And now we wait

  This week we completed our 3rd (and final) home study to become certified as foster parents (this home study was to make sure the house is prepared according to all their standards).  We are left with a few loose ends to tie up, but the bulk of the preparing is DONE.  I've been thinking a bit about how all this is like pregnancy and birth... it feels like we just completed all the hard work of pregnancy (and perhaps labor), but now we are waiting for the child to arrive (and, like birth, you can have a rough estimate but you never know for sure when that will be).  It feels like we can take a bit of a sigh "Ahhh, we are done!" when in reality it's more like "Oh, it's just beginning."
 The estimated time of when we could get a placement call is the end of February (roughly 7 months after when we started the process).  There are still some things Winshape foster care is completing before they can file our paperwork (we are part of their very first Chick-fil-A families going through this process, so this is new to them as well).  I'm hoping there will be no hiccups as our paperwork is filed, because I learned that simple things, like the wording regarding our well water, could cause the home study to be rejected.  We will just do what we can and that's all we can do! So now we wait and pray for the child who will need us to give him or her a safe home.  And we pray for all the other children who are in need of safe homes but have no where to go. 
   I will not be able to share any personal information about the child who comes into our home, but I can share generalities about my experience and my thoughts.  Our children are excited as they keep asking "when is the foster child going to get here?".  We have talked a lot about the myriad of possibilities to expect.  I'm thankful for their eagerness to welcome a new brother or sister (even if just temporarily) into our family. 
  I'll keep you posted... :)