I feel like I start every blog post the same, “wow it’s been a long time since I’ve updated this thing.” But it has. We’ve had a lot going on but at the same time, not a lot going on – just more waiting.
Let’s talk through all the pre-stuff. I feel like a teacher saying, “today, class, we will be discussing adoption and what is needed to be active.”
First, home study. We signed with TX Home Study on February 14, 2026, and they have been nothing but absolutely wonderful to work with. There are SO many requirements so this is quite the lengthy process. It’s a lot of paperwork to get together, some appointments to be made, and a lot of waiting.
We scheduled our home study for March 22, 2026. I’m including actual dates mainly for myself when I need to look back on the process and timeline. While we were waiting for that date, we started gathering all the documents needed: marriage certificate, birth certificates, financial documents, insurance (both health and auto), 10-page information document per parent, pay stubs, tax returns for the past three years, recommendation letters, employment verification, pet vaccination records, etc.
Then, we started scheduling appointments: fingerprinting for FBI, background checks, state clearance, local clearance, federal clearance, 911 call logs, lab testing including blood draws and urine screens, and medical clearance.
Our actual in-home study evaluation was so much easier than we anticipated. We cleaned…and cleaned…and cleaned some more. We baby-proofed the house and she barely looked at it. She wanted to see where baby would sleep but it was really more focused on us than the house. She wanted to know about our backgrounds, how we would discipline, who would take care of baby after he/she is born. She wanted to know what our preferences were: race, medical needs, age, etc. It was a very relaxed conversation about us more than a strict evaluation of who we were and what our home looked like.
While we were waiting for our home study report, we started working on our profile book. We signed with For This Child books because her work is phenomenal and she came highly recommended. Again, lots of paperwork and pictures to be uploaded just so she can get a feel for who we are, what we believe, our desires for our baby and their birth mom.
After interviewing several consultants, we chose and signed our contract with consultant A on April 7, 2027 (our 9th wedding anniversary). Our home study report was finalized and sent to us on April 10, 2026. Our profile book was completed on May 1, 2026, and it’s the most beautiful representation of who we are. HIGHLY recommend Lindsey with FTC! Everything was complete and we were officially active on May 6, 2026.
One week later, we saw our first case. Three weeks later, on June 7, 2026, we decided to present to our first case.
