Stacks of Paperwork

Paperwork is simply a part of the adoption process. The amount of information needed for this process is extensive and can truly be overwhelming both physically and emotionally.  Because we are working with Catholic Charities and Mercy Ministries we happen to have double the amount of paperwork...two stacks instead of one. 

Here are some tips on how I was able to navigate through our stacks of paperwork.

I have an overwhelming desire to organize things. This may be a blessing or a fault and I have yet to decipher which of the two. When it comes to our stacks of paperwork, being organized is very important. To keep myself organized I bought myself a handy portable file case.

 

My little traveling buddy

I like to color code things because it helps my mind easily decipher between important details. As you can see above I have orange and yellow file tabs...no reason behind the color choice other then it was the paper I had available when I was organizing my folders. The orange is associated with Mercy Ministries needs and the yellow references Catholic Charities.

I filed paperwork items based on things for myself to fill out and things Nolan needed fill out. I also filed based on finger prints, Doctors reports, reference letter requests, reading material, financials, fundraising and other topics. Lots of filing!

This little traveling buddy has come with us to all of our meetings with our counselor/agent and will be right by our side during our Homestudy visit. 

When I first started working through this paperwork work it was about five months ago. I remember being a little offended at first. I didn't like that we had to prove that we would be adequate parents. I felt like some of the requests asked a lot of us...blood work, finger prints, background checks. Its not that we have anything to hide...its just that if we were giving birth to a baby most of these things wouldn't need to be looked into. Why couldn't we just be like everyone else looking to start a family.

Thankfully I had years of experience licensing summer day camp programs and after school childcare facilities. With this experience I had stacks and stacks of paperwork as well. I put each and every one of my staff through rigorous interviews, background checks, fingerprinting and trainings. I had the children in my programs in mind when requesting this information from my staff. I wanted to make sure that anyone who worked for me was the best of the best...and they were. Because I had this experience it helped me to see our adoption stacks of paperwork from the perspective of Catholic Charities, Mercy Ministries and the State of Tennessee. They are looking out for the best interest of our future little blessing. They are wanting to find the best of the best...thankfully Nolan and I are just that :)

It has taken me about five months to fully complete our paperwork. Some of the items were more tedious then others (I'll save those details for another blog post). Its nice to look over at my completed paperwork and see that it is nicely organized and easily ready to display during our home study. Our home study is December 10th...only six days from now. I feel confident that we are ready and that our paperwork is completed the best it can be.

I ask now for thoughts and prayer as our home study date approaches. Please pray that we are able to relax and not get too anxious for and during this meeting. Please also pray that we have all of our paperwork completed and that we pass. We have an amazing counselor/agent and she is excited to come visit us and our home. Truly we are not nervous other then the fact that a home study is one of the final steps in the adoption process.

I'll update you on how it goes and talk to you more about what the home study was like and tips to make a home study a good experience.

let it begin

Nicole