Getting to Know You: Home Study Part 1

Today we had our first home study interview.  I have to be honest, I was a little bit anxious as we walked through the door.  I wondered what deep and probing questions we might be asked about the depths of our lives, but it was easy and comfortable.  It was really just a conversation so that Amy, our social worker, could get to know us.  She asked how we met and how long we had been married and she wanted to know all about Adair and her little personality.  It was like getting to know a new friend, which instantly put both of us at ease. 

Now we are working on finishing up the Hague online training, writing our autobiographies, and gathering documents and references that will eventually become part of our Dossier (dos-ee-ey, noun: a collection or file of documents on the same subject, especially a complete file containing detailed information about a person or topic) that will be sent to China.

Many people have asked, and I am sure you are curious too, about the potential timeline of this process.  So, here's a rough idea of how things may go (nothing is set in stone at this stage of the process).  It will take about 3-4 months to complete the home study.  Once we've completed that it will be sent to immigration (CIS) for approval which can take 3-4 months.  Once we receive CIS approval our Dossier will officially be sent to China and we will be "logged in".  This usually takes about a month.  Once we are "logged in" we will start receiving referrals.  At that point, we could accept a referral right away or it could take several months.  It will depend on when we receive the file of the child we feel like God has chosen to be in our family.  Once we are matched with a child we will travel within 5-6 months to bring our baby girl home.  So, within 12-18 months we will likely be meeting baby girl Powers for the first time face to face.