Have you ever had one of those moments when you know exactly what God wants you to do, but you can't figure out why He has that much confidence in your ability to get it done? That is where I am at right now. I am looking ahead to where God is leading my family, and I am terrified that I am not going to be able handle it.
As I sat down yesterday to try to organize the chaos that I currently call life, I realized that it is only going to get more chaotic. There are moments that I feel like I'm on the edge of a nervous breakdown, but this is actually the calm before the storm. If I am starting to freak out now, how will I respond when two more boys join our family?
When I originally thought about how things were going to play out, I was only really thinking about handling the process. I was making to-do lists of documents to collect, appointments to schedule and rooms to organize. What I forgot about was our daily life tasks that still need to be taken care of in the midst of all of this. Things like registering our cars with the DMV, going to the grocery store, and paying the bills suddenly seem completely overwhelming. If I take one task at a time, they are small, but when I make a list my brain starts to explode. I pride myself on being on top of things, and lately I have forgotten to call people back, missed appointments and left many things undone. It is driving me nuts!
In my moments of panic, I've asked God several times "are you sure that I can handle this?" Deep in my heart I know that God would not have given us this opportunity if He was not sure we could handle it with His help. My head is arguing that point though. It is in these crazy times that I am so thankful for family and friends who bring a dose of perspective to my life. I can only hope that I keep my eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and the plan God has laid out for my family, and trust that we will be just fine.
Updates:
Alex - We had our licensing visit on Tuesday. There are a few things that we need to correct at our house, but nothing major. The licensing worker will come back out on Monday to re-check the items that were a concern. We had our fingerprints done last week, so they should be back soon. I completed my four hours of online training, so I believe we have finished everything that we can do to prepare. Now, we just wait for the paperwork to flow back and forth between states.
Baby - We are waiting for reference forms to be returned and background checks to be completed. Our home study will begin (hopefully) in the next week or so. We have a few questionnaires that need to be completed as well. They are all things that we have answered in the past, so it should not take us too long to get through them.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
A little bit nuts
I'd like to think that I've kept things together pretty well over the past week. For whatever reason, it all hit me yesterday.
A rush of crazy came over me as I was e-mailing our adoption agency while talking to DCFS on the phone. It was in that moment that I realized that we are adopting two kids. We are trying to balance two processes at the same time. For those who have experienced adoption, you know that it can be a daunting process at times. To do it twice...well, that's just a little bit nuts. I told Matt last night that I need a giant white board with a line down the middle to keep track of what needs to be done for each child's adoption.
I think I got it out of my system yesterday, and now I can focus on what needs to get done. Here is where we are with each child:
Alex:
DCFS, here in Clark County, is working on completing our file. They received the ICPC referral from Arizona and are now updating our license. Our fingerprints expired, so we are going on Saturday to get those done. We may have to do a second set (one for licensing, one for ICPC), but they are hoping that we don't. Soon after, we will have our home visit. During this time, we will meet with an ICPC worker to update our information and a Licensing worker to walk through our home. Thankfully, there is very little we will have to do to prepare for this visit. We also have to complete four hours of online training. I'm not excited about it, but I am very grateful that it is online and not in person!
Baby:
As of right now, we don't have any specific to-do items. Our adoption agency is working on our file. As soon as our fingerprints come back (we had to get our fingerprints done separately for them), they will begin our home study. They have already connected with their Arizona office and are working on the best plan of action for when the baby arrives. The director has assured me that our home study should be complete by the end of July! They are wonderful!
In addition to what our agency and DCFS are requiring, we are going through the process of trying to mentally prepare for what the next few months will bring. I know it will not be easy, but I don't think I'm fully grasping how our family is about to change. With the support we have from friends and family, I'm pretty confident that we will be just fine!
A rush of crazy came over me as I was e-mailing our adoption agency while talking to DCFS on the phone. It was in that moment that I realized that we are adopting two kids. We are trying to balance two processes at the same time. For those who have experienced adoption, you know that it can be a daunting process at times. To do it twice...well, that's just a little bit nuts. I told Matt last night that I need a giant white board with a line down the middle to keep track of what needs to be done for each child's adoption.
I think I got it out of my system yesterday, and now I can focus on what needs to get done. Here is where we are with each child:
Alex:
DCFS, here in Clark County, is working on completing our file. They received the ICPC referral from Arizona and are now updating our license. Our fingerprints expired, so we are going on Saturday to get those done. We may have to do a second set (one for licensing, one for ICPC), but they are hoping that we don't. Soon after, we will have our home visit. During this time, we will meet with an ICPC worker to update our information and a Licensing worker to walk through our home. Thankfully, there is very little we will have to do to prepare for this visit. We also have to complete four hours of online training. I'm not excited about it, but I am very grateful that it is online and not in person!
Baby:
As of right now, we don't have any specific to-do items. Our adoption agency is working on our file. As soon as our fingerprints come back (we had to get our fingerprints done separately for them), they will begin our home study. They have already connected with their Arizona office and are working on the best plan of action for when the baby arrives. The director has assured me that our home study should be complete by the end of July! They are wonderful!
In addition to what our agency and DCFS are requiring, we are going through the process of trying to mentally prepare for what the next few months will bring. I know it will not be easy, but I don't think I'm fully grasping how our family is about to change. With the support we have from friends and family, I'm pretty confident that we will be just fine!
Friday, June 6, 2014
It's a...
Drumroll, please!
The newest Fischer will be a...BOY! And he will be here August 4th. Yes, you read that correctly. The baby that we thought was due in September/October is actually due in 8 weeks. Further proof that God has an amazing sense of humor!
The newest Fischer will be a...BOY! And he will be here August 4th. Yes, you read that correctly. The baby that we thought was due in September/October is actually due in 8 weeks. Further proof that God has an amazing sense of humor!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Fischer, party of...5?!
Over the past year, we've been trying to discern whether or not God has planned more children for our family. With all of the ups and downs of our process with Alex, I was starting to wonder if maybe we should just be grateful that God had blessed us with CJ and stop focusing on adding more children. I had hoped we would have one more child, but realized that maybe God's plan was just different from my own. Well, we found out recently that His plan is different, but not in the way we expected.
About a month ago, I posted that our case with Alex had been closed by the state of Arizona. What I did not mention was that CJ's birthmom is pregnant and she asked us to adopt the new baby. We were a little hesitant to share with you all, just in case plans changed. A week after she asked us to adopt the baby, she confirmed her decision. Funny how God's timing works. The day that we found out our case was closed, we also found out that we may be bringing home a new baby in the fall. We do not have a set due date yet, but believe that it will be in September or October. We also do not know the gender (because I know you were wondering).
The adoption agency we are working with here in Vegas is also able to work in Arizona, which is wonderful! The experience we've had with them so far has been great and we are very excited to work with them. I just submitted our paperwork today. Once our fingerprints and references come back, our home study process will begin.
Then, two weeks ago, I received a call from Alex's birthdad. He shared that they would like us to adopt Alex in addition to the new baby. While this was not the call we were expecting, we were certainly excited (and a little overwhelmed). It was confirmed a few days later, and we are now waiting on paperwork to go through for us to pick him up.
Our ICPC (documentation that allows us to bring Alex across state lines) and our foster license are expired, so we are working on getting those current again. We'll have to have a home visit, but most of the work was done when we got licensed the first time.
I would never have guessed that God would bless us with two more children. I definitely would not have guessed that CJ would have biological siblings living in our home. Part of me is a little terrified to grow our family so fast, but I believe that God will give us the strength and resources we need to raise these little ones.
Your prayers are appreciated as we make these transitions. Alex will probably be about 18 months old when we get custody, which will be a difficult time for him. We don't really even know when to expect the new baby. We also worry about the impact all of this will have on CJ. We will regularly post updates on the progress of adopting both children.
About a month ago, I posted that our case with Alex had been closed by the state of Arizona. What I did not mention was that CJ's birthmom is pregnant and she asked us to adopt the new baby. We were a little hesitant to share with you all, just in case plans changed. A week after she asked us to adopt the baby, she confirmed her decision. Funny how God's timing works. The day that we found out our case was closed, we also found out that we may be bringing home a new baby in the fall. We do not have a set due date yet, but believe that it will be in September or October. We also do not know the gender (because I know you were wondering).
The adoption agency we are working with here in Vegas is also able to work in Arizona, which is wonderful! The experience we've had with them so far has been great and we are very excited to work with them. I just submitted our paperwork today. Once our fingerprints and references come back, our home study process will begin.
Then, two weeks ago, I received a call from Alex's birthdad. He shared that they would like us to adopt Alex in addition to the new baby. While this was not the call we were expecting, we were certainly excited (and a little overwhelmed). It was confirmed a few days later, and we are now waiting on paperwork to go through for us to pick him up.
Our ICPC (documentation that allows us to bring Alex across state lines) and our foster license are expired, so we are working on getting those current again. We'll have to have a home visit, but most of the work was done when we got licensed the first time.
I would never have guessed that God would bless us with two more children. I definitely would not have guessed that CJ would have biological siblings living in our home. Part of me is a little terrified to grow our family so fast, but I believe that God will give us the strength and resources we need to raise these little ones.
Your prayers are appreciated as we make these transitions. Alex will probably be about 18 months old when we get custody, which will be a difficult time for him. We don't really even know when to expect the new baby. We also worry about the impact all of this will have on CJ. We will regularly post updates on the progress of adopting both children.
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