cue the rain

Clean house, chocolate chip cookies baked. Enter social worker. Now, cue the rain.

It was the perfect setting our for first home study visit last night. I wouldn't have thought I would prefer our visit to be during the middle of a pretty hefty thunderstorm but it made everything feel right. I even prayed against it thinking it might postpone our meeting. Thank you Lord for knowing what we need and providing.

I knew I was excited to have our first visit with Amanda Tovey, our social worker with Amazing Grace, but I didn't know how I'd feel after. Perhaps a little emotional and impatient? I did not expect to feel giddy. But that's the best way to describe it. She was WONDERFUL! She's a solid Believer, pastor's wife, mother of 4, and thankfully, our social worker.

The three of us chatted for awhile about adoption and financials, and then walked through the house as she made safety suggestions that need to be done by our third visit.

I'll admit, it has been easy in the past for thoughts to start to creep in such as: Why does someone have to come ask us a bunch of questions and walk through our house to make sure the smoke detectors are operating, we have carbon monoxide detectors on each floor,  we have appropriate cabinet locks and our dog doesn't bite? Isn't almost anything better than life in an orphanage without a forever family? Ok, maybe a dog that bites would not be a good thing. I am quickly reminded that this is the process the Lord has us going through for a reason. And she is worth every single bit of it. And I am so glad to do it for her in order to bring her home. Hey, now we know all of our smoke and carbon monoxide detectors actually work! That's comforting ;-) And having an escape plan in case of fire is something we should do anyway. So, if all of this makes us a safer family and gets us one step closer to being ready for her, I'm all for it!

I cannot say how much I appreciated Amanda. Andy described her as being a good mix of "business" and "heart". I know she cares and she even said "It's going to be fun to walk through this with you guys and to be able to see her."! Her job is technically finished after these 3 visits are over and the report is written. But I think she's interested in more than that and I love it.