Formal Application....APPROVED!

What sweet words to my ears....Yesterday, our adoption specialist (her name is Catie and I think she is going to be wonderful to work with!) left me a message that our formal application had been approved.  I received the letter today and we chatted on the phone for about 30 minutes discussing the next steps.  Let me break it down for you...

-  Educational classes:  we have to attend 12 hours of educational courses.  The have classes starting in May or we can start with some online classes and add and/or supplement the courses in Atlanta.  I am really excited!  There is also some reading involved...I'm headed to Barnes and Noble tonight!

-  Interviews.  Nathan and I will meet Catie in person (yay!) for a joint interview...we will then meet at a later date for individual interviews.  I think we do some assessments before the interviews that act as catalysts for conversation.

-  Actual home visit.  Catie will visit our home, inspect it I would imagine (anyone want to help clean??  haha..just kidding! I think we do a pretty good job a that!)  and ask further questions.

-  Fingerprints.  I don't suppose there is really much to say about this one :)

-  Profile book.  I think she may have called it something different but she did say to start gathering pictures of us and our friends and family.

I feel confident that I am forgetting something but maybe not.  Anyways, I wanted to share what the next few steps look like for us.  I also want to ask you to pray for Catie.  She has been great to work with so far and she will be a part of every step along the way.  Our relationship with her is crucial and I want that to be a great relationship.  I can't imagine the work load she has on her or how she keeps all of the different families and their information straight (and trust me...there is a TON of information).

I am so hopeful in this process and I cannot wait to check all of these things off (as most of you probably know I am a list kind of girl!).  Thank you all for reading...please pray for Catie and our future working relationship!

~Natalie (excited mom-to-be)

Side note #1:  is it just me or does it seem like people are popping up pregnant all over the place?? :)  I suppose it's like buying a car...you see the one you want EVERYWHERE!

Side note #2:  my cousins have determined that they are going to treat me as if I were pregnant from here on out...I'm hoping this means dairyqueen turtle blizzards at any hour...or maybe I can even justify pajama jeans?  No?