The Original Purpose

A few days ago I posted a blog asking where all you Beautiful Blogging Buddies come from and I am so happy that some of you did.

The blog stalker from New Zealand has yet to post a comment, but I know you're out there and I'm really interested in how you found me!

But what really surprised me was how many of you are following along this Journey that brought us to our Josie because you too are interested or in the process of becoming foster parents.

It brings me back to the reason we started this blog.

It started as a way to keep our family up to date about how the process was going.

As I started to learn more about fostering, DFCS, and the amazing kids out there needing families, I wanted to keep blogging to bring awareness to the need.

Then when we got to bring Josie home way before we ever thought we'd be able to, it became a blog about mothering her and my life.

But my true passion is still caring for the kids in the foster care system.

And even if we don't have any placements right now, I still feel a desire to bring these orphans to the surface.

I am honored to have women like you reading my blog. And I apologize for not having more content regarding our journey.

But I hope that you find encouragement in that the journey is not always long. For us it was a short few months. For you it may be longer, it may be shorter. But either way, becoming a foster parent or adopting a child that needs a home is an absolutely amazing experience.

One of our old friends started the IMPACT class right after we did and they brought home their beautiful baby boy just this weekend.

Miracles happen. And every one of these kids is a miracle.

These are the kids that we have had the honor of having with us. Each one of them came with their own story, their own tragedy, their own needs. They all have the most amazing personalities and were the most loving children I've ever known. They were silly an kept us laughing (Especially when the boys thought I was Andrew's mom too!).

The boys came right after we got Josie. They were adopted a month after they came to us by Andrew's Aunt and Uncle. Another miracle we got to be a part of.

A few of you asked for me to share any advice that I may have for the DFCS process.

We were lucky, we had an amazing case worker, but I've heard stories from people who weren't so lucky. Try to remember how overwhelmed caseworkers are. Most of them have hundreds of children that they are responsible for. When you think of a question or concern, no matter how small, write it down and be sure to ask it when you get them on the phone or have their attention at a home visit. Don't be shy.

We are proof that there are babies that need to be adopted in the foster care system. They will tell you that there aren't, but just smile and say that's ok, you still want to do it.

The IMPACT Classes are long, boring, and not very informative, but they are a small price to pay for a beautiful child. Pay attention, learn what you can, and don't let the classes scare you out of what God is calling you to do.

Turn in all your paperwork as soon as possible. We were the first ones to turn our packet in. Not only did we get a (not so attractive) t-shirt, we were put at the top of the list for the order they would do home studies in. Had we pushed off our paperwork, we wouldn't have been approved when Josie was needing a home and she very well could have ended up with the wrong family.

Your paperwork will ask you a list of things that you are willing to accept in a child and not willing to accept. Unless you have a situation that you absolutely positively cannot do, say yes to all scenarios and then assess each individual case that is presented to you. Josie's case file states a history of mental illness, drug use, and no prenatal medical care. She is also tagged as special needs. But our baby girl is 100% healthy, has no developmental delays, and was only special needs based on her race and age. If we had said, "no special needs children" on our forms, she wouldn't have been brought to us.

On the other hand, if you get a placement call and don't feel like it's right for your family, say no. It hurts to say no to a child, but it would hurt even worse to have to call your caseworker to come get the child if you can't handle it.

The last thing I can think of right now is that you need to go ahead and think about what you are willing to work with in a child and what is just not possible for your family at this time. Because when they call you with a child sitting in their office that needs a home, you have to be able to answer pretty much right away or you will miss your chance. We've had a couple calls that we told them we'd need to talk about first and when we called back they had found another placement. Some of them we feel just weren't meant for our family and some of them we feel like we didn't obey God by not saying yes.

On my side bar you can link over to Faith Hope Adoption. They are the ministry that guided Andrew and I through every step of our adoption. This ministry was a mind saver for us. They know so much about adopting in Georgia. And they provide their services for no charge at all! Please contact them. Even if you don't live in Georgia, they will surely be able to give you guidance, and at the least a huge amount of encouragement.

I hope all of your journeys are as graceful and easy as ours has been. But even if it isn't easy, I can say wholeheartedly that it is worth every paper you have to fill out, every home visit you have to arrange, and every hoop you may have to jump through.

And she is living proof.

The day she became Josie Kathryn Pope

March 27th, 2008

Good luck!

IMPACT Class 4

We are finally done with our certification classes!
This last one was pretty fun. We went over the Foster Parents Bill of Rights, watched a video of a former foster child who is now a Chief of Staff in Washington, and went over some of the basic rules and procedures that we will need to know. We will get a big manual with all of that info in it once our home study is approved. The video was so good. Very inspirational. It showed the importance that foster parents have in the children's lives. It made me feel really good about our decision to do this. Which I needed since I was having doubts last week about my capability of handling the child leaving. I definitely feel like I am following God's lead right now.
The best part of the class was the last hour. They had a panel come in to talk to us and to allow us to ask some questions. There was a worker from CASA (an organization that advocates for children in the system) and two foster families. The foster families brought their foster kids with them and it was SO exciting to see actual kids that we could have with us! It's funny, cause they are just normal kids! I don't know what I thought, but you never would have known the things they had been through by seeing them there in the class.
One of the families had a 6 year old, a 2 year old, an 11 month old, a 4 month old, and a 1 month old! I do not see that in our future! They had such a great outlook about the birth families and the children and losing the children. It was great to get to hear stories from people who were really doing it.
I went to see our case worker before we left and we are right on track. We are just waiting for our last couple of reference letters to come back in. We are proud to announce that we do not have a criminal record and the FBI does not know who we are! T is planning on writing our home study on Friday and submitting it for approval next Monday. It then needs to be approved by her 2 supervisors. Once that is done we will be open for business! I asked her if she had any idea how long we had before we could expect placement calls and she told us for sure by the end of the month, possibly in 2 weeks!
I'm glad we may have a week longer then we thought. I could use a Saturday with nothing to do!

IMPACT Class 3

Three down, one to go!
This week, class was actually pretty much a downer. We went over the signs, effects, proof, etc. of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect. So there wasn't a lot of good stuff. I guess I don't want to document too much of it since it makes me so angry that people can treat children like that. They showed us a slideshow of pictures that were taken of some kids right after they came into care. They told us they were worst case senarios and that the chances of us being placed with a child who had been through that were very unlikely, but that doesn't change the fact that the kids in the pictures did go through it. It was awful. And all the pictures are from right in our county. I just can't believe it.
We also went over the "challanges" of raising a child that is a different race then you are. Andrew and I did not agree with the majority of what they were saying. Yea, I suppose it's not a bad idea to read our kids books and buy them toys that represent their race, but in no way do I feel that it is a challange to raise a child that has skin that is different then mine. Andrew is a great case in point of that. I firmly believe that ALL kids should be exposed to different cultures and races; be it in their books or toys or the places we go. I found it funny that black kids should go to lots of "black" events and white kids should go to "white" events. And what exactly is a white event? I guess we could teach them how to clap off beat and have awful dance moves!
Sometimes I forget that I live in the south.
We turned in almost all of our forms. Only one left and Andrew is on his way to drop it off this morning. Missy turned in her reference letter. And if you got one, PLEASE send it in right away! We can't get our certification until they are in!
So needless to say, we are pretty stoked! Baby Pope is getting closer. I still feel completely unprepared though. I think Erika is trying to get some stuff together for us. It's just strange to not be pregnant, but to know that a baby is coming. I still can't decide if it's weird to have a baby shower or tell people where we are registered. Even though we are starting out as foster parents, we still need all that baby gear. I am however, starting to realize that the baby is the important part and that all the stuff that we need will come with time.
Right now Andrew and I are concentrating on relaxing and going to bed at 9. We know those days are coming to an end. And that is perfectly fine with us!
PS - we did post our registry on this page. This may be tacky, but oh well.

TB Free

I believe we are TB Free! We are going in this afternoon to have our TB tests read and neither of our shots have reacted, so I am guessing that we are clear. I managed to gather the rest of the documents we needed so that we can turn everything in at class on Saturday.
Missy and I are going to paint the nursery and start to really set everything up this weekend.
And Missy got her reference letter from DFACS last night. I made her promise to fill it out right away and mail it back today! I am going to call our other references and tell them that it is SO important for them to go ahead and fill them out and send them back.
So now DFACS is waiting for our background checks to come back and our reference letters to come back. Then our caseworker (T) will write up our homestudy, have it approved by her two supervisors, come to our house to check the couple of safety issues that we have to address, and we're done!
I might get to go trick or treating this year!

IMPACT Class Two

Well, we are half way done with our IMPACT classes! Yea! This class wasn't much different then the last one. We talked about life books and how important they are for the kids. A life book is basically a scrapbook for the kids that shows them about thier life while they were with you. They were talking about how much kids love to look at baby pictures of themselves and that kids in foster care don't have any of those pictures to look at unless the foster parents take the time to take pictures and put them in a book for them. I am excited to do a life book. Even though we are adopting so our kids will have those pictures anyways, I still want to make it a priority for them to see every stage of their life with us. That's why we are keeping the baby journal right now, so that we can show the baby how much we wanted it. They told us that we should start keeping a camera by the phone so we can take a picture right when we get the placement call! I love that idea!
They also went over the different emotional issues that some children have. A lot of them are so understandable when you think about how they don't have any structure in their lives. We are going over the different issues so that we can be knowledgeable about them.
Other then that, the class was pretty much the same as last week. Except that the people who were supposed to bring lunch decided not to come. They ended up ordering pizza, which was a-ok with me. In fact, half of the class decided not to come. So we are down to about 20-25 people in the class.
OH, and we got a shirt for being the first people to turn in our green packet! Yup, we are teacher's pets! I hope that means we get first dibs on a baby!
One of the teachers was placed with a foster baby right from the hospital last week and she brought her to class. She was SO sweet. She made little baby noises during the whole class. I was DYING to hold her, but I imagine everyone else was too. We'll have our little one soon enough. I am getting so anxious to get the placement call. It's hard to be patient when you want something so bad.
We have our home study on Tuesday. I have to get Andrew to go cut the grass so she doesn't think that we live in a jungle! I hope to get more of a timeline from her as well. We have turned in almost all of our forms. I think we will be able to turn in the other ones next Saturday. Then we will just be waiting for our home study to be approved so we can be on the list for placement calls.
Part of me thinks that we could have a baby before Thanksgiving if everything keeps going this fast. If not, it will probably still be the new year. EKKKK!!! I can't wait!!! We have so much to do to finish getting ready!

Homestudy one is scheduled!

Mrs. Moore just called Andrew to schedule our first homestudy! It is Tuesday at 3. Hopefully this will be the only one during the day since I can't take time off from work to meet again. Ok... now I'm starting to get nervous!

Our Forms Are On The Way!

Andrew is so awesome! He filled out all his paperwork yesterday and we are done with the questionaires! So this morning Andrew is going to make copies of everything, a total of about 60 pages front and back! I would hate to have filled all of that out and turn it in without copies. It would really suck if we did all that and it got lost! So he will make the copies and then, after he picks Sara and Sydney up from school, he will bring it to DFCS and drop it off. I am willing to bet that we will be one of the first couples to turn it in, so hopefully we will be at the top of the list to get our homestudy started.
Tonight we are going to the Family Clinic in Griffin to get our physicals, TB tests, and drug screens done. Andrew is dropping off a letter requesting the Environmental Health Department to come out and appove our well and septic system as well. Other then that, all we have left to turn in is a copy of our 2006 W-2's to prove our income, and we will be done with our side of the paperwork! I love getting a to do list done, it's my favorite!
Of course, we still have three Saturday's full of classes. We also have to have 2 home visits. When that is done, it will take our caseworker about a month to write up our homestudy and maybe a week or so after that to get it approved by their supervisor. Then... we will be ready to get placement calls! Yippee!
Missy and I are going to paint the nursery in October and we will probably get the crib up then too.
Well, that's all for today. Just turning paperwork in and getting our physicals out of the way. I'll keep you all updated if anything else changes!

IMPACT CLASS ONE

Well, we made it through our first class! In true Pope fasion, we were a few minutes late. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal since it was supposed to be a small class. Well, there had to have been over 40 people there! The room was completely packed. They had to go get another table for the back of the room for us. So there was no "sneaking" in like we had planned! Luckily, we were not the last people to get there though!
I had thought that the class would drag by, but it went pretty fast. The information was pretty basic this first class. We went over the requirements and all the forms that we need to fill out. They also breifly went over how the process would work for us all. I think they will go over this in more detail once we are assigned a case worker.

We did learn a lot about how kids come into care and why. It is pretty sad to think of what some kids go through and how many times they can be moved back and forth. I can't imagine what it would be like growing up like that. We did a skit to help us understand how the process works from the time the children first come into the state's care all the way to an adoption. I was the alcholic mother who ran from my problems. The skit was interesting and really did help us get a feel for how the system works.

There are currently over 60,000 children in the DFCS system in Georgia alone. Over 200 are in our county. All those children and only about 20 foster homes. The problem is overwhelming.

The class made me want to be a social worker. Their job is so needed. The turnover rate is very high though due to the stress and how the job will never be done.

There were 4 case workers there that each taught different parts of the class. Like I said before, this class had a lot of definitions. They were trying to get us to understand what we were signing up for and how important it is that we take the job seriously.

One of the tasks we did was to draw a picture of what we felt the perfect child would be for us. Andrew and I had a bit of a difference in our idea of the "perfect" child. Let me show you what I mean...

First, my perfect baby.

Now, Andrew's! Notice the increase in amount of "perfect" children!

I think we are going to have to have a talk!
So all in all, the class was good. We were sent home with a list of things that we need to get together along with 2 25 page packets of questions that we both need to fill out before they will assign us a caseworker or start our home study. Of course, mine is completed. Andrew is supposed to start his today.
I have to say, it feels so good to be on our way. Baby Pope, here we come!

Ready to get this started!

Hello Everyone!
I feel like I am just waiting in limbo. We start our IMPACT classes this Saturday, but until then, we wait. We are actually waiting for our letter that invites us to attend the classes. Hopefully it came today or I will need to call tomorrow to be sure we are listed in the class. As most of you know, I am an avid planner. I want to be as prepared as possible. I have made copies of the few forms that our social worker let us know we would need already, but I know there will be a ton more. I have been reading some other blogs on adoption which really helped give me an idea of what paperwork is needed. Right now I know that we will need...
- Copy of our birth certificates
- Copy of our drivers license
- Copy of our marriage license
- W2's for the past 2 years
- Something stating that our well and septic tank are up to code
- Both of us need physicals and TB test
- A fire extinguisher
I know there is a ton more, but that is all I remember right now. I wish I had someone that could tell me what else to get in order. I was going to make our doctors appointments, but I am not sure what all we need to get done at the appointment, so I decided to wait until after the first class.
I am so excited! I am ready for our homestudy to be done. I know that is when the real waiting begins, but that is ok. I decided to wait to talk to my work about the adoption until after our classes are completed. Only 2 more days until the classes start!

Another Step Done!

We have both been fingerprinted and are now in the system!
I almost cried last night when we got to the Henry County Jail, which I was told did fingerprints 24 hours everyday, and they looked totally closed down! But Andrew went and found a guy to open it up and do my fingerprints. We had Holly with us and it was her first trip to the jail (and her last!) The guy who did my fingerprints was pretty funny. I thought it was really exciting to actually be doing something to move the process forward.
So today Andrew will go drop them off at the DFCS office and we will wait for our letter inviting us to attend the IMPACT classes.
We are going to Flordia this weekend to see my Dad! I haven't talked to him about the adoption yet, but I can't wait to tell him. I like talking about stuff like this with him in person. I am SO ready for the beach and the pool at Dad's house! This may be our last trip without kids. How crazy is that!?!?

Fingerprints

Well, Andrew did his job on Friday. He went to the Henry County jail and walked right in, got his fingerprints done, and was back on the road in a matter of minutes. I, however, was not quite so lucky. My whole family was in town for the weekend. On Friday, we all loaded into the truck and drove into Griffin so I could get mine done. First we drove to the wrong place. Then we had to fly to the correct place so we could get there before they closed. When we got to the Spaulding County jail, we had about 10 minutes left until they closed the fingerprint machine down for the weekend! I made Pearl come in with me because I was scared of the jail. I was not expecting to go to the jail, I thought I was going to the police station. I was definately not dressed for a jail house visit. When Pearl and I walked in, the little waiting room was pretty full and there were 4 other girls in there to get their fingerprints done. We went up to the window and the lady told me to go wash my hands and have a seat. Well, let me tell you, I think my hands were a whole lot cleaner before I went into that bathroom to wash my hands then they were after I touched the sink in the "bathroom". So I "washed" my hands without soap, since the dispenser was out. We waited for about 20 minutes before the first girl came out. We asked her how long the whole process took for her and she said she had been there for at least 1/2 an hour. So I gave up. I didn't think it would be fair to ask my Minnesota family to sit in the truck for another hour and a half in the 110 degree heat. So me, the queen of organization was beat by Andrew, the king of procrastination. Dang. I was so frustrated. I want to be on the ball every step of the way and now I am behind! So I am going to for sure get them done today and Andrew will bring them back to DFCS tomorrow morning.
We had an amazing weekend with my family. It was so much fun to have them here and to show them a little piece of our life. They loved the house. They all got a chance to write in the baby journal too, so I was excited about that. The visit went by WAY to fast. I hate living so far from them, but someday I'll be able to visit a lot more then I can now. I can't wait for that.
On a side note, Andrew's mom had lunch with an old friend on Saturday. She just retired from Spaulding County DFCS. So Darlene told her our story and about how we are about to start the Foster-Adopt program. She was excited and said she would put in a good word for us with her old friends from DFCS. YEA!!

Orientation

Orientation went great last night. It had a differnt effect on Andrew then it did on me. We went to DFCS at 4:30 for our meeting. Ms. Moore was sick so we met with the other case worker. She was so nice! I really liked her. She was honest but still encouraging. She went over the basics of the adoption process and told us what steps we will need to take. It is going to be an intense month for us! The first thing we have to do is go get our fingerprints at the police station and then bring the cards back to the DFCS office. This is so they can run a background check and make sure we are who we say we are. So we will be doing that this week. I am also going to set up our doctor appointments. We have to have a physical done and have the doctor sign a form stating that he feels we are capible of raising a child. How funny is it that we are having to do all of this while other people can just have children whenever they want?!? But I totally understand. They are choosing to place a child with us and the primary concern is the child's wellbeing. So I am totally ok with jumping through any hoops required.
Once we turn in our fingerprint cards we will get a letter inviting us to attend the IMPACT classes which start on September 8th. The first class will go over the detail of why children come into care and other parts of the foster and adoption process. We will get a HUGE packet of forms that we will have to fill out. And when I say huge, I really mean huge! We will basically be writing our life story along with answering every imaginable question about our relationship with eachother as well as with the other people in our life. There will also be many forms that we need to obtain to turn in; birth certificates, marriage license, septic and well certificates, etc. So I am going to start working on rounding all of that up this week and early next week so we will be ready to turn it all in. I plan on filling out that HUGE packet as soon as we get it.
There are two caseworkers for our class and so far, they have both been so nice. One of them has been working there for over 36 years. That's amazing considering the turn-over rate for case workers. They told us last night that the first ones to turn in their green sheet in the packet are the first ones to get their homestudy started, we want that to be us! So the night of September 8th will consist of Andrew and I sitting at our dining room table writing our life out on a green sheet of paper! Lucky Andrew!
We asked about how long the process would take. She really couldn't tell us for sure. A lot of it will depend on how quickly we move. It will take about 3 weeks for our homestudy to be completed and then it will need to be approved. She said that would bring us to December. They don't really move any children during the holidays unless it is an emergency so we are probably looking at the new year before we get a placement call. That's ok with us. We will just enjoy this holiday season with the hopes that it will be our last one without children.
She told us that there are not many babies that are placed for adoption. Faith Hope told us that they would say this so it didn't really phase me. Plus, I'm ok with the child being a toddler. We won't know until we get a call. When we start getting placement calls, it will still be up to us if we feel led to that child or if we want to keep waiting for a younger child. She said that chances are that someone in our class will be placed with a baby, she just didn't know if it would be us or not. I hope it is!
The reason that it is difficult to get a baby is that we are only going to do "foster to adopt" placements. This means that the children that we will get calls for will have over an 80% chance that they will be available for adoption. It usually takes about a year for them to determine weither or not they are going to terminate the parents rights. It makes it harder to place a child with us, but it also will help cut down on the heartbreak of getting attached to a child and then having it returned to it's parents. We have to remember that DFCS primary goal is the child's best interest, and sometimes that means going home to their birthparents. But I am fully confident that God will lead us to the child we are meant to parent.
We are hoping that I will be able to stay home at some point with the child. I feel that this is the calling that I have on my life. We will just have to see what God has in store and keep our eyes open for opportunity.
After the meeting, Andrew was a little unsure if this was the route we want to take. They were very honest that they are looking for families for their children, not children for our family. The child comes first. He just doesn't want me to get hurt. But we talk a lot last night and decided that we know what we are getting into and we are ready.
I know it would be difficult to have to return a child after it lives with us, but I have the mindset that I want to help the kids. I want what's best for them.
I am ready and going into this with my eyes WIDE open. I am ready!

A Mother's Love Is Peace

It need not be earned, it need not be deserved.

Andrew and I had an excited weekend. I went to a consignment sale to try to get a few baby things. It was harder then I thought it would be since we really have no idea what age or sex the baby we are matched with will be. I got a couple little sleepers and some books. I also got a few things from Target to start babyproofing the house. We'll have to have a few basic things done before October when our case worker comes to see our house. In October we will also have to go ahead and get a carseat and a crib.
My Mom, Grandma, Pearl, Suzy, and Robbin are all coming to spend the weekend with us. I am so excited! I'm sure we will have a blast. The next weekend we are going to Flordia to stay with my Dad and then we will be starting the IMPACT classes. Time seems to be dragging by now that we have decided to go with adoption, so I am glad we will be busy these next couple of weeks.
Tomorrow we go in to the DFCS office to have our orientation with Ms. Moore. I am praying that it goes smoothly and that we get some of our questions answered. We are only interested in adopting at this time and not in becoming foster parents. I know that the state really pushes foster parenting because they are in such need. Eventually, Andrew and I do want to be foster parents, just not right now.
So I'll let you all know how the orientation goes tomorrow. We have our appointment at 4:30. Be praying!

Orientation Is Scheduled!

Well, we are on our way. We are having an orientation at DFCS on August 21st at 4:30. We will be meeting with Ms.Moore about the IMPACT program and foster/adoption. I am not exactly sure what all will be covered in that meeting. Ms.Moore seems so nice on the phone. She has been very efficient calling me back and getting me information. I wonder if she will be our case worker. I am going to a consignment sale tomorrow night to get some basic baby supplies. With any luck, we could be placed with a baby by Christmas. I know that it will most likely be a bit longer then that, but you never know. And I want to be ready when we get the call!
I told my mom last night that we are proceeding with the adoption. She was supportive (like always!) I know she will love that baby just the same as if I gave birth to it. I can't wait to watch all of our parents spoil the baby!
I will keep you all updated on how the orientation goes!

IMPACT

Andrew and I are getting ready to start the IMPACT classes. I called and spoke to a woman at DFCS this morning. She was pretty nice, so that took some of the stress away. I guess we'll see how they act once we are trying to adopt. We are going to the classes in Spaulding County. We know a couple of families that have adopted through Spaulding. The classes start on September 8th. We'll be there from 9-2! Geez! I'm interested to see if Andrew can sit still for that long! We will go every Saturday for a month. At the end of the month we will have our case worker come to our house to make sure we don't live in a box, and then we will be put on the adoption registry so that we can be matched with a child. We are getting excited!
We decided last night that we are not going to be picky about gender or race for the baby. When a child is presented to us as needing a home, those things won't matter. So I guess I may end up having to change the name of this blog if we end up getting a little boy!
I am going to contact Andrew's aunt so I can talk to her about thier adoptions and get some pointers.
Well, that is all the info we will really have until we start the classes. I'll keep you all updated about what we are learning once we start.

A Journey of a Million Miles...

begins with a single step.

On Saturday I attended a class put on by Faith Hope Adoptions at the church. It was great. Faith Hope Adoptions is an organization that helps people weave their way through all the steps involved in adopting a child. When Andrew and I first talked about adopting, we always thought it would be through an agency and that we would adopt a newborn. However, some recent events have brought us to a new place. We're now planning on adopting through DFCS (department of family and child services). We may still get a newborn, but we will most likely adopt a baby around 4-24 months old. Of course we won't know exactly until we are matched with a child. We really feel lead to help one of the children in foster care. To give one of them a permanant home. The adoption will be almost free since we are going through DFCS. It will also require more patience since we will be dealing with the state government. That's one reason I am so greatful to be linking up with Faith Hope Adoption since they will be able to answer any questions we may run into. From what I learned in the class, the state definatly doesn't make it easy. Which is insane to me considering the number of children that need homes today. So the class was great. We are going to the second part on September 15th. We are also going to start IMPACT classes as soon as our county has one open. These are required in order to adopt through the state. They are basically parenting classes, so that should be good! I need to call them today to see when the classes are available. During the class, they will also be compiling our homestudy. We have to prove ourselves to the state before we can be matched. The entire process, from starting IMPACT to bringing Josie home should take around 14 months. It could be as little as 4 though. We will just have to be ready for anything. Good thing I've been compiling baby supplies for the past 5 years! I will keep you all updated as we travel this road. I can't wait for everyone to meet her!