Whats been going on???

Just a little update on whats been happening. We finally joined the ranks as a two car family! What did you get?, you ask. Well, as hard as it is for me to say......... we got a mini van! I know, I know don't everyone get jealous at the same time! LOL!! All kidding aside this car is what we needed. It has all the bells and whistles and has room for all the kids. So it really is a good thing! Tanner also has moved to the basement freeing the upstairs room. He is super excited to eventually be able to share a room with his new brother. The bathroom downstairs is useable and only needs a few more things to be complete (mirror and towel bars attached). Basically we are finally ready! Just waiting on that one phone call telling us they have found the kids we are looking for. It feels nice to pretty much be ready, sort of a relief. Hoping the next couple updates will bring news of kids!

Its Been a Rough Ride....

Just a quick update..... We were selected as 1 of 2 families for some really great kids in Oregon, but found out a week ago we were not the final family selected.... The week before we found out the kids we were inquired on here in Northern Utah the foster family they were with decided to adopt, so another disappointment. We were called by DCFS to foster 2 kids that the parents had abandoned several years ago and had been staying with their grandmother, but she didnt want them anymore, but turned them down since we were in the running for the others that were closer to what we were looking for. So overall a very disappointing few weeks here at the Clark house. So here we are back to the starting point yet again. We will not give up since we know the kids that belong in our home are out there.... Wish us luck!

Making Progress (we think)....

Well we have been somewhat quiet on posting the last 6 weeks.... So here is the latest. First the state licensor finally finished typing up the home study and filed it with DCFS. Once that was turned in we learned we had to be assigned a "Resource Family Consultant" by the state, which has now been done. Found out we also have the RFC come and do another home visit to get better familiar with what we are looking for, and now after all that we are finally officially licensed for foster care and able to receive kids that are looking for placement from DCFS..... Now the next bit of news, 10 days ago our RFC called and asked if we would like to do respite care (take care of a child that was already placed but the foster parents wanted a couple days off), we declined since the child was autistic and nobody knew if he was afraid of large dogs or not. The next day we had a call of 2 kids 1 & 4 year old that were just taken from their homeless father. We were all ready to say yes, but then found out the grandmother was on her way from Vernal to visit with them and see if she could take them. So with so many ups and downs we are back to waiting again. Several siblings that we have inquired on have been placed which is great, but the bad side it wasn't with us. We have inquired on several other sibling groups (1 from Utah) that we hope to have some information on in the next few weeks. Again I know it has been a few weeks since our last post and it is truly because it is very hard to write about many of the steps since it is a huge roller coaster of emotions in doing this. One day we learn we are in the running the next day its "just kidding". We wont get discouraged since we know the kids for our family are out there and will be coming to us sooner or later.

No news is good news.....I guess??

So, we actually had our homestudy!!! YIPPEE!! and to top it all off we passed!! Never thought I would see the day. It is such a relief to have that completed. That is one less thing we have to stress about. Having the homestudy done brings us one step closer to completing our family. But I do believe that the hardest part is still ahead, we have to find the right ones. It's so hard to go through all the pages of kids looking for homes. I always think to myself what if I'm passing up the ones, or what if I think they are right and it turns out wrong. We just have to believe that when the right kids are found we will know. It would be helpful if there was a big sign with arrows and flashing lights saying "pick us,pick us". Then I wouldn't have to even think about it. I do know that when it's time it will happen. Todd has been working away on the bathroom in the basement. It looks really good and it's only going to get better. He has completely painted two of the walls in this awesome blue color. The rest he is hoping to get painted tomorrow. The tile is supposed to be in Friday. We have our light fixtures all picked out and we just have to pick the vanity. Hoping it is completed in the next couple of weeks! That will be so nice! After that is all completed it's on to the bedroom! I'm sure Todd is super excited. :) hahaha! I will try and get some bathroom pics taken this weekend and get them posted.

Thank You So Much

Words just can not express how grateful we are to all those that came out to support us in our decision to adopt. We had a fabulous turn out and we couldn't have asked for a better night. Just a few shout outs to those special people that helped that night. Mike&Joan, Clint&Tiffany, Ryan&Chelsi, Tara and Jolynn. Without your help it wouldn't have been possible. Thank you also to all the family members and friends that provided food and items for the auction. I know you all took time out of your busy lives to help and we are forever thankful. Having this fundraiser brought us so much closer to attaining our goal. It was super stressful but so worth it. Now we just might be able to get some sleep! :) The next step is our once again scheduled Foster homestudy. We are supposed to have that this coming Friday and I pray it actually happens. Getting that done brings us super close to getting some kids. After the homestudy we just have to find the right ones that would make our home complete. We can't wait for that day to come. Once again a HUGE Thank You to everyone for your continued support. Knowing we have such great family and friends makes it all worth it. We love you all! The Clark Family

2 steps forward 1 step back

The last 6 days have been interesting.... first we get a call from the State Licensing saying the licenser doing the foster home study and safety check had the flu and had to cancel and would reschedule when she returned.... UGgghhh so frustrating after waiting for 3 months. Well she called yesterday and rescheduled for March 8th. After that we should be officially licensed to foster or adopt! There is finally light at the end of the tunnel. We have also signed up for matching assistance, which is a worker that helps us to find a sibling group around the ages we are looking for that are either in foster care currently or legally free for adoption. Now we just inquire on the kids we are wanting to adopt and if their case worker sees fit to select us, we will receive additional information on the kids we want to adopt. Lets just hope the case worker likes what our home study tells about our family. We probably wont be sharing much info on kids we inquire on since it is very devastating to be in the running for kids and telling people about it and then poof, they go somewhere else. So do not be offended if your not reading much about that on the blog for a few weeks. We will let everyone know after we are selected details about kids and when they will be home.......................///////////////////////////////////////.................................. This week is our Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser and cannot thank everyone enough for the support we have received so far. We have had about 130 people signed up to attend, almost 70 items donated for the silent auction. If you come and don't see anything that interests you, we will have donation boxes placed around for you to donate. It will be great to see everyone that is supporting us in this process and thank you in person for everything you have done. Its not to late if you decide to donate something to auction or if you want to come to the dinner. It will be held at our church at 752 North 3700 West in Layton. Come and enjoy some good food, buy some items at the auction and enjoy the company of others. We hope to see you all there!

Thank you

Can I just say how grateful I am to have such amazing friends and family. There has been an overwhelming amount of support and we could never thank you enough. As the Spaghetti Dinner gets closer it feels amazing to know that so many people have stepped up to help out. That is one less thing that I need to worry about. When we started this whole process of adoption they told us that having a big support system will make all the difference. They are 100% right. We would not be where we are at this point without all the love. Just knowing that we can ask for help and have tons of people offer is amazing. I have this vision in my head of how the dinner will go and I know for a fact that with all the help it will turn out to be just what I had imagined. So make sure you join us and bring your wallets to bid on some amazing/fantastic items. Todd told me I can't bid on anything because that would defeat the purpose. So many things I just don't know if I will be able to control myself! Much Love, Heather xoxo