One down, One to go...we hope

So today we had our first of two (we hope) home visits by the social worker. She said she may have to make more than 2 visits. She was very nice and overall the visit wasn't really as bad as we thought it would be. She did a quick tour of the house and took lots of notes about space and different details like gas/electric, floors, safety stuff etc....Then we sat down and talked about some of the information we had submitted with the homestudy paperwork. It was all very straightforward stuff like medical history and employment. The biggest part of the conversation was.....you guessed it....money.

We spent probably 30-45 minutes discussing our financial statement. Debt/assets, loans, credit cards, discretionary funds....She asked a lot of questions about where our money goes and how much we have. As she left, we were left wondering "How will this look to the courts in Russia?" They are the ones that ultimately make the decision about whether we get to bring our baby home.  I mean, Daniel and I know that our children are taken care of, our bills are always paid on time, and we have a little extra left over to do a few fun things every month, but on paper....Will their government see it?

We've been praying about this for a long time and we know God has gone before us in every step so far and He will continue to be faithful, but......Well, no but. I just have to trust in what I know (as my husband so wisely told me today) and I know that if I "lean not on my own understanding and in all ways acknowledge him, He will make my paths straight." He will continue to go before us and make a way for this to happen. A way for us to not only be accepted by the Russian government, but also to raise the money we need. I wonder....Shouldn't saving a child and bringing him into a family that will love him be about more than just money?  This I'll never understand.

More Progress

We got a call today from the social worker assigned to our case. Our form we have been waiting on for 2 months from DHR finally came in and she is coming to do her first home visit Sunday at 2:00. We are so excited, but honestly I'm a little nervous. Daniel is much more of the answer on the spot kind of person. I am not so articulate and need a little time to formulate what I think is the perfect response. Won't have that luxury Sunday. She is going to do a home inspection and begin the "interview" process....sounds scary enough right?

I know everything will be okay, but there's nothing like someone coming to evaluate whether you are ok to parent a child. Makes me a little nervous anyway. All that aside...this brings us one step closer to bringing him home. Can't wait to get it done. After these visits are done, she will write her report and then we will only have our dossier to finish. The dossier is another pile of paperwork we have to do and send to Russia. When they receive it, our end will be finished. Then...we wait.

Right now we are praying for great home visits, a great report from the social worker, and a quick finish to the dossier. We are trusting God to go before us in this...and we know he will.