One step down 93 more to go

We are blessed with some amazing people in our lives. Thank you to mom for helping clean and the Vaughn's for taking the kids for a little bit! We also had tons of friends asking how the home study went and/or letting us know they've been praying for it. I could definitely tell we were being prayed for since I only got nervous for a couple minutes right before Susan got here to talk with us. It went so well, and way easier than we thought it was going to be. I couldn't imagine it being too difficult since we had already written our autobiography and had a few friends send in reference letters for us--I mean how much more information was she going to need about us?! But we were ready to spill our guts and have her put on some white gloves to check for dust--I even made a point to turn on my living room fan since I didn't want to clean it and it was covered with dust. So, I ended up being a little disappointed that the only rooms she went in were the kids' since they pretty much dragged (drug?) her in to show how clean they were, and the bathroom--you know, to use it for it's intended purpose. I didn't even hear the medicine cabinet quietly open (because who doesn't do that just for fun/nosy reasons when they visit people?).
Susan interviewed the kids for about 10 minutes each, and they did a fantastic job being themselves: Eli super smart and Charlotte super silly. Love them. I was glad to hear they know they're getting a little sister who won't look like them because she'll be brown with brown hair--or purple or pink...because really, does it matter that much? And then Kyle's parents came to take the kids off for a few hours while she talked with us. This was a huge answer to prayer since I had no idea how we were going to get a word in with the kids here talking her ears off--and I didn't want her to see me beating them or locking them in closets. (Can I joke about that on an adoption blog?) She pretty much just asked a few fill in the blank questions from our autobiographies and talked with Kyle forever about his book, and his views on teaching, and Nicholas Kristoff, and why the millennial generation is lazy, and being a forever learner, etc, etc. Hey, we're a pretty cool family but she quickly picked up on who the interesting one is. That was about it. We learned a lot about her, and she learned a little more about us, and she ate a couple of my fresh, homemade cookies I had made to get a few bonus points, and then she was off. And I was exhausted, but really happy with that behind us--and to have a super clean house to rest my lazy millennial generation self in.
Now all we have to do is WAIT. She'll be writing up the report in the next few weeks--she said honestly it probably won't be until the end of October that she gets to ours, and then it has to be read over by us and then the adoption agency and then back to her to get copied, notarized, etc, and then back to us. So in the meantime I'll be working on updating our passports that have expired and finishing up the final application for Children of the World (our adoption agency). I'm hoping we'll be registered in India by the end of this year. I know it's not smart to put time lines on adoption in any way, but I'm praying that that is so far out that there's no way it can't happen. Actually, I'm praying she is able to write our home study sooner than that and everything moves along quickly, but I'm trusting the Lord to provide me with the patience I need for the time it takes. Susan in fact kept saying over and over how she has a few families adopting from India that have been waiting 12-18 months just for a referral and not to expect things to move quickly. I have no idea what the circumstances are with these families and if they're going for completely healthy kids or not, but we will be waiting for a special needs little one, so I'm not sure what kind of time difference that will make.
Speaking of details on who we're waiting for--Susan said she'd approve us for up to two kids, and because of our young kids and ideas about attachment issues she would like to say 4 and under if they're siblings, or no older than 3 for a single child. This is a little younger than we were first open to since I want to be open to any little one the Lord brings to us and I know the older they are the harder it is to find families for them, but I'm also okay with it at this time in our lives. And I'm also okay with it since I know home studies can be amended if needed. ;)
I don't know who this will bring us, or how long it will take, I'm just thankful this step is behind us and the empty space on our adoption board that was filled with home study paperwork will soon be filled with dossier paperwork ready to be sent to India. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless!