Interview Time

Those who know me very well know that interviewing is right up there with going to the dentist on the list of things I could go the rest of my life without and be happy.  Part of the home study process includes not only interviewing our friends, but also interviewing our family.  Not one, not two, but FOUR interviews it takes to be complete.  Nick scheduled the first part of the interviews for 8:30am yesterday.  Now, you don't have to know me well at all to know that mornings are not my thing.  In fairness to my sweet husband, he 1) knew how important this was to me to move things along expeditiously, and 2) knew I had a hair appt at 11 that I didn't want to miss.  That left us with 8:30.  Here we go....

We started with Interview #1, which was Nick and me together.  Lots of questions about how we met, fell in love, got married and so on.  Interview #2 was just Teagen.  In typical Teagen fashion, he charmed the social worker and had no qualms about telling her how excited he is for a new brother. He told her he's been waiting a long time.  Interview #3 was Nick by himself.  I went upstairs and surfed the net until time for me to leave for my appointment.  An additional requirement is that she can't complete all the interviews at the same time so she's scheduled to come back on Friday after school to finish me.  She also got to take a tour of our humble abode. (that would be tour/walk-through #3 for this adoption for those keeping count).

After my interview, the social worker will complete a 9 page report of our family, our family situation, and our readiness for adoption..... along with all the other paperwork and clearances we've submitted, this is what makes up the Home Study.

Once the home study is complete, we file the infamous (in the adoption process anyway) I600A with the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) and wait for another fingerprint appointment.  Then, we wait (patiently I hope) for our I171 from USCIS which is our approval to bring an orphan into the United States.  When we have that in our hands, we finally go on the list to be matched with Number Four (our current name for the 4th member of our family waiting to be identified). 

Current things on our hearts include clarity for the social worker to complete her report expeditiously, prayers for the speed with which our I600A is processed, and a short wait to identify Number Four and BRING HIM HOME.