September 2006 Archives

Well things are progressing really well. We have officially completed our home study. Our Social Worker, DeNese, came to visit a second time, last Wednesday and we went over in greater detail, the possible issues that may arise during the adoption process and after we bring the boys home.

Some examples of the issues she talked about were – like overeating initially after arriving here. The boys probably won’t be used to having as much food readily available throughout the day like we do here in the U.S. so they can tend to overindulge a bit or hoard food initially. Some of the other issues were more emotional in nature - like issues of loss they may feel from being separated from their birth-family, the caretakers at the orphanage or friends that they may have had at the orphanage. We talked a lot about how Donna and I would deal with the subject of adoption after the boys start asking questions about it. One of the things DeNese strongly suggested is to have them keep a ‘Life Journal’ that we start for them and document the experiences and feelings we are having leading up to being united with them as a family. That way we have something we can show them and refer to when they ask ‘when? Where? Why? And How? All in all it was really interesting to learn about and I hope that when/if these issues arise we will be prepared.

On another note – we’re done with the paperwork for our citizenship and U.S. security stuff. This was really wild cuz we had to have our fingerprints taken – 2 times – and I don’t know about you but I had never gotten my fingerprints done. The first time we had to go downtown (dahntahn) and it was all electronic and pretty cool. But the second time – today – we had to have it done here at the town, Penn Hills, Police Station and I swear we walked back in time. I thought Barney Fife was gonna walk around the corner in the building. The ink pad they used to take our prints looked like it was from the 1800s and the office had no computers. Anyway, it was fun and Donna and I have had such a good time together going to these places and getting to do these things.

Lastly, for this week, I’d like to report that we have made our FIRST purchase of toys for our little guys. The other night we were out and about looking for some things for my office here at home and we were in Target. We walked by the sporting section and they had the coolest little baseball mitts. Not the fake looking plastic kind but real leather, real looking mitts just about the quarter of the size of a regular mitt. So I just HAD to pick them up. But I think we’ve opened up a Pandora’s Box cuz I’m itching to go to Dick’s now and get some footballs and hockey sticks for them as well.

Again we can really see Gods’ hand in all of this. He is leading us everyday in the paperwork, the decisions we make and through the support and love we are getting from all of you - our friends and family. I gotta say that this has really been an eye opener for me. One of the biggest struggles, at this early stage in my spiritual journey, was to just let God take over and show me the way to carry out His will and plans for my life. Outwardly, it’s really easy to say it, but inwardly it’s really difficult to not worry about finances, paperwork, logistics, etc. And if anyone knows me, worrying is something I’ve struggled with for a long time. However, when we heard Him call us to do this I decided that this was the one thing I really wanted to just ‘go with it’ and let Him work this while I would just be His hands and feet. So I when I read Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:34 where he says “Don’t worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” I said BINGO! I can’t explain why or how God has provided for us to do this but it was like all barriers were removed in the areas of finances, paperwork and logistics and he said “Alright…now you have no excuses…”. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that yeah I still worry sometimes but I know that’s just doubt and second thoughts planted there to try and detract me from our goals. Cuz I know that no one has ever added any extra time to their lives by worrying.

Well, I think that’s about it. Thanks so much again everybody for all the support. The responses here are great and really fun to read. Donna and I check it every coupla hours and love to hear from everybody. We really hope you feel a part of all of this – we’re trying to keep the news fresh and up to date.

Love,
Scott & Donna

First we would like to say thanks to everyone for the overwhelming response to our news. We were amazed at how excited everyone was and have tried to the best of our knowledge to answer all your questions. First and foremost - I just want to say that NO - the boys will NOT be having shaved heads! (Thanks for addressing that David).

1. Application to the USCIS (US Citizenship and Services) - basically this is to pre-approve us for adopting orphans from overseas.
2. The Home Study - The social worker comes to our home to visit (on 2 occasions). Getting ready for this included getting 23 documents in order - such as - Child abuse, background check, doctors reports, etc. The hardest thing for this part was that we needed to write an autobiography about ourselves answering something like 50 questions. (I actually had to describe my father and how I was disciplined when I was growing up!).
   
3. Dossier - a bundle of documents required by a foreign country to approve the adoption.  This is similar to the documents required in the home study but they need to be state certified originals and then sent to the government of the country we are adopting from to be translated and approved.

So there are two stages where we have to gather documents one for the Home Study and one for the Dossier. We have gotten the first done - meaning we have gathered all the documents needed to present to the Social Worker during our home study. We had our first home study visit last Friday and reality set in. Our social worker, DeNese, had us give her a tour of the house and when we got to the bedrooms she asked "Which one of the rooms will be the boys' room?" and Scott and I couldn't help but smile at each other - it was like it became real. We think the visit went pretty well - she reviewed our paperwork and started to discuss some of the things we should be expecting down the line both with the process and the boys. Our next visit is tomorrow morning after which she will write a report based on all that she observed and read in the paperwork.

The first two stages went really smooth and really quickly. I am hoping that the Dossier process goes just as smooth. I'll be happy when the paperwork is all complete so that I can focus on preparing the house for the boys. Scott and I have already started to talk about their room and to answer everyone's next burning question - NO the colors will not be black and gold...at first...Terrible Towels WILL be taken to Colombia.

Overall though we have really been running pretty smoothly. I have created folders for all of our work with checklists and such - so I've really been trying to stay organized. I have kind of assumed the role of 'gatekeeper' with being able to make calls and do mailings during the day. Scott has done really well with the tasks I've assigned him - filling out forms is not his favorite thing to do - but he hasn't missed a deadline yet!

I know Jesus has a plan for us - we can feel it through the support everyone has given us and in the happiness we feel in our hearts as we complete each stage. He is guiding us through every step as we wait to make the boys part of our lives and speaks to us through His Word. One passage that jumped out at me just the other day was from Matthew 18:5 where Jesus says: "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me". Whenever I hear that verse I can't help but think that He is right behind us watching over our family as we become four instead of two.

Keep your responses coming - I LOVE reading them!
Donna

By now you've heard the news...and yes it's true. Donna and I have decided to adopt two children from Colombia.

The short story is that we started to look at our lives and realized how blessed we really are. Blessed with our jobs, our home, our family and our friends. We believe that God blesses and provides for us so that we can help bless and provide for others and, when we started to brainstorm about how we could take what He has given us and share it with others, we realized that our house was MUCH too quiet and that our family of two didn't seem quite complete.

After months of praying, talking and planning, we began to interview adoption agencies and ran across some wonderful people at Commonwealth Adoptions International who have been extremely helpful in educating us, showing us the options that we have open to us and getting us started.

Though we are in the early stages of the process, we are extremely excited to meet our two boys and make our family whole. We have set up this journal so that you can share in our excitement. We will be posting updates frequently - including pictures of our trip to bring our little guys home! And we hope that you will visit often. Life seems to be getting faster and busier all the time, and we really want to keep everyone in the loop as to what is going on.

Also, feel free to use the 'Reponse' feature below to join in discussing the events as they unfold. If you are a friend or family member, you should have received, via email, a username and password in order to log in and submit a response. By being on this list you will also receive an email each time we have updated the site. If you have just happened onto our site and are interested in joining the conversation, please email us at scott@skrebs.com and we would be more than happy to add you to the list.

Thanks in advance so much for all your support as we get this underway, and again, please check back often!
Scott & Donna