Our Background check vouchers came in the mail today!!! Wooo Hoo!!
That saves us 20.00, it may sound like 20.00 is not much, but it is quite a bit when we will have to do the physical examination, and I am not sure how that will go, we moved to a new area and have new doctors.
For the moment, I will REJOICE!!!!!!! :-)
Have a blessed day!
Blessed Hannah
Friday, July 31, 2009
We Received the Application!!!
We received the application!!!
We are beginning the process on the application as I type this blog, and we have three forms to complete for Oklahoma DHS:
1. The Application
2. The Adoption Assessment Form
3. The Background Check Forms ( 2) - 1/ spouse
My husband and I have almost completed the application, the background check form has been completed, and we have began the adoption assessment form. We are also going to include an autobiogrpahy on each our childhoods, an essay on our parenting style, and how we will work together with children.
My husband normally beats me to the mail box everyday in hopes of the application and last week he beat me to the mail and we were not sure of filling it out, it was overwhelming with so many questions, but after we calmed down, and began to relax, we answered the questions to the best of our ability.
We are so excited and we have began to look at websites to see children who are in the system whose parents have terminated their rights and are legally ready to adopt.
We found 4 boys in Arkansas but we know we can not adopt across state lines, we wish the boys were here in Oklahoma, they are legally ready to adopt, they are so cute and precious, ages 18mos-6years of age. I have learned that when I become stressed out to do this....
" Relax your mind, let the negativity flow away from your mind, allow the positive thoughts to increase, meditate upon the goodness of God, and repeat quietly..." His mercy endures forever... His mercy endures forever... His mercy endures forever...The God I serve is awesome and he can handle every problem I have, the battle does not belong to me, it belongs to him, victory belongs to him. Satan has been defeated!!!!"
---Blessed Hannah
Have a blessed Friday and a blessed week-end!!!!!!!!!
Be blessed in the name of Jesus!
Blessed Hannah
We are beginning the process on the application as I type this blog, and we have three forms to complete for Oklahoma DHS:
1. The Application
2. The Adoption Assessment Form
3. The Background Check Forms ( 2) - 1/ spouse
My husband and I have almost completed the application, the background check form has been completed, and we have began the adoption assessment form. We are also going to include an autobiogrpahy on each our childhoods, an essay on our parenting style, and how we will work together with children.
My husband normally beats me to the mail box everyday in hopes of the application and last week he beat me to the mail and we were not sure of filling it out, it was overwhelming with so many questions, but after we calmed down, and began to relax, we answered the questions to the best of our ability.
We are so excited and we have began to look at websites to see children who are in the system whose parents have terminated their rights and are legally ready to adopt.
We found 4 boys in Arkansas but we know we can not adopt across state lines, we wish the boys were here in Oklahoma, they are legally ready to adopt, they are so cute and precious, ages 18mos-6years of age. I have learned that when I become stressed out to do this....
" Relax your mind, let the negativity flow away from your mind, allow the positive thoughts to increase, meditate upon the goodness of God, and repeat quietly..." His mercy endures forever... His mercy endures forever... His mercy endures forever...The God I serve is awesome and he can handle every problem I have, the battle does not belong to me, it belongs to him, victory belongs to him. Satan has been defeated!!!!"
---Blessed Hannah
Have a blessed Friday and a blessed week-end!!!!!!!!!
Be blessed in the name of Jesus!
Blessed Hannah
Friday, July 24, 2009
Perfect parent????
Fear of rejection...
We are waiting for the application to arrive, but I can not help but to have fear of rejection and I know that will hurt my heart even so much more than...anything...
The waiting game is odd for me in this case because I feel like it is saying you are a perfect parent, or you are not fit to be a parent.
Maybe I am wrong for saying this but this is how I feel, and I really hope there are others who feel the same way who have been there with these same feelings too. I am so ready to be a mother and I know motherhood does not define anyone, but after all I have been through, I know I will be a good mother and I am excited about being a mother. Yes, I do have some fears like all first time mothers do, but I know I have my family and my husband's family to help me a long and my husband will be great help because he has children, so I will be okay.
This fear of rejection is giving me a headache and I need to stop worrying because I know worry is one of Satan's tools. I am waiting to complete the application... lol...pre-application jitters??? I guess, so I guess then it will be okay after the application is complete,???? I hope I do not have application jitters. lol
Blessed Hannah
We are waiting for the application to arrive, but I can not help but to have fear of rejection and I know that will hurt my heart even so much more than...anything...
The waiting game is odd for me in this case because I feel like it is saying you are a perfect parent, or you are not fit to be a parent.
Maybe I am wrong for saying this but this is how I feel, and I really hope there are others who feel the same way who have been there with these same feelings too. I am so ready to be a mother and I know motherhood does not define anyone, but after all I have been through, I know I will be a good mother and I am excited about being a mother. Yes, I do have some fears like all first time mothers do, but I know I have my family and my husband's family to help me a long and my husband will be great help because he has children, so I will be okay.
This fear of rejection is giving me a headache and I need to stop worrying because I know worry is one of Satan's tools. I am waiting to complete the application... lol...pre-application jitters??? I guess, so I guess then it will be okay after the application is complete,???? I hope I do not have application jitters. lol
Blessed Hannah
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Update!-- Contact Made!!!--The Ball is Rolling! :-)
July 20th, 2009---
OKDHS contacted us,but we were not home! :-( , but we were advised to return their call
Wednesday from 8am-10:30a.m.
July 21st, 2009
8 a.m. SHARP! :-)
I contacted OKDHS and spoke to our supervising caseworker and she reviewed the OKDHS requirements, and she did advise me that most of their children are ages 6 and up whose parents have permanently terminated their rights to them, however they do have sibling groups in which a child is younger, but sibling groups are as they are, and they do not split these group, GREAT! I am so happy, I love when siblings remain together! :-)
There is an application packet and process that we will go through that includes:
--Physical/ Mental Exam
--FBI/ Local/ State Background check
--Attend 27 hours of pre-service training
--Meet other Bridge Resource Family Requirements
*such as the age requirement of 21yrs-55 yrs of age
*OKDHS Record Search
*Legal Oklahoma Residents
*Vehicle + Telephone
*Family Assessment
* Other things may be found at the OKDHS website
Our training will be in the Sallisaw or Poteau, Oklahoma area, and it is normally an accelerated course which is 41/2 hours on Saturdays, or it may be 1-2 nights per week in other areas.
Pre-interview/ Safety Check--
Our supervising caseworker will come to our home and inspect our home, meet with my husband and I, give us a preview of what People, Inc, will will be looking for, and want, and she will tell us what we need to do to prepare for our home study. This is also known as a safety check which will be completed during our home assessment.
Home Study--
The adoptive assessment may take 90 days at max to complete, the company who completes the adoptive assessment is People, Inc. It may be completed in a speedier fashion if both prospective adoptive parents are at home at the same time for the home assessment/interview; 6 References are needed and they need to make sure they are available so when the People, Inc. call to verify our references, it will be recorded, and completed much quicker, so we need to make sure our references will do the best they can to ensure they are available to answer any request or verify any questions about my husband and I as prospective parents. This will help People, Inc, speed things up quickly!
Norman, OK--
In Norman, Ok our supervising caseworker said she will go there once the month and review families ( finding families for children), what they do is... they assess a child by his or her needs, and the age of a child to find a family for a child.
Six times per year they hold Oklahoma Adoptive Parties which allow prospective adoptive parents and families to meet, greet, and speak to the adoptive children, their foster parents, and the OKDHS staff. This party allows the adoptive parents to learn more about the child and understand the child since it may be scary to read about a child on paper, after meeting the child, it helps adoptive parents to be assured and notice this is a child who needs a loving home.
Oklahoma DHS has several areas, and in my husband and I's we are in Area 5.
Selection Process--
An OKC social worker will make the decisions on finding the families for the children. We need to make a wider acceptance of age that means we have more of a chance to adopt, but it is suggested to ensure that is what we want since we know what we can or can not handle. Pre-service training helps adoptive parents to learn more about what is expected, parenting classes, and how to cope and assist with children with special needs.
Thus Far--
All we need to start is the application packet ( which the supervising case worker placed in the mail today, and we should receive it by next week.)
1. We will complete the Application
2. Background checks ( FBI, Local & State Fingerprints)
* Tip*--We learned that the electronic prints are a lot better than paper and will scan quicker and does not decline as quick as the paper fingerprint method.
We will travel to Sallisaw, Oklahoma, which is 30-35 minutes away from our home for our background checks.
3. Our area provides us a voucher to pay for the background checks.. Yay!!! but since the people who issue the vouchers are in our area today, Yay!!!, but they are in a meeting, our vouchers will be mailed to us by Friday at the most.
So that is it all in a nutshell!
We will keep you all updated with new posts as we complete everything! Yay!!!!
The ball is rolling!!! Contact was made! We made the first step!!!
( Well it may not be the first step...but we made contact :-)
Second step...complete application and BKG(background)checks.
Romans 8:28 (New International Version)
More Than Conquerors
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=8&verse=28
More to come later!!! :-)
Be a blessing, be blessed, and love one another as Christ has loved us!!!
In Christ,
Blessed Hannah
OKDHS contacted us,but we were not home! :-( , but we were advised to return their call
Wednesday from 8am-10:30a.m.
July 21st, 2009
8 a.m. SHARP! :-)
I contacted OKDHS and spoke to our supervising caseworker and she reviewed the OKDHS requirements, and she did advise me that most of their children are ages 6 and up whose parents have permanently terminated their rights to them, however they do have sibling groups in which a child is younger, but sibling groups are as they are, and they do not split these group, GREAT! I am so happy, I love when siblings remain together! :-)
There is an application packet and process that we will go through that includes:
--Physical/ Mental Exam
--FBI/ Local/ State Background check
--Attend 27 hours of pre-service training
--Meet other Bridge Resource Family Requirements
*such as the age requirement of 21yrs-55 yrs of age
*OKDHS Record Search
*Legal Oklahoma Residents
*Vehicle + Telephone
*Family Assessment
* Other things may be found at the OKDHS website
Our training will be in the Sallisaw or Poteau, Oklahoma area, and it is normally an accelerated course which is 41/2 hours on Saturdays, or it may be 1-2 nights per week in other areas.
Pre-interview/ Safety Check--
Our supervising caseworker will come to our home and inspect our home, meet with my husband and I, give us a preview of what People, Inc, will will be looking for, and want, and she will tell us what we need to do to prepare for our home study. This is also known as a safety check which will be completed during our home assessment.
Home Study--
The adoptive assessment may take 90 days at max to complete, the company who completes the adoptive assessment is People, Inc. It may be completed in a speedier fashion if both prospective adoptive parents are at home at the same time for the home assessment/interview; 6 References are needed and they need to make sure they are available so when the People, Inc. call to verify our references, it will be recorded, and completed much quicker, so we need to make sure our references will do the best they can to ensure they are available to answer any request or verify any questions about my husband and I as prospective parents. This will help People, Inc, speed things up quickly!
Norman, OK--
In Norman, Ok our supervising caseworker said she will go there once the month and review families ( finding families for children), what they do is... they assess a child by his or her needs, and the age of a child to find a family for a child.
Six times per year they hold Oklahoma Adoptive Parties which allow prospective adoptive parents and families to meet, greet, and speak to the adoptive children, their foster parents, and the OKDHS staff. This party allows the adoptive parents to learn more about the child and understand the child since it may be scary to read about a child on paper, after meeting the child, it helps adoptive parents to be assured and notice this is a child who needs a loving home.
Oklahoma DHS has several areas, and in my husband and I's we are in Area 5.
Selection Process--
An OKC social worker will make the decisions on finding the families for the children. We need to make a wider acceptance of age that means we have more of a chance to adopt, but it is suggested to ensure that is what we want since we know what we can or can not handle. Pre-service training helps adoptive parents to learn more about what is expected, parenting classes, and how to cope and assist with children with special needs.
Thus Far--
All we need to start is the application packet ( which the supervising case worker placed in the mail today, and we should receive it by next week.)
1. We will complete the Application
2. Background checks ( FBI, Local & State Fingerprints)
* Tip*--We learned that the electronic prints are a lot better than paper and will scan quicker and does not decline as quick as the paper fingerprint method.
We will travel to Sallisaw, Oklahoma, which is 30-35 minutes away from our home for our background checks.
3. Our area provides us a voucher to pay for the background checks.. Yay!!! but since the people who issue the vouchers are in our area today, Yay!!!, but they are in a meeting, our vouchers will be mailed to us by Friday at the most.
So that is it all in a nutshell!
We will keep you all updated with new posts as we complete everything! Yay!!!!
The ball is rolling!!! Contact was made! We made the first step!!!
( Well it may not be the first step...but we made contact :-)
Second step...complete application and BKG(background)checks.
Romans 8:28 (New International Version)
More Than Conquerors
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=8&verse=28
More to come later!!! :-)
Be a blessing, be blessed, and love one another as Christ has loved us!!!
In Christ,
Blessed Hannah
Monday, July 20, 2009
Contact!!!!
We contacted our local DHS and they sent us an inquiry letter and we have been assigned a lady to speak to. We tried to make contact but she was out of her office and will be out of her office until this Thursday. We are optimistic and we hope everything goes well. We are preparing to gather everything that we need to know or do so that we will be able to ask questions and be comfortable. We spoke to a caseworker and she told us to call and speak to the caseworker that has been assigned to our area and request an adoption application package. She also told us that we should be interested in Foster-Adopt, and to join local and national adoption social sites to learn from individuals who have experience and may be able to be a support group for us as well.
So... we wait...but we wait with patience for King David said in psalms..." Wait, and be of good courage...wait I said on the Lord!"
Blessed Hannah!
So... we wait...but we wait with patience for King David said in psalms..." Wait, and be of good courage...wait I said on the Lord!"
Blessed Hannah!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Hannah's Prayer
Hannah's prayer.
Hannah mingled tears with her prayers; she considered the mercy of our God, who knows the troubled soul. God gives us leave, in prayer, not only to ask good things in general, but to mention that special good thing we most need and desire. She spoke softly, none could hear her. Hereby she testified her belief of God's knowledge of the heart and its desires. Eli was high priest, and judge in Israel. It ill becomes us to be rash and hasty in censures of others, and to think people
guilty of bad things while the matter is doubtful and unproved. Hannah did not retort the charge, and upbraid Eli with the wicked conduct of his own sons. When we are at any time unjustly censured, we have need to set a double watch before the door of our lips, that we do not return censure for censure. Hannah thought it enough to clear herself, and so must we. Eli was willing to acknowledge his mistake. Hannah went away with satisfaction of mind. She had herself by prayer committed her case to
God, and Eli had prayed for her. Prayer is heart's ease to a gracious soul. Prayer will smooth the countenance; it should do so. None will long remain miserable, who use aright the privilege of going to the mercy-seat of a reconciled God in Christ Jesus. (1Sa 1:19-28)
Source: Bible Gateway.com
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getCommentaryText&cid=26&source=2&seq=i.9.1.2
In Christ,
Blessed Hannah
Hannah mingled tears with her prayers; she considered the mercy of our God, who knows the troubled soul. God gives us leave, in prayer, not only to ask good things in general, but to mention that special good thing we most need and desire. She spoke softly, none could hear her. Hereby she testified her belief of God's knowledge of the heart and its desires. Eli was high priest, and judge in Israel. It ill becomes us to be rash and hasty in censures of others, and to think people
guilty of bad things while the matter is doubtful and unproved. Hannah did not retort the charge, and upbraid Eli with the wicked conduct of his own sons. When we are at any time unjustly censured, we have need to set a double watch before the door of our lips, that we do not return censure for censure. Hannah thought it enough to clear herself, and so must we. Eli was willing to acknowledge his mistake. Hannah went away with satisfaction of mind. She had herself by prayer committed her case to
God, and Eli had prayed for her. Prayer is heart's ease to a gracious soul. Prayer will smooth the countenance; it should do so. None will long remain miserable, who use aright the privilege of going to the mercy-seat of a reconciled God in Christ Jesus. (1Sa 1:19-28)
Source: Bible Gateway.com
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getCommentaryText&cid=26&source=2&seq=i.9.1.2
In Christ,
Blessed Hannah
Never Seen the Righteous Forsaken
Never Seen the Righteous Forsaken
Today, I ponder at the possibilities of a child, I have always thought children were a joy but now I have the urge to hold, comfort and console my own child. I pray that God will make a way because during times like these... recession, job loss, and not enough high paying jobs in my husband and I's area. It does makes us think but we can not think negatively, we must speak life and that is the word of God over our lives. We know that King David said he has never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. We know with all of our hearts that God will make a way!
I will begin to study about Hannah and how she wanted a child of her own. I pray that God will grant me a child of my own, even if that child comes through adoption. Some of my friends tell me that I should not worry about a child, but they are not in their early 30's and they have no idea how it feels when your biological clock comes on but you are fighting PCOS,age,and other things the doctors are still puzzled about.
But the thing I love most about these friends...
They told me to be still and know that God will move within his timing, but I must be still and listen to his voice and not go ahead of him. I have always wanted to consider adoption even if I could have my own children. I know that God's little ones are to be protected, and I know that there are Christian women and men who are good husband and wifes within a good solid Christian marriage who would love the chance to care for a child and raise him or her in the admiration of God.
We are waiting!
I am waiting, but each day that I wait, it teaches me to be patient, of course...patience is a virtue! It is hard, but I thank God that I am alive and yes I do know God works in his timing. I just thank God that when that time comes, I will be ready and I will be a good mommy.
In Christ,
Peace, Love, and Blessings!!!!
Blessed Hannah
Today, I ponder at the possibilities of a child, I have always thought children were a joy but now I have the urge to hold, comfort and console my own child. I pray that God will make a way because during times like these... recession, job loss, and not enough high paying jobs in my husband and I's area. It does makes us think but we can not think negatively, we must speak life and that is the word of God over our lives. We know that King David said he has never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. We know with all of our hearts that God will make a way!
I will begin to study about Hannah and how she wanted a child of her own. I pray that God will grant me a child of my own, even if that child comes through adoption. Some of my friends tell me that I should not worry about a child, but they are not in their early 30's and they have no idea how it feels when your biological clock comes on but you are fighting PCOS,age,and other things the doctors are still puzzled about.
But the thing I love most about these friends...
They told me to be still and know that God will move within his timing, but I must be still and listen to his voice and not go ahead of him. I have always wanted to consider adoption even if I could have my own children. I know that God's little ones are to be protected, and I know that there are Christian women and men who are good husband and wifes within a good solid Christian marriage who would love the chance to care for a child and raise him or her in the admiration of God.
We are waiting!
I am waiting, but each day that I wait, it teaches me to be patient, of course...patience is a virtue! It is hard, but I thank God that I am alive and yes I do know God works in his timing. I just thank God that when that time comes, I will be ready and I will be a good mommy.
In Christ,
Peace, Love, and Blessings!!!!
Blessed Hannah
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