Florida Zoo Date with Adoption Friends

Finally posting some pictures! :)

When we went to Florida for Nate's birthday, we met up with some adoption friends at the zoo in Jacksonville.

 These two are quite the pair. Both are full of energy!!

 It makes my heart happy to see Nate and Little Bug together, both adopted and both methadone babies.

 Sweet Pea, Little Bug's little sister, another methadone and adopted baby.

 We attempted to take pictures of all of us, knowing that the pictures would make us laugh because trying to get the three of them together and looking at the camera is a miracle.

So blessed to have awesome friends, especially adoption buddies.

Getting Closer

Sorry about the lack of updates. Our lives are kinda hectic and most days, at the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is sit down on the computer.

We went to our adoption class tonight and now, we only have one more adoption class to go!!!  Woohoo!!!!  Next week is graduation week. So excited.

We had our first of three home visits last week. She called to schedule an appointment on Wednesday and when I told her that Thursdays worked for us, she set up an appointment for 2 o'clock the next day. Needless to say, the night before was a little hectic as we tried to clean and get ready for her visit. The visit was quick and pretty painless. She looked around our home, asked questions, and make sure that certain things, like the sink, toilet, fire alarm, etc, were in working order. We'll have to get locks for the cabinets under the sink where the cleaners are kept, but other than that, everything checked out fine.

Within the next month, we should be having our second and third home visits. The second one goes over our 14 page biographies that we filled out and we will discuss with the social worker exactly what we are looking for. The last home visit will make sure all changes have been made to our home and that we are ready for our home to be open to children. Once those home visits have been completed, our official home study will be typed up and we will officially be foster parents. (Official time frame could take a while, possibly a month or more as we are not the only family going through the process.) Even after our home is open, it could still be quite some time before a child is placed in our home.

As for the future child's room, it is a work in progress. We are working to get it ready for the new addition and that's not easy since it was being used as a home office. Things are in the process of getting shifted to other parts of our home while other things are being put in boxes to be stored. We're about halfway completed. As of right now, we have a rocking chair and a dresser in there and after this weekend, we'll have a crib and changing table.

We went and had our TB test on Monday and we go back tomorrow to get it checked. Once those papers are turned in next week, we will have 100% of our paperwork completed! That is a HUGE accomplishment.

At our class tonight, I went up to one of the families there to see if they would be willing to exchange info, allowing us to meet up and let our kids and future foster children play. Come to find out, they live less than five minutes from us in the neighborhood where we lived. Amazing how God can bring people together. I'm looking forward to getting to know them and their family and seeing what our futures hold.

As for Nate, he's still convinced that we are having "two of dem". I'm not quite sure how he's going to handle the news if we only get one baby, but we'll see. :)

Steps/Paperwork Update 5/7

Steps/Paperwork Update

Steps in the Process to be approved
1. Pre-Screening
2. Completing/gathering all the above material
3. 9 weeks of classes - Only 1 more to go!!!
4. Home visit - One out of three completed!!!
5. Home study completion
 
The list of things that we have to do/turn in as a part of this adoption process
(The ones we have completed have a line through them. Bold Items are items that have been turned in, but are still in the process of being cleared. (Fingerprints, etc) )

Foster Adoptive Family Biography
Medical Report
Request for Tuberculosis Statement - We go tomorrow to get it checked!
Central Registry Release of Information Form 
Finger Print Card -
Confidential Financial Statement
Corporal Punishment Document
Confidentiality Agreement
Driving Convictions Statement
Firearms Statement
Home Fire Escape Plan Worksheet
Individual Vendor Agreement
Reference List
Sworn Statement or Afformation
Dangerous Animal Policy
Removal Letter
Copy of Marriage Certificate-Copy
Pay stubs for each parent totaling one month's pay-Copy
DMV records for each parent-Copy
Automobile Insurance Cards-Copy
Automobile Registration Cards -Copy
Rabies Certificate for each pet-Copy

Steps/Paperwork Update 4/23

Steps/Paperwork Update

Steps in the Process to be approved
1. Pre-Screening
2. Completing/gathering all the above material
3. 9 weeks of classes
4. Home visit
5. Home study completion
 
The list of things that we have to do/turn in as a part of this adoption process
(The ones we have completed have a line through them. Bold Items are items that have been turned in, but are still in the process of being cleared. (Fingerprints, etc) )

Foster Adoptive Family Biography
Medical Report
Request for Tuberculosis Statement
Central Registry Release of Information Form 
Finger Print Card -Mine have come back, but Dave's have not.
Confidential Financial Statement
Corporal Punishment Document
Confidentiality Agreement
Driving Convictions Statement
Firearms Statement
Home Fire Escape Plan Worksheet
Individual Vendor Agreement
Reference List - 1/3 Have Been Turned In
Sworn Statement or Afformation
Dangerous Animal Policy
Removal Letter
Copy of Marriage Certificate-Copy
Pay stubs for each parent totaling one month's pay-Copy
DMV records for each parent-Copy
Automobile Insurance Cards-Copy
Automobile Registration Cards -Copy
Rabies Certificate for each pet-Copy

Speech Evaluation Checkup

Dave took Nate to his speech evaluation today and everything seemed to go pretty well.

For now, he's referred us to a speech pathologist to help up figure out what the next step will be. They will want to rule out a hearing issue, which we are pretty sure isn't an issue. They will also look more at his tongue and if the issue is really due to him being tongue tied. If so, they will send us to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist and possibly have the skin under his tongue clipped. Doesn't sound too great, does it? :(

They also gave us information about speech therapy and how we can receive those services at a reduced fee since most insurance companies won't cover them.

So, overall, it's what I expected. Glad that they were willing to listen and help us get the help that Nate needs.

Speech Evaluation

At Nate's appointment last week (I still need to blog about that), I brought up three things to the doctor, hoping to get some answers. One of those things was his speech.

He's tongue tied and for a long time, he wasn't able to stick his tongue out past his lips. This is something that he's dealt with since he was a baby, but because he was eating and developing fine, they didn't want to clip the skin under his tongue. He's gotten to the point that he can stick his tongue out, but it's still tight and when he does stick it out, it looks like a w instead of a v. Crazy, huh?
There are some sounds that he can't seem to make and I'm not sure if the tongue is the issue or if it's an issue of him slowing down and working on those certain sounds.

The doctor was able to get us a referral and an appointment, which happens to be tomorrow at 1:30. I'm not able to go, but Dave is going to take him and I look forward to hearing what they have to say and if they feel that he would benefit from speech therapy.