Down But Not Out.....

We are in our 3rd week since lighting hit our home. We are still waiting for answers on how the insurance agency is going to aid us in repairing the damage. Our home is located in a rural part of Missouri that was recently hit by massive flooding. This has resulted in many claims that must be processed. We are unable to live in our home due to the massive amount of damage.





Every room in the house has major damage, except the one we were in waiting for the storm to pass. The room we were in has only minor damage. This awful situation could have been so much worse. We see God shining through this in so many ways. We knew that when we decided to step out in faith to adopt our son that the path may be hard. God never promises an easy life he promises that he will be our rest in the storm.

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

We have spoken to our social worker about what the future of our adoption looks like. She informed us that she is not able to process the adoption home study due to the information about the home not being accurate. We don't currently have a home. She will complete everything that she can. Then when we are in our home after the repairs she will come back for an additional home visit to inspect the new home and submit the paperwork for approval.

Which make perfect sense, but that statement almost broke me. It was not our social worker or the frustration of our life being put on hold, but the fact that I don't currently have a home.  I have been homeless before in my life. I never knew this would happen in my adult life. I know that this is completely different, but as many children who have survived abuse know the wounds run deep. The emotions of past hurt will show up at unexpected moments. This was one of those moments. We are homeless. We have no control over this process. I felt myself spiraling in to fear. We are able to live with my mother in law. All of our basic needs are meet. God is providing.

 We cannot see the daylight in this storm yet. We are in one of the hardest trials of our marriage. We have so much stress. We all still have to live life as we did before. We are out of our home and unsure when we will be back in it. All the work we have put in over the past year seems to be gone. We have amazing friends and family by our side, and we are forever grateful for that. We know that this will pass. God is putting the test in our testimony. Our adoption is not over. We will still be pushing to move forward toward bringing our son home as soon as possible.

With this we are praying. We are praying to receive guidance on our house. We are praying that the insurance agency provides answers. We are praying that our adoption continues. We are praying for our children at home are understanding our the current situation.

When it rains it pours...

   So much has happened in the last month. We completed our last home visit for the home study. It went great. I felt so much more at ease this visit. Now we are waiting for the document that our social worker types up to be drafted, fingers crossed that this goes well.
  School came to an end, which is always bittersweet. As a teacher you truly grow to love each kiddo. I'm blown away each year at the amount of sadness I feel every year sending my freshman off to high school. Maddie completed 2nd grade with fling colors. Jacquie completed her last day at Broseley Preschool and Daycare. This brought tears to my eyes. My middle baby is off to kindergarten. Charlotte is working towards being potty trained!!!!
    We were off to a great start, then our lives were flipped up side down. Our home was hit by lightning. The damage is unreal. It will have to have all electrical parts and wiring  will need to be replaced. We are currently unable to live in our home and our staying with my mother in law. We do are praying that insurance will cover all damages. We are blessed with a great contractor and a strong faith that God will deliver us. We are unsure how long we will be out of our home, the Amount of damage is pointing toward 3-6 months before we can move back in.
    Then, to add to my pity party I got bit by a spider, and Maddie needs some dental work. Life is hitting us hard. We are praying that God provides the funds to keep pushing ahead with the adoption and complete our home repairs. We truly appreciate all prayers. We are trusting in God to provide.

Home Study First Home Visit....

The flood of 2017 has been devastating for so many families in our area. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.

So far we had completed our first visit with our social worker in St. Louis. Now we were ready to move on to the next step. THE HOME INTERVIEW!!!

In a home study you write a biography about your self answering very personal questions. Then, a social worker comes into your home on two separate visits.  During the first visit she asks you in more detail about the questions in your biography both individually and together as a couple. Then on the second visit she will revisit any issues she needs cleared up, look at our home, and talk with our children. Many of you all know my children and know I am praying about this also. :)

On the day of the first home visit, I was sweating bullets. I have cleaned and re-cleaned my home about 3 times. Debating on what to wear. Looked on Pintrest to see what to wear.  I made sweet tea, tasted it, dumped it out and then Googled how to make sweet tea correctly. Made coffee......, drank it......., made an other pot. Googled home study tips.  Ran to town to get my finger prints done/ keep me busy and not drinking coffee. While I was out I saw my beautiful friend Emma at a local store. She gave me the best hug and told me she would pray for me today to have peace.  This was exactly what I needed to hear. God placed this wonderful friend in my path. As soon as she said she would pray for me I was stopped in my tracks. I had not prayed today. I had done quick one liners with God throughout the day, but I had not stopped and truly pour my emotions out to God. I walked around the store praying and thanking God for friends that lead me toward my heavenly father. Thank you Emma. You never stop inspiring me.

I came back home still praying. Saw the coffee....., drank it......, made an other pot. Then, she pulled up. She greeted me with a hug and shared about her drive. I offered her coffee and warned her away from the tea. Then we got started. I was full on stress sweating! My glasses fogged at one time. I had been calling this my very expensive blind date and it was happening. I knew she was going to ask me about my past. I knew I would have to talk about it. She eased in to it. Starting with hobbies and my job. Then, BOMB! Tell me about your childhood and teen years. I had planned to gloss over everything answering only what needed to be said. This is not how it happened. I straight up word vomited on her. I spilled it all. It felt good to just get it all out, but instantly came to fear of sharing to much. She was very kind and understanding. I still felt the shame of letting out all my biggest regrets and hardships on this woman I had only meet once. I started to withdraw, I could see myself shutting down. The sweet, amazing Emma popped in my head. I quickly prayed and God calmed my heart. I am not my sins. I am new in Christ. God gave me the strength to stay in the moment and share how this past build my testimony.

Then, as quickly as it started my time was over. My mountain was conquered. Brandon pulled in and we did a brief interview together, with more to come next time.  I left to get our girls and it was Brandon's turn in the hot seat. When I got back with the kids we compared battle stories and agreed that it was not as bad as we thought it would be. It was invasive, personal, and exposing. I did cry once or twice but it was done. We are one step closer to finally bring Isaiah home.

In our lives before the home study my team went on a field trip to a local summer camp. My amazing team of teachers took one hundred 8th grade students in to a place where there was no cell phone service!! They were scared. They were confused. Then, they loved it. They talked to their class mates. They ran and played on slides. They fished! It was one of those memories I will treasure so many years.

Proud momma moment!! Maddie and one of the other teachers son was able to come with us that day. They both caught a fish, and then were helping out other students to learn to fish.

Yours in Christ, 
The Woolard Family

Moving Forward.....

Paper Work, Paper Work, Paper Work!

I feel as if this has been our lives for the past month. The term "Paper Pregnant" is used in adoption and it could not be more true.You go through the emotions of pregnancy. As a mother, my mom heart is pushing myself to get everything done and organized as fast as possible. Brandon is more patient, and although he is just as excited as I am, he does not feel the sense of urgency that I do. This was mirrored while we were excepting our other children. I wanted to have the bedrooms decorated and bags packed in month 4. Brandon, however, on all things balances me, and knew we should be patient and pace ourselves.

To lay out where we are and explain the process over all. (Jo Dawn Miller, I completely stole the steps from your blog.  Thank you so much for being such a good friend through this.)

https://jodawnmiller.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/learning-about-the-indian-culture/

STEP 1: Apply for Adoption (Done)

This was a hard step for us. Many agencies want you to commit to a country prior to submitting an application.  We filed out a pre-application to see what countries we could adopt from. All countries have different requirements. We found that my age was our biggest hurdle. Most countries want you to be at least 30. Uuugghhh.... for all those who know me, I am like the oldest 26 year old ever. My hobbies include reading, crocheting, and grading papers.

So, the pre-application said we were able to adopt from India and Burgundy. We were instantly drawn to India. We have friends who have successfully adopted from India. The amazing woman whose blog I stole these steps from!

 

STEP 2: Home Study ( We are here.)

This has been an emotional rollercoaster.

The home study is where a social worker must recommend you and your family to adopt. This involves 3 meetings total and mounds of paperwork. The autobiography covered everything you can think of. It asked about from trauma in our past to how we plan to sustain our child's culture. This, as you can image, caused a great deal of reliving the past. As I finished, my biography totaled close to 20 pages.  For the first meeting, we will travel to St. Louis. We will be completing this on this coming Friday!! Then the next 2 will be at our home (taking applications for babysitters now, lol).

In all this should take 2-3 months. The poor woman has to read all of our documents and then write a report about our family.

STEP 3:File an adoption petition with the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services

Fingerprints and background checks are needed to ensure we are who we say we are.

STEP 4: Our adoption agency will register us on India’s government website.

Once we have all of our paperwork in, the Indian government will submit our paperwork to a database. This database will find a child that fits the requests we have made. We have asked for a male child, age birth to 3 years. This also took a great deal of prayer, to find where our family is being led at this time in our lives.

STEP 5:Begin preparing documents for our adoption dossier.

Once we find the child that God has lead us to, we will start completing paperwork to send to India. This compilation is our lives, in a nut shell. We will submit family pictures, marriage license, birth certificates, a kidney....JK. The list feels endless. Not only does everything have to notarized, but also originals and then approved. At this stage this feels like a mountain that I may never reach the top of.       

STEP 6:Receive child information.

We will receive at least one photo, medical reports, and social status. We will take the documents to a pediatrician to have everything explained to us prior to accepting the child.

STEP 7:File form I-800 with the U.S.

This is a form that is used to complete the immigration status of the child.

STEP 8:SARA/ARC Review, No Objection Certificate, Court Order, Passport.

This step is the one I am currently praying hardest to move swiftly. All of our adoption paperwork and information must go through several levels of approval in India. This step can take anywhere from 8 months to 2+ years. (sigh.... we will know our child, love our child, but not able to have our child.) Luckily, this is the last step prior to traveling to India to be with our child.

STEP 9:Travel to India!!! Visa Appointment.

We will get to travel to India for approximately 2 weeks. Although it could be longer depending on which state our child lives.

STEP 10: Post placement reports

India, like most other countries, requires that families complete post placement reports. This means that our social worker will come back for follow up visits to ensure all family members are doing well. We are also encouraged to re-adopt our child in the U.S. to aid in the paper trail of the child here.

In the midst of all the paperwork, we are still trying to keep up our everyday lives. Brandon and I both work full time, I am completing my Masters degree, starting work at a college, and raising 3 wonderful girls.  

WOW!! Yikes. We know that life happens and this will have speed bumps and be full of spiritual warfare, but we are trusting in God to show us His way and timing, not our own.

One truly amazing event we were blessed enough to be a apart of was my bonus mother's retirement party. I have shared before that my high school counselor allowed me to be part of her family, baggage and all. Her career choice made me who I am. Talk about the ripple effect.

Thank you all so much for your time. We are blessed to have people who love us enough to read through all of these blog posts and offer encouragement.

We ask for your prayers for our son and his care givers.

Yours in Christ,

The Woolard Family

Getting Started

We are the Woolard's and we are adopting from India! This is our story, with the major players and our motivation for completing our family through adoption.

We are a family of five. Our three daughters are all vastly different. Maddison is our oldest and completely fits the bill. She is a gymnastics loving, little sister bossing, and Jesus spreading 7 year old.

 

Jacquie is our middle daughter. She loves everyone and everything. I have never meet a person with as big of a heart and Christ-like love as Jacquie. She never lets us leave the house in the mornings without taking our vitamins, and just cares deeply for everyone she comes into contact with. She is 5 going on 30.



Charlotte is our family clown. She is almost 2 and has an amazing sense of humor, despite the early onset of the "terrible two's". She loves to sing, dance, chase her sisters, and EAT.


Then there is Brandon and I. Brandon works as a business banker in our community. He loves fishing, spending time with our girls, and studying deeper into the Bible. I (Ashley) am an 8th grade science teacher. Teaching and helping kids is my biggest passion in life. I love spending time with our amazing family, crocheting, and going to concerts.



Our motivation for adopting is multifaceted and stems from the passion to be a witness for the love and hope of Jesus.  The Bible shares, so many times, the importance for caring for all people. With this knowledge, we knew that to be a true witness of the love we are blessed with, we need to show others this same act of becoming part of a family.

James 1:27 
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Matthew 18:5
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,”

Acts 7:21
“And when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.” 

Also, I have my own story of being a lost young person in need of a family. I was raised in a difficult home. My parents struggled with parenting my sister and I. At 18 I was introduced in to my high school counselors family. They have been the family I never knew I could have. They taught me how to admit when I failed and how unconditional love with help cover many wounds. Without them I know that I would not be the person I am today.


We cannot wait to see how this journey will unfold. I am looking forward to sharing each step with you all through this blog. Thank you all so much for all the support and prayers. You love and cherish each of you.