Training Number Four...

Moving right along! We are almost 1/2 way done with training!!! Last night we were excited to see a subsitute trainer!! I guess we just learned better from him and he was very engaging :) We did a guided imagery activity last night and put ourselves in a place that would be similar to the children that would be coming into our home. Of course nothing could truly emulate that experience (unless you were a foster child yourself)but it did help us to understand some of the situations they will be going through and what happens to them. Last night's topic was primarily about attachment and building those trust bonds.

Our FDS was there last night as well with yep...more paperwork! I think my eyeballs are going to pop out! We apparently need 2 neighbor references. Well...we have lived here about 6 months and other than "hello" we don't really know any of our neighbors :( However, that doesn't seem to matter! We need to now walk up to these people we don't know and ask them to a reference for us! I'm making Matt do that! LOL! They aren't really warm and inviting people, so that should be interesting!

All of this paperwork, preparation, and training had me thinking again about our adoptions. I was thinking that perhaps if some of these requirements were in place for adoption (i.e. mandatory attendance at training where they discuss loss, attachment, bahviors and how to deal with them)maybe there wouldn't be so many disruptions. People have definitely dropped out of our class (although not too many!) because they just aren't ready/prepared to handle it. That's okay! If adoption agencies really did a good job of letting prospective adoptive parents know what they are getting into, maybe they would realize that it isn't for them. That could save a child that extra loss in their life of being rejected and moved again! I think that this should also be region specific and include what to expect from that region, what complications are typical and most of all to connect you with other successful families that have completed adoptions from that country/region. Wishful thinking??

I don't feel that we were adequately prepared for our adoptions and if it weren't for my sister and the host of other wonderful adoptive/Christian families to support us, this road would have been MUCH more difficult! So...although all of this paperwork, etc is a huge pain, it will ALL BE WORTH IT when we see firsthand that we have shown the love of God to a child in need.