Breath.....Just Breath

OMG!  Just heard from our case worker that we were selected by CPS for these children.  The process now is we await the case files which could take 7 to 10 days, then we go through them with our case worker.

Sometime after that we meet with CPS, our case worker and others for questions then we decide if we want to continue to pursue.

This must be what it feels like to know you are about to be a parent;  will we be good parents, will we be able to handle whatever comes our way, will we be able to show them the love of Christ that he so wants them to know.   I have so many feelings running through me right now; excitement , anxiety, a little panic, ...I've cried and now I'm kinda numb.   Give me a second, I should be coming up on another emotion any time now....

Too all our friends:   We know many of you are anxious for us.  We appreciate everyone's concern but know this, God has set us on this path and He will see us through.  For I know the plans I have for you.... He knows the plans He has for these children as well.   We go into this eyes wide open and are confident that God has placed this within us.  Every child deserves a home and to be loved unconditionally.  We know God has the children for us already determined.  We are trusting him through this process.    We aren't naive and this isn't everyone's road.  All we ask is that you stand beside us; pray for us and for the children.

Thank you so much!   We love and appreciate you guys more than you could ever know!

Josh and Juli

What does morning sickness feel like?

Ok, so no, I'm not pregnant, but man am I nauseous.  I didn't think you were supposed to get morning sickness when you were adopting. LOL

Here's the scoop.   About 1 1/2 weeks ago we were notified that there were two children in need of a family by our caseworker.  We decided to put our file in for these children.   To recap for those new here, the process goes like this - 

1.  Children identified and our family asked if we would like to send our file.  We will have received a photo and a short bio on the children at this point.

2.  If we say yes, the file gets sent and put together with other families' files that are interested in these children.  

3.  Selection Staffing is where the CPS worker and others go through the files and choose their top 3 families; and put them in order 1 through 3.  Family #1 will be notified and the children's detailed files are sent.

4.  A Presentation Staffing is held with the family to present information and for them to ask questions etc.  The family has 48 hours after this meeting to decide if they would like to continue to pursue the children.   If they say no, CPS then goes to Family #2 and the process starts again.

5.  If you say yes after Presentation Staffing, they schedule the meetings with the children.  They are always done wherever the children live; so if they are in Lubbock, El Paso, Corpus,...we go to them.  Usually there are at least 2 to 3 meetings, sometimes more to help the transition.   

Once they are in our home, the clock starts counting and at 6 months the adoption is finalized.

SO, now that we've gotten through all that - here's the deal -  we know we are in the top 3 families for these children - 8/31 they will decide the order.   Please pray, because we want God's will for this.  If these are the children for us, we want the door thrown open wide, if not we want it shut.  

Thank you everyone for standing with us.  We so appreciate your friendship, encouragement and love.  

Will keep you posted.

Josh and Juli

We are officially licensed!!!

Lots has happened since I last posted; top of the list if we were notified yesterday evening that our agency signed our papers and we have been officially licensed by the State of Texas for adoption and respite care.

Respite care is basically caring for foster children when their foster parents need a sitter. While we wait for our matches we will be able to do this for families in our area.

We are SOOOO excited and nervous and happy and anxious and just about every other emotion you can think of. So, you ask, what now.

At this point they will take our profile and begin the matching process. I'll write more about that later.

Also, God has given me the most fantastic job. I'll write more about that too but I have to run; Josh is calling. Love u guys!

Homestudy - It's Over - Whew :-)

After much work, stress and sweat we completed our home study yesterday. It took about 5 hours but our case worker is fabulous and made the process go very easy. They asked lots of questions about us individually and together and we have a few things to change, such as adding a few more locks in the garage and moving some things to higher shelves but all in all it went very well. HALLELUJAH!!



From this point it will take 3 to 4 weeks for them to write the home study at which point they will sent it in and we will be licensed by the state. At that point, the matching begins.



I want to take a moment to thank everyone for all your prayers and help; especially -



Marsha; thanks for helping us especially on Saturday - we don't have anything to change on the rooms you worked on so you get an extra hug.



Janette and Jonathan Todd: Thanks you SOOOOO much for the many hours of cleaning carpets, hanging things, and basically turning the house upside down to help us get this done. And all your help after surgery, I really can't thank you enough for all your support and help. Josh and I both really really appreciate it. ;-)



Some extra prayers - I am currently unemployed having been laid off as most of you know but we are confident that God has something in store. Appreciate the prayers and will let you know as the process progresses.



Josh & Juli

God must certainly have a sense of humor...

So, we are in process on the adoption thing, moving out, stepping out and BAM! I found out that my job will be going part-time contract. Now let's look at things, a year ago before I moved here, I made 50K more than I will be making next week. hmm. Okay God, just WHAT ARE YOU DOING?????

Here is what we know: God is on the throne. He has plans to prosper us and not harm us. We will reap what we have sown. He is watching over us and something awesome will come out of this.

What we don't know - what we are going to do. We are moving forward with the adoption, that is not in question at all, but on all other things we are praying for guidance. That God will help us in what path we should take. We appreciate all of you praying for us for much needed guidance and peace. Love you guys. Someday I'll look back on this and laugh...right??!!

A Full Day

We started out the day thinking we were going to get stuff done on the house; we decided it would be a social day instead.

Met a friend at the movies to see A Night at the Museum; it was good. Then picked up another friend to surprise his daughter for her b-day. She wasn't expecting him. A long-time friend's dad had quadruple bypass surgery yesterday so we visited with the fam and saw him. Please pray for quick recovery for him.

Then we went over to the Cross's house for a homecoming party for Daniel - our own hero back from Iraq and other places he can't discuss. We are so incredibly proud of him I think we were all just bursting at the seams. It seems like just yesterday he was that little kid running around the church asking for $1 from anyone who would care to listen. God has granted him tremendous favor and I can't wait to see what fantastic things he has in store for him now that he is back.

Great job raising a great bunch of kiddos Tim and Cindy. We will calling you often for help in the near future; you can bet on it!!!!

Moving Ahead

So it took me a few days to get over the panic stage but I'm good. Lots to do! Josh has been busy cleaning out filing cabinets and reorganizing the garage. Janette and Jonathan, Josh's mom and brother recently moved to Dallas and have been a TREMENDOUS help. Did I mention they are wonderful???

Jonathan has been systimatically cleaning our carpets...WOW..so that is the color of the carpet - who knew. LOL.

The house really is looking nice though. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. You guys mean so much and we really appreciate the support.

Josh & Juli

Our Homestudy Date has been set! AAAAAAAA

Ok, so I received the email today from our case worker that they are ready to schedule our home study. I couldn't breath and actually thought I might become ill. Silly isn't it, it's just SO real.

The home study lasts 4 to 5 hours and is scheduled for the week of June 22nd. Breath...just breath. Actually now that I've had a few minutes to process I know how much time I have to get everything together and ready. I'm good. Actually Josh said something that really made me laugh;

He said, " You panic now, I'll panic later". I love my husband :-) He makes me laugh at all the right times.

We Passed the Fire Inspection!!

Woo hoo!!!! They came last week but we didn't have a smoke detector in every bedroom so they had to come back. Josh was really cute - he went over the checklist at least three times before they came; wouldn't you know....the item that told us we had to have one in all the bedrooms wasn't on there.....oh well......He went right out and bought them; he was going to be sure we passed with flying colors this go around and we did!!!

Next up, the rest of the paperwork gets turned in and then they schedule the home study.

For those of you new to the game; we are adopting a child from the state, we don't care about age, race or ethnicity. We just want God's will. oh, and did I mention we were thinking of siblings? did I mention you need to pray?

Juli

Still working on the house; getting everything ready for when the Home Study is scheduled. We are down to the details now; most of the large items are completed. We are very excited and equally nervous about becoming parents. God's timing.

Had a fabulous day with the niece and nephews. We had a late Easter get together and the kids had a blast whacking an egg-shaped pinata. I think they like that better than the candy that came out of it. LOL.

The Journey

Josh and I have begun our journey to adopt. We know that God has a plan for us and our family and have stepped out to start the process. We are excited, nervous, and all the other emotions that go with it.

Currently we have completed most of our forms and have had the fire inspection. Next is completing the rest of the list and getting our home study scheduled. Our hope is to have our new family together before the beginning of the next school year, but that remains to be seen. Our timing is not God's timing; we do what we can and then wait.

For those who are catching up with us in general, Josh still works for Life Outreach Today; James Robison's ministry, and I work for Christian Life Ministries; out of Uganda - Jackson Senyonga's ministry.

Please pray for us as we come to your rememberence. And thank you for standing along side us as we continue our journey.

Juli and Josh