Adoption Update #7

We've been busy getting most of our homework done from our last adoption home visit.

Here's some things that we've done to get our home "Adoption ready"

1. The Fire Marshal came and did a home inspection...we passed!  We had to install a fire extinguisher and have it mounted on the wall.  We also had to have an evacuation map posted in the house along with emergency phone numbers posted.  I feel like we live in a hotel with the evacuation map posted...but hey, all guests will know exactly which escape route to take when staying at our house.  Better to be safe than sorry!  haha.  All smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors were working properly.  All windows need to open quickly and easily.

 

2. We had to move all our medicines out of the kitchen and into our closet.  All medications need to be kept in a lock box.  We purchased one lock box for our regular medications and one lock box that goes in the refrigerator for the medications that need to be kept cold.  I actually bought those lock cash boxes and just took out the cash drawer part.  Works great and is way cheaper than getting a regular lock box.

3. All our cleaning supplies need to be kept out of children's reach.  So we took all the cleaning supplies from under the sink, in the bathrooms and the laundry room, and moved them to an above the counter cupboard.

4. We all had to have physicals done.  Luckily Kiley had a physical in October and had her shots updated at that time, but Shawn and I had to have physicals completed and get up to date on shots.  Since Kiley had done her physical and shots in October, her doctor just signed the paperwork without meeting with her again.  Me, I had to have a TB shot...it hurt :(

5. I've been working on our adoption profile photo book.  It's going OK, but there's still a lot of photos I need to get.  I need to take photos of our house, inside and out.  I need photos of our dogs.  I need a big family photo including the dogs.  And I need a couple more random photos.  Then I have to have 20 of these books printed.  YIKES.  That's gonna be pricy.  But it'll be worth it!

Merry Christmas 2012

We had a great Christmas this year.  We wished that we could have spent Christmas with our extended families, but we made the best of our situation.  We spent the 3 nights leading up to Christmas Eve with friends doing gift exchanges and having dinners.

Christmas Eve we cooked a huge turkey dinner and enjoyed the left overs for several days after!

Kiley had asked Santa for an Easy Bake Oven and got it!  Boy, that's a fun gift...said no parent ever.

We were much too spoiled this year and got way too many gifts.  Next year we are going to need to cut back.

Adoption Update #6

We had our 3rd home interview on December 19th.  We turned in our homework...the 31 page questionnaire, the fingerprints, a couple scantron deals, and let our case worker know that the background checks had been requested by mail to both NC and CA.

Our appointment lasted about 1 1/2 hours.  Cameron Bradley read a ton of paperwork to us out loud and we had to sign documents stating that we had read and understood each thing.  Things like the policy on spanking, on administering medicines, on infant adoption, etc.  (Although we are not adopting an infant, the paperwork is still mandatory).

We discussed our decision regarding adopting a sibling group.  At this point in our lives, we are not going to adopt a sibling group, we are only going to adopt one child right now.  However, we did discuss changing our age range from 2-6.  We are now considering adopting a child from the age range of 2-10.  Our case worker understands that we would be more comfortable with a younger child, but if she encounters a child who would fit our family who is older than 6, she will let us know.

We were given more homework!  This time we were instructed to complete a "Preference Form" which lists 4 pages of character traits we would or would not be comfortable with in an adoptive child.

We each (including Kiley) need to have a doctor's phyiscal completed.

We need to have a fire inspection completed for our house (which means we need to get up to code).  Did you know you're required to have a fire extinguisher mounted on your wall?  I didn't.  And it is strongly suggested that we have an extinguisher upstairs as well.  We also need to create an evacuation route and have it displayed somewhere in the house.

We need to move all our cleaning supplies out of reach of a small child.  Which means all cleaning supplies under the sink need to be put in a cabinet up high.

All medicines need to be moved out of the kitchen area or bathroom areas and need to be kept in a lock box.  We need one lock box for regular medicines that we'll have to keep in our bedroom closet, and one lock box to keep for refrigerated medications in the fridge.

We have also been given the homework assignment to create an adoption profile book.  This book needs to include information about us.  It's a book that has photos of us and infomation on our hobbies and our families.  We need to have 20 copies of this book printed.  Our case worker brought us a sample book to look at.  I also did some google searching to see other sample books.  I have a pretty good idea how we'll create this book, but it might be a bit time consuming.  Good thing is that the book is not needed for another couple months and is not "top priority".

Cameron Bradley mentioned that we will also need to become CPR certified for the adoption process.

It looks like a lot of stuff to do, and it really is, but it's doable.  Our case worker will contact us this week (I think) to set up our next appointment.  Our next appointment is our final home visit.  During this appointment she's going to talk to Kiley one on one.  For some reason, Kiley's really excited about talking to Cameron.  Well, Kiley's really excited about this whole process, so I guess it's not that weird that she's excited to talk to Cameron.

Cameron mentioned that she has a 2 year old boy who's going to be available for adoption shortly.  Our adoption paperwork is not completed so we won't be able to be considered for this boy, but she said that she is still going to contact the boy's case worker and let them know that we might be a good fit for the child.  It's an incredibly long shot and it's almost 100% sure we Won't get him, but she is going to submit our names anyways.  I almost hated that she told us, because it's hard knowing that there's a child who would be great with us, but we won't get :(  and even more upsetting knowing that if Shawn hadn't been deployed last year, we could have completed our adoption application and would be considered as a family for this little boy.

I know there will be other children and I'm hoping we won't have to wait all that long for one once our paperwork has been completed.  I'm keeping a positive attitude.

Myrtle Beach Weekend

We took a short weekend trip to Myrtle Beach on Dec 14-16.  This was the off season for Myrtle Beach so we weren't able to go swimming or actually go to the beach, but we still had a lot of fun.  The off season also meant less crowds!

We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Watch Villas on the north end of Myrtle Beach.  We had an amazing 2 bedroom suite with a full living room, full kitchen, laundry and large balcony.  Kiley LOVED the hotel because she got her own room and bathroom.

We got to Myrtle Beach on Friday night and just went straight to our hotel.  Saturday we got up and went to Broadway at the beach (an outdoor shopping area).  We did some shopping, ate lunch and went to build-a-bear to get Kiley Rudolf.  She still says that the build-a-bear was her favorite part of the entire trip.

Also at Broadway at the Beach we went to Ripley's Aquarium.  This was probably the best aquarium we've ever been to.  We watched a christmas underwater diving show.  Santa was in the stingray tank along with his mermaid friends.  Kiley got to meet the mermaids later.  The poor mermaids, the water was FREEZING, but it had to be for the sting rays.

 

We also took Kiley down to the pool (one of many pools) at the hotel.  She had a blast.  This hotel was perfect for kids.  I did not go swimming because I forgot my suit :(, but also because it was a bit cold outside and I had an injured arm.  The pool however was heated to a nice 85 degrees.

That night after dinner we went down to the botanical gardens.  In the month of December on Friday and Saturday nights only, the Brookgreen botanical garden has this thing called "A Night of a Thousand Candles".  They basically light up the entire botanical garden with candles and christmas lights.  It was quite amazing.  It was a little expensive, but I think it was worth it.

We loved the trip, and it's only a short 3 hour drive.  We will definitely want to go back maybe in the summer.

Santa and Gunny Claus

Kiley met Santa Claus at the PX on base.  At first she told me she was too shy to go talk to Santa, but I turned my back for 1 minute and then found her sitting on Santa's lap!  Clearly she was able to overcome her shyness pretty quickly.  She asked Santa for an Easy Bake Oven for christmas.

Kiley also met "Gunny Claus" at Shawn's work x-mas party.  Gunny Claus gave her a snap bracelet and a christmas ornament.

Premier Martial Arts Christmas Party

On Dec 8th, we attended Kiley's karate christmas party in New Bern, NC at a roller skating rink.  Kiley loved it!  It was sort of a pot luck deal.  I brought a green salad and was surprised that there were only 2 green salads there.  Most people brought fried chicken...figures, we're in the south.

They had an awards ceremony and Kiley won "Little Dragon of the Year"  She was so happy.  Sensei Ryuji (her karate teacher) said that she won the award for her dedication and her great kicks!

Adoption Update #5

We're back again working on our adoption.  We had an adoption appointment on Dec 4th.  This was technically our 1st home interview again.  But our case worker, Cameron Bradley, had saved our initial application on her computer and was able to combine our 1st home interview with our 2nd home interview!

This interview lasted about 2 hours.  We reviewed paperwork, were given homework, and were asked to really consider our age range for our future child and the possibility of a sibling group.

Our homework was intense.  We each had a 31 page questionnaire to answer.  This questionnaire was EXTREMELY time consuming.  I bet I spent 10 hours filling it out.  Questions ranged from information on our home and community, to more personal questions about ourselves (strengths, weaknesses, how we would react to different situations, memories from our childhood, etc).  I feel like our case worker is going to know us pretty well after she reads these.

In addition to the 31 page questionnaire, we were each required to get 3 sets of fingerprints done.  We were able to get them done on base for free!

We had to submit a request for background checks for us in the state of NC and CA.  Background checks in NC cost $20.00 each, and background checks in CA cost $15.00 each.

We are also required to provide CHS (Children's Home Society) with 3 personal references.  They have requested references who have known us for some time, and would prefer references who have known us since childhood.

We set our next home visit appt (3rd) for Dec 19th.

Marine Corps Ball

Here's Shawn and me at the Marine Corps ball this year at the Double Tree Inn in New Bern, NC.  The night was pretty fun.  We had fun friends at our table, we danced, the food was pretty dang good.  Kiley got to go to a friend's house while we were there.