Power Pants

Did the blog post title intrigue you? I hope so!

I wanted this post to be mostly an adoption update, but for those who know me best, I always have to add a bit of my own personality flair to each situation. So power pants it is.

I would say that this month has been the busiest by far we have been with the adoption process. Our December and January were filled with some unexpected setbacks in the journey, costing me a lot of spare time, which is why this blog post has been dormant for such an unusual length of time.

Now on the other side of such setbacks, we are officially halfway through our home study! Our first home study meeting involved reviewing application paperwork, and then 5 days later we turned around for our second meeting, which was spent taking a very, very long personality test. In order to gear up for the 567 question test, not only did I suit up with my go-to Starbucks order of a chai tea latte, but I also wore my special power pants - my sparkly jeans. Sometimes, a girl just needs her sparkly jeans to keep her going through a two hour test.

In the midst of accompanying at Waukee High School and teaching 45 piano lessons a week, my downtime is mostly spent on the adoption process with Ben: filling out paperwork, locating financial documents, calling doctors to learn more about a child's health file, and fundraising. With most of these tasks occurring in the late evening or weekends, I put on my best comfy pants to help me through the drudgery.

These gems came as a fun and unique surprise at Target one evening. Well after Christmas, these pants had a price tag of $0.00, so when we took them up to the cashier, she bartered the pants for $1.00. And I'm in love with the comfort and the continual spreading of Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear!

Sometimes, it is in fact the little things that can keep us going for the big things in life.

Overall, the process is moving quite well now. There is a child that we are interested in, and have spent quite a bit of time talking to my physician and other specialists to learn more about this child's needs and how we can prepare a supportive care team for her. We are two meetings away from completing the home study, and only $12,500 away from completing our fundraising goal. Thanks be to God!

If you are interested in receiving more updates, or if you'd like to financially be a part of our journey, you can follow us here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/benandcateadoption