The Never-Ending HomeStudy

I was hoping that this next blog post would be filled with excitement and relief as our HomeStudy would finally be over.  Unfortunately, that's not the case.  

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We had our HomeStudy visit from our social worker a couple of days ago.  

Prior to her visit, we ran around like mad --

Spending around $500 for medical exams for all of us, including bloodwork, TB skin, & drug tests for Cuban Daddy and me.  (Nope, insurance doesn't cover this for adoptions.)

Making all necessary additions/changes to the house, to meet the requirements we had been told about.  This included new locks & alarms for all outdoor-leading doors.  Cute lil helpers...who gave them a drill?!

And we completed an inch + stack of paperwork.  (Just for information) Some of which included: new pet vaccinations for our dog, letters from Cuban Daddy's work, last minute references from 5 of our dearest, updated psych reports, previous 911 call logs from both counties we've lived in here, tax documents, financial forms, copies of licenses/insurance cards/etc., and on and on... 

We scheduled the HomeStudy.

We had to reschedule.

(For the love, I don't even remember why at this point)

Then a pump in our front yard blew, causing us to be WITHOUT WATER in the house for nearly a week.  Heaven help us.  It was bad.

We finally found someone trustworthy to diagnose, order the rare part, and fix the problem/get a whole new pump.  

While they were 'fixing it,' our entire kitchen flooded.  I mean, the counters, soaking everything in the drawers, covering the whole floor...

The social worker was set to come the next day. 

 (Insane dishes, piles of laundry, soaking wet kitchen, no flushing,  no showers...)

We rescheduled again.

Finally.  We had a date and time that worked for our crazy schedule and her very busy travel schedule.

She came out.  I should mention that we REALLY have liked her.  She did our original HomeStudy (for Honduras) over 2 years ago.  And it was great to see her and catch up, and show her our new house, etc.  

On the visit, ALL went well, except:

She said we need a fence around our pool.  Now, if we completely fence in the deck (regulation size), the pool will technically be 'fenced in.'  We went around and around about this with her.  She was open to the idea.  She checked w/ her supervisor.  NOPE.

We took a ton of photos, proposed an alternative to the idea.  She should let us know by tomorrow if we can get by with a sort of deck fencing.  

Cuban Daddy and I don't have a good feeling about it.  We're pretty sure they're going to say no, and we're going to have to add ANOTHER fence around our pool.  Regardless of whether we go with temporary mesh or permanent iron, we're talking THOUSANDS.  Thousands that we weren't counting on.  Plus we don't really want (or feel the need for) the fence.  Plus it has to be done BEFORE the HomeStudy can be completed, approved, and we can move on with any more of the adoption.  

She's leaving town for 2 weeks now.  So all that rushing around to get it done before she left is void now.  We have to deal w/ this fence situation, and will then have to have it approved when she returns at the end of the month.

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I feel the need to mention that 'a fence' doesn't seem like a big deal.  But it's just 'a fence' +  the medical costs x 4  + the vet bill + the psych update + the HomeStudy fee + fingerprints x 2 x 2...  +  both cars have been in the shop + the pool pump just blew & we had to replace it + the water pump situation ($5,000 just for that pump, to give you an idea) ... We have encountered SO many expenses the past couple of months.

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Also, because of the age of the home, there weren't the required number of smoke detectors present in the home.  So, Cuban Daddy needs to add 'install 6 detectors' to his list to complete as well.  He swears this is no big deal.  I'm glad he's so handy!  

Finally, there were a couple of paperwork issues.  We were missing one form, which we didn't realize was required.  CD is working on that one.  Also, she said there was a bit of a discrepancy on a two forms, so we're looking at solving that this week.  

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I am just so tired of this phase.  

We're so worn out from it all. 

And the hard part?

Knowing that this isn't the hard part.

I'm normally the optimist, seeing hope in it all.

Today, I know there's hope, I know it will work out, but I'm just not there yet.

Today, I'm exhausted.  

A little pouty.  And a lot discouraged.

But tomorrow's another day.

Thanks so much for all of the prayers and questions.  We really appreciate your thoughtfulness and concern!!!

~ 6 (broke &) in Love ~