Fostering/Adoption Update...

We got our "APPROVED" phonecall this afternoon to let us know we can start our 10 weeks worth of PS-MAPP classes to become a licensed foster family! Hooray! We are 1 step closer to our next children. :)

I am not surprised that we were approved just due to the fact that we don't really have any criminal activity in our history and didn't expect our fingerprints to bring anything up. Ha. Still, it was so exciting to get the call.

You know, I've never gone through all of the excitement of pregnancy, but just as in our previous adoption, I am feeling all kinds of anticipation and nerves and dreaming about all things children. This is why in adoption, this part is called the "paper pregnancy". It's quite a bit different when going the foster care to adopt route, but my feelings are the same. I know that I am on my way to meeting our new children and it is such a thought consuming process.

I do have a couple specific prayer requests as we go forward...

1) That we are approved to miss 1 PS-MAPP class to make up at a later date so that we can get into the July class. If we do, we will be done with our classes by the end of September.

2) That if we do not get into the July class, the August class fills up with at least 3 more families so it is not cancelled which would cause us to have to wait to start our 10 weeks worth of classes in mid November!

3) That the children we foster (and hopefully adopt!) are being well taken care of by whichever foster family they are currently with.

It's just so hard knowing that since we are doing this to specifically adopt, our children will have likely been in "the system" for quite a while prior to coming to us. We are praying that the children placed in our home are "adoptable" and won't have to move to any other homes beyond ours and we can be their forever family. Legally, we cannot be told if the children to be placed in our home are adoptable until we are officially part of their case and they are in our home. However, Iowa KidsNet knows what our purpose in this process is and knows that we want to adopt in the end of all of this. That being said, we are fully prepared to foster children who could go back to their birth families and would be happy to love them and provide a happy home for them while they need it.

It breaks my heart to know that the children we will be fostering and hopefully adopting are likely going through so so much sadness and heartache right now. I pray for them every day and think about them constantly.

We are very anxious to get the classes and homestudy taken care of so we can grow our family once again! :)