The Home Study.

After the initial application to Holt, the next step was the home study. This is conducted by a licensed agency that investigates every aspect of our life, family, and past. You must use an agency approved by Holt and in Oklahoma, there is only one, The Adoption Center of NE Oklahoma in Tulsa. Now understand, our adoption is through Holt, all the Adoption Center did was the home study part.

The process started in February with an exhaustive questionaire, health & medical records, marriage certificates, birth certificates, divorce decrees, tax returns, physicals, letters of recommendation, numerous questions about what kind of child we would accept, how we would raise a child, and a very, long detailed account of our life's history as told by us. Heather from the adoption center then visited our new house (which we were still moving into) and gave us the thumbs up as far as bringing a baby into the home.

In April we attended a day long workshop at the Adoption Center in Tulsa. Most of it didn't apply to us since we were the only couple pursing an international adoption, but it was interesting to listen to other couples and learn about adoption in general from Heather and the other presenters.

By mid - June the homestudy was complete, but there was a delay due to Heather's vacation. Finally sometime in late June it was sent to Holt International for their approval. On July 3, 2007 our home study was approved and accepted by Holt. We were then places on the waiting list to be matched with a baby under 2. We made it clear we want a girl, but said we were open to either sex. We were #40 on the list when we were matched!