Parenting class and a fun surprise

Our Saturday morning began early. We left our house in time to get to my parents to drop off the girls and photo copy the paperwork we had completed so far. With our paperwork in hand we arrived to our class just before 9am. As we walked in we were greeted by the Adoption Services Manager who teaches the class. We said our hello's and Randy handed her packet which contained 2/3 of the paperwork. She was pleasantly surprised and obviously knew we were not wasting any time. At this point it had been 5 days since the info meeting and 1 day since receiving the home study packet. It was so clear to us that God lined everything up, who were we to not keep up pace. Usually CHI has Info Meetings every 6-8 weeks and the Classes are the same way. We just saved a good chunk of time.



We got settled in class and really it all felt surreal. A whirl wind. Later, when I was telling our friend this she confirmed my feelings, "It should feel surreal! This is fast." Now coming from her makes her statement even more impactful. She has adopted several times and is known for being very driven and efficient in completing paperwork. If we were keeping pace with her or surpassing it...that again is a sign of God's hand in it all.



So back to the class. The others taking the class had very interesting stories. Some had pictures and others had no idea who their child was going to be. We really enjoyed everyone's company. The materials were very interesting. Nothing was not anything we did not know but having an adoption spin on it freshened up the information and it held our attention. Randy also had the opportunity to contribute to the curriculum. The topics before and after lunch were centered around child abuse, recognizing it, effects of, neglect and trauma. The instructor was ready but not...I mean who really wants to have to have to talk about this but unfortunately it's necessary. Randy was able to give input, statistics and answer some questions from his first had experience. We had a couple in the class who are planning to do foster care and then adopt so this was very interesting to them. We made it through the tough topics and moved onto less intense subjects. The class flew by and before we knew it we were done with the first day. Yippee!


As we walked out of the office I looked at him and said, "You're taking Monday off right." at the same time he was saying,"There's no way I can work on Monday." We were in agreement he needed the whole day off instead of just the two hours to take the girls to the first day of school.



We left and headed to get the girls. We arrived at my parents as Aunt Stephie and our oldest were just arriving. Our oldest hurried in the house ahead of us obviously on a mission. Once we were all in and starting to hear about their adventures they had a surprise for us. Aunt Stephie took our oldest shopping for an outfit for her new brother. We opened the box and inside we found a cute little outfit, a long sleeved light blue onesie with sports balls all over and on the front it said "Little Brother" and there were a pair of navy pants to match. So cute. Our first baby gift. Wow! We proceeded to listen to the stories of the day, gather everyone and everything up and head home.

Once home, Randy decided to try to call our doctors 24 hour line and see if he could get an appointment. So he calls and before I know it he comes to me and proudly announces,"I have a physical tomorrow at 10:15." I am stunned, shocked and amazed. Seriously, this Monday that he is taking off anyway...WOW...God is so good.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the girls having some family time and a little prep for the first day of school. Bedtime came, we tucked them in and once again....you guessed it....paperwork here we come! I must say I have given Randy a new nickname after these last few days. He is now the "Paper Master". He has done such a great job printing, organizing, reading the fine print, collecting, and supervising the paper I am tremendously grateful. I have been able to just ask what's next and he hands me the next stack to either fill out, initial and sign or proof read. Then I return it and he puts it in it's home. Again, off to bed late to dream of our boy. He is so precious and it makes it all worth it.