new listing

There are several new listings on the TARE site.  One is a group of four that we all got rather excited about very quickly.  Only time will tell if these are the ones..... With three boys and one girl I would lose my schoolroom, but we quickly worked that out.  We have struggled for almost 2 years to make our multipurpose living/dining/school room work well furniture and space wise, but it wasn't until last night that everything suddenly fell into place. Now to find a sectional sofa at the right price! We have found bunk beds at a GREAT price and are picking them up this afternoon.  So our preparations are coming together nicely and we are almost ready.  Still waiting to hear back from Hawaii and the FBI.  All in God's time!

quick update

Not much to say except that we did get an email from Jackie letting us know that the background checks from Arkansas had come back.  Now we are just waiting for the forms from Hawaii and our FBI fingerprints to come back.  No idea how long either of those will take, but there is still much to be done between now and then!

some confusion and re-dos

The background check forms for Hawaii and Arkansas had to be redone.  Not a problem there.  The offices of those states have been giving Jackie a really hard time and run around.  She says she thinks she finally has it all figured out, but needed us to get the forms filled out again. That was easy and I then scanned them and emailed them back to her.  So we still wait, and in our waiting get more things ready here at home. 

One part complete

The homestudy process is now complete!!!  We are still waiting for the background checks from Hawaii and Arkansas and for the FBI fingerprint check to come back.  Once that is done then we will be approved and can work on getting kids!!!  Jackie still thinks we will have our certification before Christmas....what a gift that will be!  When Jackie arrived today she asked if we would be willing to take a group of 4....all under the age of 7.....I let the kids think about it while I talked to Jackie and then when it was Russ' turn I asked the kids what they thought.  They all said "too many littles all at once".  So I kindly told Jackie no thank you.  I have to say I agree with the kids.  Three seems to feel just right to all of us.  Kerrie is moving bedrooms.  She is moving to the front bedroom so she can share with her new sister.  We are turning her old room into a school room/play room!  I'm very excited about this!  Mykhal has decided to go ahead and rearrange his room so that there will be room for the bunk beds when we are ready to put them in.  Things are moving along!  And even Lex is catching the excitement!

amazement and apologies

Well our first session on the homestudy is over with and the second scheduled for the first part of December.  Jackie said that we should be approved by mid-December and will be able to start working on getting our kids immediately!  So things really are moving fast!  Jackie actually apologized to us for her workload being so heavy that she couldn't get us approved by the end of the month!  These people are amazing and wonderful!  I am flying high! She said that there is nothing that will hold us back from approval at this point and as soon as all the paperwork is done and returned by all parties then it will be over!  next time she comes out she will do the official inspections (she left us a checklist), take pictures of our property, interview Russ and me separately and then just put the paperwork together!  YEA!!!  WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!  A fellow Sunday School class member used the phrase "makes my soul hum".....I think that describes it perfectly right now!  My soul is humming and my heart is dancing with JOY!!!

attraction

I have discovered that I am drawn to sibling groups that are older and are girl, boy, girl......hmmmm, sounds rather familiar.....like maybe I have those living in my house now!  Kinda funny, but makes sense to be drawn to what is familiar.  I decided to go through the entire list of siblings on the TARE site and write down the case numbers of those that sparked my interest.  In doing so I came across another trio that have more issues than the first group seemed to, but I think they would still be a good match for us.  Mykhal says he won't mind having another older sister since there is a boy in this group that is just a little over a year younger than he is.  So again time will tell.  This group has been on the website for at least a year.  Our home study begins in about 40 minutes! will post more later.

Wednesday

....was a LONG day!  We got up at 4:30 am and left here for Ft. Worth at 5.  We got there, checked the 15 passenger van over, test drove, and signed papers.  We pick it up next week.  I am sad to see my sienna go, but am glad to be getting more space.  Driving the huge thing will take some adjustment, but it handles well.  Certainly will make long trips more comfortable!