Application

Well it's that time again for an update!  Things have been going pretty good for once.  I swear since we have made the decision to do adoption my outlook on life has changed drastically.  Preston just told me on Sunday he has seen a huge change in my mood.  

On Friday Preston and I will be taking the first step towards adoption.  We will be submitting our application to our agency.  We have been saving money each month and we feel we have enough in our savings to start moving forward.  Another reason why we are moving forward is because of Preston's upcoming workups.  Pretty soon he will be leaving for about 6 weeks for a boat det.  After that det he will be home here and there throughout the summer but we want to be able to do our home study and classes we will have to take in order to adopt.  So the application isn't really anything too hard to fill out.  Just basic questions such as our wedding date, where we work, how much we make, if we have any children, divorces, illnesses, and a few more random questions.  We also will have to provide a photo of ourselves for our file and a check for $300 for the application fee. 

Today I spoke to our social worker because even though our application asked simple questions I of course started stressing out about the idea our application getting denied.  I was also kind of worried because we don't have a huge amount in our savings.  Don't get me wrong we have money in there but we couldn't go out and put a big downpayment on a new car with the amount we have.  Of course I was stressing out over nothing.  Our social worker almost laughed when I asked her if we were going to get denied.  She told us as long as we submit everything we will get accepted.  I guess this small step is just a way to show that you are serious about adoption and you are ready to move onto the next step.  She told me amazingly enough there are people who get denied all the time because they don't attach the photo or don't send in the money.  So I immediately felt better about everything and kind of wished I would of called her a day earlier when I was having a meltdown about everything.  

So what is the next step?  Once the main office gets our application and the check clears we will be given a sample of their contract and we will review it and once all questions have been answered and we feel good about it we can sign it and go live in the waiting pool of parents.  Exciting right?!?!  Oh wait Preston and I completely forgot that there was a contract fee of $2,500.  So that's where our Gofundme page comes into play.  We will be closing our page after we get accepted into the agency.  We will be using the funds from that page and what we have in savings to pay for the contract fee.  We will continue to save money in order to pay for our home study which will cost around $2,000.  My goal is to save a good chunk of money while Preston is gone for 6 weeks.  I don't really eat too much when he is gone so my meals will go a long way.  I also don't do anything really exciting when he is gone either so hopefully we will be close to being able to pay for the home study.

Preston and I would like to take the time thank everyone who has donated money to our Gofundme page.  We wouldn't be able to do any of this without ALL of you!  All we have been able to think about for the last 4 1/2 years is to be able to start a family and that dream is starting to come true.  We know we have a really long road ahead of us with loans, trying to apply for grants, and save as much money as we can.  But the thought of finally holding our child motivates us every day.  The other day I sent Preston a text saying I would eat pb&j every day if it means we are able to save up money and have our child and his response was he would do the same but just eat ramen noodles everyday.  

As always I will continue to update you all on everything.  

-Kate