2nd Home Study

August 27, 2005 We have just finished our SECOND home study with Mr. P, our caseworker - just two more to go! Actually, this was our first meeting but as it turns out, the original seminar with Chinese Children’s Charities that we attended qualifies as our first home study visit – thus we have completed two home studies after our meeting with Mr. P today. Mr. P is a retired clinical psychologist living at Penney Farms. He is well organized and has assisted with other Chinese adoptions. He is very impressed with the agency we are going through and told us we had made a very fine choice in our selection of CCAI. Our home study lasted a little over two hours in which time Mr. P asked questions from highlighted areas of our individual biographies that he had copies of. In our next meeting, September 24 at 10:00 AM, he plans to speak privately Alyson and then me for approximately 45-50 minutes. At this meeting he expressed that China, not being a Christian nation, cares less about our religion and not to over play it but rather play up the family activities that are a part of our upbringing and a part of our lives today. According to Mr. P, China is BIG on family – that comes across as somewhat strange to me in that China seems to have mixed regards for the huge number of it’s abandoned baby girls. Still, Alyson and I, along with thousands of other American families are so very happy that at least now they embrace international adoptions. Mr. P is one heck of a nice guy. He has gone out of his way to make us feel comfortable with the home study process and you can tell he has a genuine caring heart for the children being adopted. We lucked out. We are looking forward to our next home study – then it will be 3 down and 1 to go!!!