Starting the Home Study

February 4^th, 2011

Dear Lucy Hope,

Today, we had our first “Home Study” meeting with Lifeline concerning our hope to find and adopt you into our family. We know that it’s going to take a long time, so we’ve focused on Hebrews 11:1 to help us get through the wait. This verse of the Bible says “Now, Faith is being sure of what we Hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  We had a similar focus when we adopted Lily Grace and Lia Faith earlier. Lily’s verse was 1 Samuel 1:27 which says “I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him.” Lia’s verse was Ephesians 2:10 “For it is by Grace you have been saved, through Faith…” We knew that Lia’s middle name would be Faith and this verse reminded us of the bond that she and her sister Lily Grace would share throughout their lives. And now, your verse connects you to your new sister Lia Faith and reminds us that though we have not yet seen you, we have Faith that our “Hope” will soon be with us to complete our family.

During our meeting with Lifeline today, we completed several documents and signed several agreements about our efforts to complete the required adoption reading and training. We also answered lots and lots of questions about our home and family life. The answers to these questions will be used to write the “Home Study,” which will be used to convince the Chinese authorities that our home is the proper place to raise a little girl like you. Hopefully, after reviewing our information, they will agree with what God has already decided!

The meeting wasn’t very long and provided us an opportunity to visit with our friends at Lifeline and to catch up on what’s been happening in adoption since we’d brought Lia Faith and Lily Grace home. We heard about a planned trip to China this year by Lifeline to show the Chinese authorities how well the children who’ve come from China are adapting to their new life in the United States. We said we’d like to go if possible and we asked Lifeline to keep us informed of this trip so we could make a decision at the appropriate time.

With the first “Home Study” visit complete, we loaded back up in the van and headed north with more paperwork, fingerprinting, medical exams, and reading to do. But most of all, we knew that we’d taken the next step toward getting you home. Every little step we take gets us a little bit closer to knowing you and meeting you and loving you. Soon Lucy Hope, soon.

Love,

Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, Lia Faith, and Lucy Hope

Green, Party of Six