Home Study: What does that even mean?

Since our next goal is raising funds for our home study, we wanted to let you all know what a home study was and what it meant for us.

We will be assigned a social worker through Lifeline to complete our home study.  The home study is basically a way for the agency to check to see if we are a reliable, stable, secure couple looking to add a child into our home.  Ryan & I will go through a parental training course during this time and will be participating in many interviews with our social worker.  These interviews will help our relationship with our social worker grow, but it will also allow them to see us as a couple looking to parent, and it will give us the opportunity to share details about how we see our adoption playing out.

We will then have numerous home visits where the social worker will check to make sure our home is a safe place for a child.  We will have to meet state, national, and Bulgarian requirements.  This process may even require for health and/or fire inspector to come as well.

We will also be going through health statements; both of us being required to offer a detailed physical.  Income statements will be gone through, so they can make sure we can take care of an additional person.  We will have fingerprinting and background checks done as well.

This is a 4-5 month process.  At the end of the home study, we will get a report on how we did.  If we pass, we can apply for immigration and our paperwork (dossier) is sent to Bulgaria.

The home study really solidifies the adoption process and, more importantly, legally allows Bulgaria to start looking for our child.  
Please help us get to this process by donating a puzzle piece (paying through the PayPal button on the right).

Help Ammo become a Big Brother!

We need 215 puzzle pieces bought so we can start our home study!  Pieces are only $10!!  Your name will be written on the back and when the puzzle is finished, it will hang in our child's room as a reminder of everyone who loved them before they were even home.  Please help us bring them home by purchasing a puzzle piece!

Just go to our blog (http://welcomelittlechild.blogspot.com/) and click on the PayPal link on the right.  Type in the denomination of how many puzzle pieces you want to reserve ($10 for 1, $20, for 2, etc).  We'll put up a photo of your puzzle piece!

Adoption Video Update 1

 

the who's, what's, and why's of our adoption

Indiegogo

Check out our Indiegogo Crowdsourcing page!
 
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/deaf-adoption-from-bulgaria/x/4251780?show_todos=true

Bulgaria's Abandoned Children 1

This is the type of orphange our child is sitting in.  Bulgaria has the biggest "special need" orphan population in Europe.  Heartbreaking.

GO! - ASL

For the "signing-impaired", please read the post right below this one :)

GO!

God is saying "GO". 

So, although nervous, we are "going" with open arms.  This means that we are pursuing an adoption with Lifeline Children's Services.  They are a Christian agency that serves 10 states, one being Kentucky.  They have helped us answer our numerous questions, and solved the biggest problem that we have - our age.  Although we are under the minimum age for most countries, Lifeline has been there to help find us some loopholes.  And loopholes we have found!

We are pursuing a deaf adoption from Bulgaria.  Deaf adoption has been on our hearts since we've been thinking about adoption in general.  Since Kristi's schooling (ASL & English Interpretation), we have had a love for the Deaf community.  It just seemed perfect to open our hearts to a deaf child.  We are so excited to offer this orphan, our child, a rich language and a community that they wouldn't have access to in Bulgaria.  

The Bulgarian Adoption Program seems like a wonderful program that will fit our restrictions and needs.  We are so excited to begin this journey and are so very blessed to have each and every one of you walking with us.


Right now, we are asking for prayers.  There are a lot of uncertainties with adoption and we are trusting in the Lord.



Blessings,
Ryan & Kristi


If you would like to learn more about the agency and the Bulgarian program with Lifeline, please click the link below.

http://lifelinechild.org/adoption/international/bulgaria