Home Study Renewal - Getting ready for social worker visit

This is our third time when a Social Worker comes to visit our house to make sure we are still suitable to become parents. At this time, I would say we are pros! You have to see us today, just relaxing even that tomorrow is the "visit".

If you are new to this process, my best recommendation is to relax. Yes, you want to make a good impression to your social worker, but they are not doing a white glove inspection. They just want to make sure you have a place where you can raise a child, thats all. So don't freak out!

This is what we have done for tomorrow to get the house ready:

• Mow the lawn
• Clean the house: clean bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, pantry. Picked up any clutter. This is regular weekly cleaning!
• Wash the dog
• Made iced tea (I know, it sounds silly, but we need to have something to serve other than water and beer!)
• Maybe I will bake cupcakes (I rarely bake, but I like to do it! So the visit is just a good excuse to bake right now!)

Of course, when the social worker comes, it is not just a walk through the house, we also have an interview! My husband and I talked about any changes that happened during last year, any changes we want to do in our home study.. and that is it. We are in the same page, so we should be re-approved with flying colors!

NOTE: in the first visit when preparing the report for the first time, they do ask A LOT of questions and even flush the toile! See my post about it back in 2009

Nesting

It has been very long times since last time I posted, but believe me, there hasn't been even one day that I have think about becoming a mother. We started our process in 2008, and we got approval from ICBF on August 2009. Almost two years later, and we are still here, waiting. So what does a mother do when she is expecting? Nesting!Well... my paper pregnancy is too long to be decoraring the room or baby-proofing the house. It is also very uncertain, as we don't know the gender, age, or taste of the child to be buying clothes, painting walls, buying toys. But that doesn't take away that I can be nesting! A good friend of mine suggested a brilliant idea. I can build my child's library! So each month I have been buying children’s books. Some are in English, others in Spanish. I can only imagine getting to the end of the day and sitting with our little one and reading these books. Again, this is a brilliant idea! I already have like ten books, and the collection will keep growing each month. Lets see how many books we ended having! The other thing I bought for our child is a Sock Monkey. My husband has memory of his childhood with this monkey, so I thought it will be the perfect first toy for our child. I had never seen one in person, but now it is sitting in our living room and I think it is adorable. Other way of nesting is changing furniture. We had a hand-me-down sofa, and the sitting space in our living room was limited. So... new sofas arrived! And I'm waiting a little bit longer to replace our coffee table with an ottoman with storage, so we can keep toys there :-) That is it with the Spillers for now. We are still working hard, playing harder, and enjoying ourselves. Stay tuned for the next episode: Homestudy III (coming to this blog next May, after successful homestudies I and II)

Change Of Plans official trailer

This one should be interesting to watch as a family!

Change of Plans is the fourth film in an initiative sponsored by Wal-Mart and P&G to bring back “Family Movie Night”. Change of Plans is the story of Sally and Jason Danville, a young couple with plenty of love, talent, and career opportunities - and no responsibilities. When Sally's childhood friend dies and entrusts her with four children, Sally and Jason begin a journey that changes the focus of their lives and expands their definition of family. Three of these four children have become siblings through international adoption, and the movie offers a challenging, heart-warming insight into the joys and struggles of building a family from a group of strangers.


· Tune in: Saturday, January 8th at 8/7 on FOX
· Spread the Word: Send an email or newsletter to your friends!
· Share: Post the trailer on your Facebook or Twitter page Change of Plans - Trailer
· Visit : www.moms4familytv.com for a discussion guide, essay contest information and more!

Merry Christmas

It is the season. In so many places I hear talk about the kids who may not have a coat this winter to keep them warm, or wont have gifts under their tree to unwrap on Christmas day, or a meal to celebrate with their family.
This holiday season is hitting me harder. How will my children celebrate this Christmas? Are they being loved? Do they have a coat to protect them from the cold if they are in the mountains? Do they have a roof over their heads to protect them from the severe rains? I cannot get answers to my questions (at least not now) and I cannot do anything right now to protect them, or to express them our love.

So, my wish for Christmas is for them to be safe and not to be long before we are together as a family, just like God has planned for us.

Friends of Colombia Orphans

Here is a link to a fundraiser for a wonderful cause!



Friends of Colombian Orphans Inc. is a grassroots, nonprofit charity dedicated to improving the well-being of young Colombians who are living in poverty. Established in 2007 by U.S. parents who adopted Colombian children, the organization focuses on structural improvements to orphanages, and vocational and entrepreneurial training for teens and young women.