Prayers Requested

Our home study should have been approved and sent to USCIS last week. It wasn't. We still don't have it. The reviewer at our adoption agency (I believe she's either new or extremely overwhelmed with home studies . . . take your pick) took about four days longer than she said she would to get back to us. Then, and only after prompting from our home study agency, she said she needed clarification on some things.

First, these are things that have been in our home study for the past two years. And they're pretty clear. They've never been a problem, but I'm assuming she just didn't understand them. Patrick is self employed. We own rental properties. In total we own five rental properties. Our incomes, expenses, assets, and liabilities can be long and in all fairness confusing. I get that. What I don't get is not getting your work done in the time period you say you will and letting us know you need clarification in a timely manner.

Second, we had to buy a carbon monoxide detector. We've never had to have one before. It makes zero sense. We have absolutely no gas hook ups in our house. Everything is electric. Our heater is not in our house. The only way we're getting carbon monoxide poisoning is if we close the garage and start our cars. Y'all if we're that ignorant then a carbon monoxide detector isn't going to be much help. But since I quickly realized that trying to explain this was futile, I ran to the store at 4:00 Thursday afternoon and bought the stinkin' carbon monoxide detector. Had I known that we would have to have one, I would've bought it sooner.

All that to say, I'm trying extremely hard not to get frustrated or panicky. Our home study agency made the necessary changes and sent it back to our adoption agency yesterday. The reviewer said there would be a same day turn around because we're in a time crunch, but since I heard nothing yesterday, I'm thinking that may not have happened. Hopefully, I'm wrong.

The FBI fingerprints along with our moving in June both served to put a kink in things and slow things down, but there is really no reason why this should still be going on. Please pray that we get our home study approved and sent to us on Monday. That should put us within a (somewhat) reasonable (not ideal but reasonable) time frame for getting everything in to USCIS. And also pray for me to have peace and patience and to exhibit grace under pressure. As you can probably tell from what I've written above, I sometimes struggle with that.

As always, thank you for all your prayers!