Adoption and Home Building

It seems like these two things should be mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, they are not. And our timeline is causing me some stress right now.

Our current home study expires in May so we are due to update it sometime next month while we're here in our current home. But when we move we'll have to update our home study for a second time in a three month time frame. Aside from the fact that it will cost us double what a normal update should cost, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. However, we must have a current and correct home study (which means a correct address) in our hands when we apply to renew our fingerprints with USCIS in August, and this must stay correct throughout the entire renewal process which can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

What all this info means, other than trying to confuse you and bore you to death, is that we really need to be in our house by the end of June. This will give us enough time to update our update and still get our renewal in on time. But as those of you who've had the pleasure of building a house know, it's quite a feat to get one built and moved into in just around three months time. I'm not saying it's not doable, because I believe it is. But well, it's going to take a lot of prayer on my part.

On top of that, our home study agency has added an extensive environmental hazards list, which requires us to do things like mount a fire extinguisher to our kitchen wall. Up until now, it's been under our sink, and well, we all know how nice a big red fire extinguisher looks mounted in your kitchen. Please don't tell me it's a safety thing. I'm aware. I don't need it mounted to my wall. We also have to check our refrigerator for anything that's expired. Now you and I both know everyone has at least one bottle of expired ketchup or salsa lurking in their fridge. So it looks like I'll be cleaning out the fridge here in the next few weeks. And yes, I know those of you that have adopted through social services have been dealing with this stuff for years, but I've gotten spoiled with the rather laid back standards we've had thus far.

Of course there are the usuals. We're not allowed to have a trampoline. Thankfully, we've never bought one. A pool is another hassle I'm glad we don't have to deal with. I'll need to pull out the fire escape plan and review it with Andrew. And let's not forget the plug covers that children seem to be able to remove with little to no effort.

So it looks like on top of everything else, we'll be quite busy for the next month. Please keep us in your prayers, and especially pray that our house does get finished in time to get everything updated in plenty of time. Thanks and enjoy the rest of your weekend!