Homework

Ryan and I got our finger prints done yesterday. The back ground checks that they run are first with the F.B.I., second with the State of Oregon, and third with Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles. We also signed a waiver to allow them to check our credit. Goodness, this sure is an in depth process.

We were able to meet with our clinician in person which was really nice. I was finally able to put a face to the person I have been talking to and emailing for weeks. There was a little confusion on our meeting time so we were also able to meet another clinician that was really really nice. She has also adopted and shared her story with us. Our clinician gave us some homework to get done in the next few weeks. First Ryan and I each have a 120 question questionnaire to complete. The answers that they are looking for are more like essays rather than short answers so it is going to take some time for us to complete this questionnaire. She mentioned that if we are specific now there will be a lot less questions and hassles later. Ryan and I are supposed to fill these out on our own and not share them with each other. That kind of bothers me since I am not the kind of person to keep secrets from my husband and I share about everything with him. But I will do as she asks.

We are also going to be needing help from some friends and family. We have to request several people to complete a questionnaire on our behalf. We have talked about who we would like to ask but have not actually asked anyone yet. I am not sure what the questions are but I am pretty sure that the ones we ask will know the right things to write.

Another home work assignment is to talk about the risk level we are willing to accept. What we really have to decide is if we are willing to adopt a baby that has been exposed to drugs and alcohol or has other possible long term medical conditions. This is something that we really are going to have to pray about. We have talked about it in the past when we were considering adopting through The State of Oregon. So we already have an idea about what risk we would be willing to take on but need to leave the final decision in God's hands.

Ryan and I will also to each have a physical. It sure seems that every angle is covered through this process. I can now see how adoptive parents get attached to their clinician since they will end up knowing almost every thing about us. Our clinician also mentioned that we need to know when the baby would be covered by our insurance. That seemed like a silly question to me but when she told me that some insurance companies cover adopted children right at birth and that some cover the child at placement. My medical insurance coverage will not cover the child until placement. So does that mean that we are responsible for the medical costs while the child is in the hospital? I will have to ask our clinician the next time that I talk with her. In the mean time Ryan is going to check with his medical insurance to see when the child would be covered.

For the next few weeks we will have a lot of, praying, thinking and typing to do. As soon as we get all of the requested information to our clinician we will be starting our home study process. The questionnaire that we each have to fill out is the first part of the home study. Our clinician will meet with us individually and with us as a couple.

I almost forgot to mention my favorite part of our homework. We have to make a few scrapbooks to be shown to the birth mothers. This will be a fun project for me. I really enjoy scrap booking so it will not really be homework for me. The hard part of this task will be figuring out which photos that we want to put in our books. Thank goodness for Snapfish!!