Theo!....Home Study!

I introduce to you, Mr. Theodore Davis Horton, our newest nephew...

There is a boatload of long black hair under that cap (funny b/c his parents & brother have naturally, VERY light blonde hair).

And the home study story...
There will be a couple of big calls along the way, the biggest of course being the referral. The day your Ethiopian-based caseworker calls and says "are you near a computer"? (That's when the image of your referred child arrives in your inbox with all the medical records, followed by loud screams & cries of joy, followed by a state of losing your mind for a brief moment).


To back up a bit, the first big call is the initial one from the agency to conduct your phone interview. That's the one that gets the whole ball rolling. The one that confirms in your mind, "We are doing this and we are ready".


The big call in the middle is where we are today. Yes, TODAY. Our home study caseworker, Wendy, called me at work to confirm dates and times for our first home visit. Following that we will have more home visits and also interviews in their office. I'm glad she chose the NYC office as our home office. Sometimes it's misleading on paper when someone sees our NJ address. I appreciate that she took the time to see WHERE in NJ we are in relation to their available offices. We both work in the city, are there everyday and most likely on weekends too. So, thank you Wendy for making this step that much smoother.

Side note...There was an article in the NY Times a few months ago stating that Jersey City is on the way to becoming the 6th borough of Manhattan. That statement may have just increased our property value to exhilarating heights. End of side note.


Our to-do list has grown after doing more home study Googling, including but not limited to:

fire extinquisher
outlets covered
meds & chemicals away
floor plan w/ fire escape route
outside gate adjusted w/ secure locks
front door lock adjusted
smoke alarms in appropriate locations
carbon monoxide alarm
all batteries in working order
and forget about the cleaning & organizing list

off we go!

p.s. Did I mention that part of our interview process includes separate one-on-one interviews? Yes, it's very possible we will be asked the same questions individually with the hopes of giving similar answers. Oh boy.