Summer Slow Down

Sorry about the absence folks. It has been a crazy summer. It started and has not stopped. 

John and I went on vacation from June 8th-13th. It was a much needed blessing. While I might live with my husband, I really don't see him as much as I would like and we never see each other without cell phones. This vacation was just the 2 of us and with little technology. It was wonderful to have some one-on-one time. We considered this our "last" trip without kids, or so we think. Once we got back the craziness picked up right where it left off. Finally, amidst errands and chaos with my car yesterday, John said, "I'm hungry" and proceeded to pull into Costco parking lot. He said he wanted a quick bite and this would be a good cheap place. There John took me on a mid afternoon date where we shared a hot dog and a churro under a red and white umbrella. It was an amazing afternoon date. We have learned you take the date where you can and when you can. 

We have been getting a lot of questions about where we are at in the foster process and when we are getting kids. The short answer: no idea. I find this is probably normal in the world of foster care. We have training July 12th and a foster parent retreat weekend of July 18th. In my mind we will hopefully be finished sometime in the neighborhood of end of July beginning of August. We will see our social worker on July 12th and are hoping she can give us a better idea then. From what we understand paperwork is pretty much complete. In terms of what we have at home..... not much. The room is finally cleaned out. John and I decided to slow down on the purchasing of things. We don't know what ages or genders we will be getting so we are trying to get the basics and wait until they arrive. While this plan adds to my already existent terror (remember: control freak here) I think it will be the best plan for controlling the chaos of our garage. We already have limited space and preparing for kids between the ages of 0-7 can take up a lot of space if not careful. I looked at daycares recently and we are trying to make a game plan for when the kids get here. We have purchased some things the house has to have and now we just need to install. We passed fire inspection so that is done. 

I started a new job on June 17th which I LOVE. It has been a great and pretty peaceful transition which has been a pleasant surprise. I have so much to learn and so much training ahead of me, but it is all in areas that I really care about. 

John is doing well. He started a 4 week bible study on worship and he is doing the sermon tomorrow. He has been pretty busy with lots of wonderful things. 

It is hard to believe June is almost finished considering it feels like it only began, but that is the way summer usually goes. 

Current Status on the Foster Stuff

Well there isn't a whole lot to report. Two weeks ago we had our big psycho-social interview. Saying I was nervous is putting it lightly. The director of our agency came to our house Sunday night. She informed us it could take several hours and we should let her know if we get tired. This concerned me. When someone tells you before an interview, "let me know if you get tired" I panic and think emotionally tired. I know, I am crazy. I knew this interview would include a myriad of personal details about our up bringing that I was slightly hesitant to discuss. Think about how you might respond if someone asked lots of super personal questions on how your were raised, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Long story short it went well. We all had a good time and got along very well. You could almost say it was therapeutic to discuss your childhood, plans for the future, marriage, etc over chips and salsa with someone you have never met before. 

Here is the part I love. After our interview she said, "Well everything seems to look pretty good and you guys have been quick with your paperwork, so it looks like you guys could be licensed by mid to late June." That was the moment John and I both looked at each other with mostly panic in our eyes. Our background checks had taken so long we thought we were looking at closer to September before we would be licensed. It didn't take long for us to make a crazy long to-do list, verbally reprimand past John and Ashley for not doing things sooner on a better time schedule, and jump for joy with excitement. We are so excited that this summer could possibly include kids. However based on when trainings look like they will be scheduled we are still not planning on being licensed until end of July. 

So what do we have left you ask...... 
Fire Inspection 
Get pets vaccinated (no one, including cats, is looking forward to this) We did this on Saturday and as predicted it is was not fun. 
TB test for John and Seester
Training (July 12th) 
Finish kids' room
Various simple home repairs 
My fingerprinting
Couple more documents like budget form, disaster plan, emergency contacts, etc. 
    (These are things we are doing)

I think the agency still has to call references and health inspection. 

The list is not what I would call daunting, but will take some basic skill in time management. All in all we are doing pretty good. We could really use some prayer that things continue to move right along.