Completed Our First Homestudy Meeting

Last Saturday, Lisa and I met with our social worker, Michelle Satler, in Richmond for our first homestudy meeting. The first two meetings will be held at the public library in Richmond. The last one will be held at our house.

It was so nice to finally meet Michelle in person. We also met another couple, the Kirklands, who are adopting from Vietnam. They seemed like a nice couple. Lisa and I were wondering if we would all be traveling about the same time to Vietnam.

We now have a big packet to work through. I need to write my autobiography. Lisa is getting started on hers.

We have started planning how we are going to be changing our office into the baby's room. Jacob is going to have a neat room. I think that we want to go with a Winnie the Pooh theme. We saw a great set last weekend in Lexington. Lisa was really liking it. We will probably end up getting it because it was a nice maroon color and would go well with the color of our logs.

I think that it is so cool that we are planning for our son and he hasn't even been conceived yet...LOL. I can't wait for the day that we are "paper pregnant."

Completed Our Official Application

Well, yesterday we completed our official application/contract with CHI. Although we have already been approved to procede with the adoption process, this paperwork allowed the ball to start rolling for other parts of the adoption.

For starters, we are now having our homestudy started. We meet with our social worker this weekend. She called and set up a time. We will meet with her twice before she comes to our house for the final visit. I have read on other people's blogs that the social worker asks a lot of personal questions. I guess that it is important to make sure that an unstable person or couple is attempting to adopt. However, since both Lisa and I work with children all day, I don't think that we will have an issues.

I am a little nervous. I know that having a baby in the house will change our entire life. However, I am ready for it. I never felt ready before, and therefore, I never wanted kids. That is all different now. I feel ready. I am ready. I guess that it is different for everyone. Some people have kids in their early 20's. I waited until my mid-30's. But life is like that....it is a different experience for everyone.

Wish us luck on our homestudy visit. I'll blog more later! :-) If you haven't had a chance to donate to our adoption fund, visit http://www.alonzofugate.com/changingalifeforever.htm . Thanks and God Bless!

Order Some Brownies....Help Us Raise Money for Our Adoption!

Hey guys! I know that there are some major chocolate lovers out there. I found a website where you can order some amazing brownie mix. It is called Mississippi Muddles Brownie Mix. Just listen to this description

We’ve muddled this mix with dark and white chocolate chips for an outrageously good, dark and fudgy brownie bar. Named first-place winner for best cookie mix by Food Distribution magazine, our dry Mississippi Muddles brownie mix lets you whip up rich, warm delights in minutes. Just add egg and butter to the prepared mix and bake—makes 2 dozen cookies. Lower-fat preparation instructions are included. No refrigeration required; this 16-oz. peanut-free dry mix stores for up to one year.

The best part about this is that when you order from this company, they will send us 50% to go toward our adoption! It is the best of both worlds! You get to satisfy that sweet tooth....we get money for a sweet baby! And since this is for a good cause, I'm sure that there won't be any calories...LOL!

Of course, there are other items for sale as well....gift items, cards, wrapping paper, and other nice things. Just take a look through their online catalog. Shop to your heart's content. You can choose from loads of reasonably priced cards, gift wrap, gifts, candy and treats, even popular magazine subscriptions.

Here is how to do it. First, go to: http://currentfun.com/product.asp

Second: SHOP! This is the fun part! Order early for Christmas! LOL!

When you check out, select:

State: Kentucky

Organization: Alonzo and Lisa Fugate Adoption Fund

That is all there is to it. The company will send you your order and we will get funds toward our adoption. It is so easy!

Thanks so much and God Bless!

Application for Adoption Has Been Approved!

Great news! I just checked our email. Our application for adoption has been approved! Here is a copy of the email we received from Children's Hope International.

July 31, 2007

Dear Alonzo & Lisa,

Congratulations! Your application for adoption has been approved by the Program Director.

We will be mailing out your approval packet today or tomorrow with instructions on how to proceed. Also, Children's Hope has Yahoo! groups available to provide adoption and parenting information and support to our families in all stages of the adoption process. These CHI groups are for the exclusive use of CHI application approved families. You will be receiving instructions in your approval packet on how to join.

We are very excited for you, and wish you well as you begin your adoption journey!


The Intake Department
Children’s Hope International/St. Louis Home Office

Needless to say, we are VERY excited by this news. It is a long road ahead of us still, but this is one of those hurdles that we had to cross. Now...on to the next one! :-)

Received letter from Children's Hope International!

Today, we were thrilled to get a letter from Children's Hope International. It was a welcome letter from Sara DeMerchant, the Vietnam Program Specialist. She stated that they were delighted to work with us and will be calling us upon final approval of our application.

Sara DeMerchant will be working with us and will be our personal assistant through the adoption process. It is great to actually have some names to contact when we have specific questions. I feel like this is really starting to move! Of course, we are in the very beginning stages of the adoption process.

Mrs. DeMerchant sent us an I600A form to fill out and file with Citizen and Immigration Services. It is necessary to apply to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to bring an adopted child to the U.S.

We will work on filling out this form and filing it this weekend. It is $545 plus $70 per person in the household. It is good for 18 months. Hopefully, our adoption will be completed by that time.

Keep praying for us! It is a long journey, but it will be one that is going to change our lives for the better. We have so much love to give.

Donations for our adoption are starting to come in. Thank you to all those who have found it in their hearts to give the gift of love. If you would like to help support our adoption, please visit http://www.alonzofugate.com/changingalifeforever.htm . God Bless!

Getting Ready for School to Start

Today I spent some time in my classroom. Well....technically it isn't my classroom anymore. I'm moving next door to the new computer lab. I am going to be the school's technology resource teacher this year. I am really excited about the new change.

My mom and dad came around to our house for my birthday the other day. They brought some really great food. We had steaks, baked potatoes, green beans (from their garden), tomatoes (from their garden), and fresh coleslaw….made with cabbage from their garden. They also got me a fantastic chocolate birthday cake with vanilla ice cream. It is a good thing that calories don’t count on your birthday! That is just a little gift from God.

So, we celebrated my birthday. It was a good day. There are so many exciting and thrilling things to do in this world. There are many new and fascinating places to visit. But sometimes, it is the comfort of family and home which reminds us of who we are and keeps us grounded in reality. I love my family and today was just a great day to be alive.

My beagle, Sadie, got bitten by a copperhead the other night. She came running up to Lisa and wanted to come into the house. We noticed right away that she was shaking all over like she was scared to death. I checked her out and called my dad. He came over and looked at her. By that time, her snout had started to swell up. We all knew what that meant. For second, I thought that she was going to pass out…poor little thing.

My mom and I ran down to the garden and pulled some cocklebur leaves. Mom tore up the leaves into bits and put them into a silk cloth that she keeps for times when the dogs get snake bit. After pounding the leaves lightly with a hammer, we poured milk over the cloth and wrung out the juice of the leaves into a pan. This turned the milk green! Sadie didn’t want to have anything to do with it, so we had to force it down her. We sometimes use vinegar and brown paper to draw out the poison, but we didn’t do it this time because it was so close to her eyes.

We have always used this remedy for our dogs when they were bitten by copperheads. It keeps the swelling down. Sadie was feeling better by the next morning and was completely well in two days. She has a little sore place on her snout where the snake bit her, but she is completely fine now. I’m glad that my parents knew which leaves to gather to help her out. This only works with copperhead bites though. Rattlesnakes are another thing entirely!

Lisa and I are just awaiting word from Children's Hope International. At least going back to work will help fill some time so that I'm not just sitting and thinking about the adoption. Keep checking back to this blog. I will keep it updated!

Mailed Out Our Application

Well, we finally got that initial application in the mail. We had to send it in with 2 pictures of us together as a couple, one picture of the outside of our house, and 3 pictures of the inside of our house. We kept the printer busy printing out all of those pictures! I wanted to make sure that we got the best shots that we could!

It was so exciting to put that envelope in the mail. It has officially started now folks! We should get our official forms in about 2 weeks so that we can start completing our dossier. I spoke with a representative from Children's Hope International on the phone. She stated that it takes about 3 or 4 months to complete the dossier. Once everything is logged in, it takes about one and a half years to get a referral for a baby.

Once we get a referral, we will travel to Vietnam to adopt our baby. We will stay about 2 or 3 weeks.

I am so excited. I know that it is a long wait and that there is a LOT of paperwork to do...but it has started now.

We will keep you all updated on our progress. Keep checking back to this blog!