Our homestudy is officially complete!! What a roller coaster ride it has been. We had our first session April 22nd and our last session June 24th. This process has been such a cathartic experience. We have become closer and stronger as a couple and truly know we have made the right decision to pursue adoption.
We travelled to Mississauga twice in June to complete our P.R.I.D.E training over two weekends. Being in a room surrounded by couples who are embarking on the same journey as us was wonderful. Being able to share our hopes and fears about adoption and realize that they are completely normal was extremely reassuring. Of course we made a little trip of it and spent a night in downtown Toronto. We went out to Beast for dinner, a little tapas restaurant, which was AMAZING!!! And we couldn't leave Toronto without catching a Jays game! Can't wait to share these experiences with our little one someday!!
GO JAYS GO!
As for the adoption agency that will complete the China portion of our adoption, we have already had to switch agencies. Children's Bridge was providing us with inconsistent messages about China's Waiting Child program which led to me contacting Family Outreach International in early July. The difference was night and day. A feeling of unease had been eating away at me since our first meeting with CB that I just couldn't shake. I kept trying to overcome the distrust I had in them, thinking I was just being paranoid. But, in the end they did keep things from us and we couldn't imagine putting the fate of our future child in the hands of people we couldn't trust. The feeling of ease I felt immediately when talking to Bob at FOI was unreal, something we just never felt when dealing with CB. Mike and I knew immediately that we had to make the switch and did just that! FOI has been amazing ever since. We truly feel that we matter to them and are not just another number. They are completely supportive of what we want for our family and want to help us get there.
This past month was tough waiting for our P.R.I.D.E training report to come so that our homestudy could officially be completed. Luckily it's summer and we've been keeping busy. We spent a week in Grand Bend with the Sabourin's, which was helpful in keeping our mind off the waiting. Finally the report came last week and tonight we were able to sign off on our homestudy. It's officially completed!!! Yay!! Now it will be sent to FOI who will review it and send it off to the Ministry of Child and Youth Services of Ontario who will ultimately grant us the approval to adopt.
This first chapter in our journey to China has been an amazing experience, full of emotions from happiness to even some sadness at times. But, the hardest part of it all is keeping it from our families. We are so excited to share our news with everyone. However, we have made the decision to await our ministry approval before letting the cat out of the bag! Luckily we did need references, one of which was my sister Jen, and I have been blessed with her patient ears that have listened to every single detail of this process!
Thank you Jen. I'm so lucky to have you!
Thank you Jen. I'm so lucky to have you!
