First Interview for Adoption and pre-adoption training

Ken and I had our first interview on Friday.  It was considered an "orientation" interview - just a sweet way for our agency to get to know us and vice versa.  It lasted about 2 hours, the first hour being an overview of our agency and last last hour broken into a private interview with me and then Ken.  There were some pretty personal questions being asked but I suppose that's just the start of it.

We had the pleasure of visiting the correctional facility on Saturday to have our finger prints done.  That was awesome.  :)

I will say one of the things I really like about our agency is the amount of pre-adoption training they require of Ken and me.  This part of the process reminds me a lot of our marriage counseling and that was one of our favorite parts of the wedding process.  The training is meant to give us a comprehensive look at international adoption and China specific information.

We currently are enrolled in Prepare and Enrich which is a relationship inventory and skill building program used nationally and internationally to help improve a couples relationship.  The results of this is used by our social worker to asses our conversations during interviews.  

We are currently reading The Connected Child by Karyn Purvis PHD.  Although a difficult read, it helps bring realty to what life could be like once our babe is home.

The two other training's are Intercountry Adoption Training (10 hour) and On-line Pre-adoption education (5 hours) which needs to be finished within 8 weeks.  That's a lot of work!!!  People say "there must be a way for this to move faster" but in a way I am very comfortable and happy with the process thus far. It seems right to do the work ahead of time and put the time in to learn about our babes culture and the differences she/he may face once home in America.