Home Study Bound

 Wow, where do I begin? This is our first blog. Neither of us have ever been big bloggers but we are really excited to document this journey and also have people follow along side us.  We know it will be long but COMPLETELY worth it! The Lord has called us to adopt from Uganda.  I am so in love with this country! Sometimes I feel like half of me is still there.  We go back for another mission trip in June.  It will be such a special time for Paul and I to share that time together.  At the moment, we are at the beginning of our home study.  Typically they last about four months, but we are going to try our best to set a world record for the quickest home study ever! We have already done most of the paper work that has to be turned in. We know there will be very few things in the process that we will have control over so we are taking advantage of it while it lasts.

 These pictures are from this afternoon.  We went to get both sets of fingerprints done along with our criminal background checks.  The little things are so exciting right now! 
- Katie

 For me, today was the first time I've ever been in a Police department, which is a good thing :). It was a little bit like an awkward scene from a TV show where you come in and sit at the little table in a plain chair. The room is all white, but not like "hospital sterile" white...more like, "I don't care about your life so I'm not going to make this pretty white." OK, so they aren't really that bad, you just feel that way when you first walk in.  It was an easy process and the officer was quite friendly, even joking about how she had a guy with fingers so big that she couldn't get the print to fit correctly on the paper...names not mentioned of course.  I've never had so much fun getting fingerprinted and having ink stains... one more box to check and one step closer to seeing my kid(s) for the first time!

- Paul

As we continue to walk this journey, we ask that you walk it with us, not just by following this blog, but by praying with us, laughing with us, crying with us and ultimately rejoicing with us!  My hope is that this doesn't become a fad to see what is happening in the next post or what funny pictures are being posted. I want this to be a platform for sharing our faith and what we feel God has called us to. My desire is that all who venture across this would open up the hearts and minds to the possibility of adoption, knowing that if you call yourself a Christian, you are already adopted as a child of God.  Blessings on you all and please keep our Homegrown and Handpicked family in your prayers!