i think we have an agency

on tuesday night we went to an info meeting at an agency in the city. it was good, lots of info was given. lots of focus on who the children were and the experiences they have been through. it was a little emotional for me because i am well aware of what the kids have been through, though i did manage to keep it together just fine. we walked away feeling excited about this new road we are about to go down in our journey. i didnt feel like there was anything "wrong" with the agency, it wasnt screaming"no!" at me, but i figured we would figure out along the way which agency was right for us. we wondered how many agencies do you look at before you pick one? was it a matter of looking at three and pickingt he best one? did you wait until you just "knew" it was the right one? i decided we would figure out along the way.

so last night, wednesday, we went to another info meeting for a different agency. this one is quaker-affiliated, which is why it stood out to me. he talked about how our life's challenges are not looked at things that will count against us, but rather, things that add to our strengths. they have these guides for writing your autobiography, and its very detailed. i liked that. i felt like we would be taken by the hand every step of the way. also, while both agencies have a state requirement of 20 hours of training, the one we saw on tuesday spreads it out in little sessions over two months, meaning we would be running into the city all the time. last night's agency does it with two week nights and two extended saturday sessions. i prefer that! and its not in the city, so we dont have to worry about traffic or paying 16$ for train tickets every week, or walkign through some shady streets in philly in the dark! by the end of the info session, i was feeling pretty excited about them, and i was wondering how Hubby was feeling about it. he felt the same way as i did, he said just what i was thinking, that the vibe was right. another thing i thought was a bit of a benefit over the first one was the number of references. we just need a total of four for the both of us as a couple. thats a little bit easier than getting three separate ones for each of us. one thing that added to the good vibe was how much they stressed that having a non-perfect life adds to your strength because you have had to overcome challenges, you have had loss, you've had to grieve as a child. that made me feel really good.

the training session starts in two or three weeks. thats coming up fast! so we need to fill out the parent application form and get that to them soon. we also have a list of the thigns they will check when doing the home study, so we know what we need to work on, specifically, other than just "straighten up and put together a baby-room." we were going to spend some money on a patio out back, and also new fencing, this was going to cost us a lot of money and have to be spread out over the next couple of summers. but the ultimate goal is to get out of norristown altogether, so we decided to cancel the backyard plans, its good enough, if not better than it was when we got there, what with the flower beds that are practically self-sufficient now. instead, we are going to put our money towards the kitchen. we need new cabinets and counters. if you have been in our kitchen, you would know that it looks like some guy got a table saw for xmas and a gift card to lowes, but not enough to pay for good wood, but cheap flimsy particle board, and decided to make his own kitchen cabinets! i mean, those draws are child hazards with their metal edges and inability to close all the way in. the doors are so flimsy we couldnt put a child safety thing on their if we wanted to! so, we are going to focus on doing that this summer. i wanna see what it would cost to have lowes come on in and just do it for us, easy and done.

writing this autobiography is going to be a massive undertaking for me, looking at the outline of the stuff we should cover. its going to require time that i am not goingto have until the school year is over. but hey, thats what the summers are for: stuff you dont have time to do any other time of the year!