Slowly By Slowly-Negrete Adoption

We got an email yesterday to schedule our initial intake interview. I immediately emailed back and asked if we could do it this afternoon and she said yes!! We met for about half an hour and she asked generic questions...why do you want to adopt? Why Uganda? How do your families feel about the adoption? She asked about our relationship, how we met, our dating period and engagement and general marriage. It was pretty easy and painless. I was nervous going into it but it was way easier than I had expected. Tomorrow we'll schedule our individual interviews that can be up to 2 hours long and then she'll come out to our house and check out the physical environment. After that, she'll write our home study!! This is really happening and now I'll be freaking out about the individual interview and if my knives are high enough, the fire extinguisher is in the right place and all the harmful chemicals are properly contained!

A year ago this weekend  we took a few days and went to a quaint bed and breakfast ( The Keating House ) in San Diego. It was a sweet weekend to be together, explore the city, celebrate my birthday and slow down. Hours were spent walking on the boardwalk, at a Padres game, walking thorough Balboa Park. We spent a lot of our weekend intentionally talking about our future. We spend time praying and reading the Word and talking some more. At the end of the weekend we felt God leading us to begin two major life changing ventures...Chris would apply for Nurse Practitioner programs and we would start an adoption before trying for biological kids. We both felt God pushing us to trust Him in two major changes and trust His plan for our family. I immediately started pursuing adoption agencies and talking with dozens of families who had adopted. I researched Ugandan laws, the current feelings toward international adoption and attachment theories. We switched churches and found one we

We turned in all our paperwork for our home study on our anniversary last Monday!! We are now waiting to hear from our social worker for our interviews!! I'll update when we know more. When we are finished with our interviews, we will have our last payment to our home study agency. We still have 64 more puzzle pieces left...a fully "donated" puzzle= a fully funded home study. We would love to have names fill each piece before that last big check is sent off. I'm praying we can finish our interviews before school starts back up. If you would like to "donate" a puzzle piece, click on the donate button on the left, each piece is $10 and you can donate as many as you would like. In the comments section at checkout you can let us know what names you would like on the back. In other news............ Tuesday we had a call from our placing agency. We talked for about 45 minutes about what the reform may look like and what it means for our adoption. Basically, we

Happy Anniversary to my best friend! I wouldn't want to do this crazy life or an adoption with anyone else!! Standing beneath that tree 2 years ago we promised to walk hand in hand together. Some days that is easier than others. Some days we're knocked to our knees before God...some days we rest together and other days we dream and run together! Marriage is such a unique blessing. This has been a year of taking risks...I hate risk...Chris love risk. In the past year, Chris applied for NP school meaning 2 years of intense school, we started an adoption that we cannot afford, I chose to stand firm on convictions knowing it may cost me my job, we moved to a bigger/more expensive house without having a new job so we can have room for baby. Some days I freak out not knowing how everything will work out and Chris sweetly reminds me "God brought us this far, I'm confident He has a way to provide"  It's so comforting to have a husband who helps me to trust God i