in the third person--awkward). Last month we received a notice from the Juvenile Court with a deadline. We'll make it.

Much of the process this time around is completed online. So, since Olivia is napping, Brigham is at work, and I don't want to clean the kitchen, here's a list of the all the stuff we've had to do:

• letter of recommendation from our Bishop
• orientation meeting
• fingerprints and background check
• all-day adoption academy
• $1000 adoption application fee
• copies of birth certificates
• copies of marriage license and temple sealing certificate
• criminal/abuse clearance
• medical reports for all three of us
• employment verification
• 4 reference letters (2 from family, 2 from non-family)
• financial statement, including 1st pg of federal tax return and monthly liabilities
• health insurance info
• parents' background
• siblings' background
• matching sheet for Brigham and for me (age, height, weight, hair and eye color, education, interests)
• questionnaire, one for each of us (except Olivia), filled out individually :
  • Background Information (3 questions)
  • Family of Origin (6 questions)
  • Marriage (6 questions)
  • Children (2 questions)
  • General Health (5 questions)
  • Employment and Finances (3 questions)
  • Church and Community (2 questions)
  • Parenting Methods and Skills (3 questions)
  • Experiences and Feelings Regarding Adoption (5 questions)
  • Experiences and Feelings Regarding Birth Parents (4 questions)
  • House, Neighborhood, and Community (3 questions)
  • Other Information (2 questions)
• social worker's report (WE WRITE THIS)
• home visit/inspection and three hour interview with social worker (one hour with Brigham, one with me, and one with both of us together)
• child preferences (what we will accept): gender, ethnicity, age, unknown father, at risk, out of state
• birth conditions (what, and to what degree, we will accept): medical conditions of the child, mother, father; mental/emotional conditions of the child, mother, father; substance abuse; STDs; special needs
• contact with parents
• letter to birth parents (will be on our online profile)
• getting to know us (will be on our online profile)
• photo album (will be on our online profile)
• profile teaser (will be on our online profile)
• how to contact us
• other info (seriously, they need more?)
• web publication release

And then we're done! And then the waiting starts. Waiting is not very fun. At least I'll have more to keep me busy this time.

For quite a while, Olivia has been talking about her brother. Or her sister. Lately, it's been her brother AND her sister! Today she told me that before she was born she lived with "Jesus and his mom." That connection is so much closer for her than it is for me. Maybe she knows what she's talking about when she mentions her brother and her sister...

To end this post on a super positive note, here are a couple pictures of Olivia with her amazing birth mother, Alyssa, during our recent trip to Disneyland. (More to come on our trip later.) It was so fun to see Alyssa. We love her so much and love that she's a part of our family! She made us a family.