Hello friends! Justin here. It has been nearly three months since Jenna and I have used this space to talk about the adoption process. But I hear so many of you continue to wish us well and say you check in on the blog, so I figured it was time to at least check in.
The plan has not changed much in recent months. As mentioned in previous blogs, our social worker told us to press the pause button last fall in order for us to continue paying down debt. Anyone who has had to put themselves through college knows that is a lot easier said than done, but we're making it happen.
(In case you missed it, late last year I joined Jenna in doing online teaching for a second income!)
The plan is for us to check back in with her in April to go over our finances and see if we can get started with the homestudy process. Thankfully, we've already paid for the homestudy and some of the small upgrades around the home (like an emergency ladder, a crib, etc.) that they will be looking for during the homestudy.
The one setback we've had is that without using credit cards, the money we were hoping to save has been going to handle a number of minor emergencies that we were accustomed to using credit. In the last two months, we've have paid for an emergency vet bill, major plumbing issue and tire replacement. It's been nice to pay for these things out of pocket, but slightly discouraging that money that could be used for savings have gone to these issues.
We're also going to need to pay for the damage this last weekend's windstorm did to our gutters and roof. That estimate is coming later this week!
Meanwhile, Jenna has been focusing much of her time and effort (when she is not teaching) to recruit more people to teach online. She has even created a Facebook page (click here), an Instagram page (click here), and a YouTube channel (click here). While she hasn't referred anyone yet, she is putting in a lot of work to refer teachers to VIPKid.
I feel this has been such a positive for her. In the months after announcing our decision to adopt, I saw how disappointed Jenna became at the process, and that the timeline she had did not match reality. It was difficult as a husband to go through that with her, knowing how much we wanted to go through the adoption process.
The fact that we're spending so much time working and with her trying to recruit new teachers (which comes with a reward from VIPKid) means we're at peace knowing we're literally trying everything we can to make this happen. The question is not if we're going to adopt, but when.
The social worker might say wait another six months (although we're really hoping she doesn't). But if she does, we're really at peace knowing that there isn't more we could be doing, and whenever it is meant to be is when it will happen.
Jenna and I thank all of you for your continued well wishes. We really do appreciate hearing from all of you. Let's hope the next time we check in, we'll be able to deliver some good news to all of you!
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