Frustrating week. . .

Ughhh. Let's rundown the sucky goings on of the last few days:

1. Adoption agency STILL doesn't have my employment verification. Or my neighbor reference. I gave them the contact info again for my HR department - and a fax number for my neighbor over 2 weeks ago. This week I find out that they can't fax the reference form (for confidentiality reasons - and could they e-mail it? Fine. So I call my poor neighbor again to get even more personal info from her. Sheesh. I think the only reason my neighbor has been so patient with this process is because she is adopted. And I can't explain why my HR rep still has gotten a fax about the employment verification. I know the agency is busy and had some staff changes, but I'm really starting to get frustrated with these paperwork issues. I just want it to be done with already.

2. The pressure regulator valve in the house crapped out late last week. So the pipes were making this horrible "singing" noise every time you flushed or turned on the water. Great. Luckily, I found a nice local plumber who only charged me $210 to replace it. I had other quotes up to $500. Seriously? It took this guy 20 minutes to swap out a $50 plumbing part - where do these other yahoos get the nerve to quote me 500 bucks??

3. The other day I go down into the basement to grab a frozen meal to take to work - and find a foot long puddle of chicken-smelling juice running out of my freezer. Oh happy day. So, I cleaned up the liquid, open the freezer and find everything in it thawed and mushy. Probably $600 - 800 worth of food. Fabulous. Darling hubby was kind enough to empty and clean out the thing that night. Fast forward to today - I go down to make sure it's not to stinky inside the freezer and open the door to a warm interior. I was kicking myself yesterday, thinking I hadn't shut the thing properly on Tuesday, therefore prompting the Big Thaw. Turns out the dang thing is just busted in general. I guess the compressor or something on it died. So, not only do I get to spend hundreds of dollars replacing the food, I also get to fork out for a repair or a new freezer.

Sorry to gripe, but I hate when stuff piles on like this. I know we are very fortunate to afford the repairs (unlike many families now) and losing the food doesn't mean my family eats ramen for the next 3 weeks. I think the adoption delays are just really getting to me and the other stuff just sent me over the edge.

Oh well, next week will be better. Homestudy interview #1 is Monday afternoon, so I will spend that day tidying the house and getting ready for that. I'm not looking forward to the personal questions I know they will be asking, but it's progress and puts us closer to becoming parents.

I was watching Adoption Stories today and the episode featured a lesbian couple who had a son through foster-to-adopt. They showed their Gotcha Day at the courthouse and I bawled. Like sobbing - no kidding. All I could think about was how that might be hubby and I someday.

I can't wait.

Homestudy begins!!!!!

We were finally able to make our first official homestudy interview appointment. Hurray for forward motion!!

Our meeting is on April 27th and will include the safety inspection for the house. I had a service come through and give us a once-over of all the stuff we need to do to childproof. It's a long list. I found a bunch of the stuff (outlet covers, rubber door stops, etc.) online, but custom baby gates and fire safety ladders are going to be pricey. I'm sure we could buy cheaper alternatives, but custom-made and -installed stuff will look much nicer. I know as a parent you chouldn't care so much about the aesthetics of your house, but. . .I do. So be it.

The adoption worker told us to plan for about 2.5 hours of interview time - and this is just one of 5 meetings. I'm a little nervous to discuss some of the intimate details of my family. Hubby and I are pretty healthy and well-adjusted (at least we think we are), but both of us have issues in our extended family. Oh well, I guess pretty much every family is touched by violence, mental health issues, or drug use in some way or another. I'm just not looking forward to hashing it over with a relative stranger. Another mild invasion/injustice in the interest of becoming a parent - one that biological parents never really have to go through. Lord, give me strength.

Hubby and I are going to go to Las Vegas in May - our one and only real vacation this year. It's just for three days, but we're going to stay at the new Palazzo resort (right next to the Venetian) and see some shows. I love staying in hotels - and I love me some Vegas. We haven't been there in close to a year and can't wait to go back. Always a good time - great food, cool entertainment, and watching hubby throw some dice!

All else in life is quiet. Been working out a bit, so I'm happy to be getting some exercise. I bought those Turbo Jam videos - I know, so cheesy - and they are a surprisingly fun workout. The moves are a little complicated at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly.

I also finished reading The Shack. Pretty moving stuff - I see why it's been such a success. It really helped me understand the nature of our relationship with God. Or at least the writer's interpretation of our relationship with God. I really like the idea that we are so loved and that Jesus' existence was a gift for us - so that we could find our way back to a loving relationship with God.

I hope that hubby and I can teach our child this philosophy. I see a lot of people who use Christianity as a sword to fight or judge their fellow man - and that ain't what we're here for. It's not my place to judge others for their choices. I'm not saying that people should run amok and murder and steal - those are sins and sin has its consequences. But I refuse to believe that God wants me to hold my fellow man in contempt for their personal choices - especially ones that don't directly affect me. My responsibility as a Christian is to try and love and forgive my fellow man for what they perpetrate against me. A tall order to be sure, but I'm trying.

Been a while. . .

But we've made some decent progress in recent weeks! Our paperwork for the adoption agency is essentially done. Hubby is dropping off a last few items at their office tomorrow. I'm in the final throes of finishing our "Dear Expectant Parents" letter and profile book. I finally got some pics of hubby coaching - which I REALLY wanted to include in the profile because it's such a big part of his life. The book just wouldn't have felt complete without them.

Our good friends took some "family" pics of hubby and I at a local park last week - and Maggie (our dog) was even in some of them. I hope they come out decent - I'd love to have at least 2 or 3 to add to the mix of photos I already have.

Now we just wait for the agency. I e-mailed our new adoption worker earlier this week, but didn't get any response from her on where we are with moving towards some interviews. Hubby will be at their office tomorrow, so, hopefully, this will jog her memory to review our file and check in with me.

I was really hoping to be waiting for a placement by now - but our progress has really slowed. We completed our adoption training last week, so I'm feeling ready to move forward. But the agency had some personnel changes and I think the change in workflow is affecting our homestudy. I have to admit, seeing 4 other families at the training took a little wind out of my sails. They were all about where we are in the process, so it seems like the agency has a lot of homestudy work to do in the near future.

I know I need to be patient - there's probably no sense in getting worked up over a few weeks of delay when we'll probably be waiting for a placement between 6 months to a year. But I've gotten so much done recently, and I'm antsy to get the formalities over with. I have lots of projects around the house and yard to keep me busy while we are waiting, but I need to clear this process off the to-do list before I dive into some of those tasks.

I keep trying to remember Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. This whole process isn't up to us - we just have to trust that God has a timeline for this that will be revealed in good time.

For those of you who want to, feel free to pray for us that this process moves swiftly and positively. We'd really like to bring a baby home in 2009!!!