Paperwork – Frankie & Jenn's Adoption Adventure

Adoption Finalization, Baptism, and Moving!

Jenn Munoz — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:13:28 +0000

7/25/2024

It’s officially official!! We are the Munoz family of 5!

Adoption day went as smoothly as could be! We had several friends and family members join us on our special day both in person and on Zoom. We were both nervous as all heck, but knew that with so much support and love, this hearing was more to legalize the process of adoption and grant the children their legal new names. My parents even made statements to the judge on our behalf. (Remind me to get copies of those!) It was such an emotional day filled with happy tears! I cannot thank everyone enough for all the love, support, paperwork, time, energy, faith, trust, etc. The list is endless.

The next day, again surrounded by friends and family members, these three were brought into the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Baptism. Original Sin has been washed away, and they are made new through Christ. Lord, please guide these children and give them Your strength to follow in Your footsteps. Please also guide us as parents to set an example for them to follow and help us to lead them home to You. Amen.

Next up…. Moving day! With the quick expansion of our family, we have decided to purchase a home in Grand Forks and will be selling our home in Reynolds. There is a lot to be done in the next few weeks, but hoping we can relax soon. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.

Adoption Update

Jenn Munoz — Wed, 15 May 2024 16:02:48 +0000

5/15/2024

I realize I have not posted an update in a while. Thank you for hanging in there with us!

I feel as though everything is happening so fast and slow as molasses all at the same time. After our home study was completed, all our paperwork needed to be compiled and individual child assessments also needed to be completed. Our adoption case worker worked hard on this for us, and once everything was complete, the final application was sent through the appropriate approval levels including the state. It took a few months of waiting for that to happen. In the meantime, we took a family vacation to Ohio and Indiana for the solar eclipse. Traveling with three young kids in a car for so long is… challenging! But it was Oh So Worth It. I loved spending time with our family, and we were able to reconnect with some family members that we hadn’t seen in a very long time. All the adventures we had will not be forgotten! Especially the visit to the fire station and getting to sit in each of the fire trucks and ambulances available! Memories of the fire station and the sun “getting smaller and smaller” are still talked about!

Late April, we received word that our paperwork had been approved! The next steps waiting for us would be to schedule adoptive placement, and then submit a request for a court date. Typically, when the adoptive family/child(ren) finally get to the adoptive placement date, this would start the 6-month period of the child(ren) being in the home. Since we have had these three in our home through fostering, the time they have already spent with us counts towards that 6-month period. We have had these kids in our home for 11 months! Can you believe it?!

We had an adoptive placement date scheduled for the beginning of May. However, this is when things got tricky. Some feelings surfaced on whether or not it was right for us to adopt all three kids. Feelings that maybe it would be better for the kids (and us) if we only adopted two, or not adopt them at all. In addition to us providing them with a good home, we also needed to ensure that we prioritize our health. This was incredibly hard for us both as we struggled to make sense of these feelings. With the immense reward that has come with this adventure, there has also come trying times. Suddenly going from zero kids to three is crazy, and to have them so close in age is even crazier. I am grateful that God has given us the grace and perseverance to go through this process. I also know that without God, our marriage would not have been this strong, and would have been nearly impossible to take all this on.

As much as I wanted to fight against it, I knew that we had to trust ourselves to explore these feelings and trust that everything would work out. I was not happy about it one bit, but it was what was needed for our relationship and our family. After expressing these concerns, we were notified that adoptive placement would be put on hold. Rightfully so, the case worker wanted to ensure that we were going to be dedicated to all three of these kids for the rest of their lives. And since they had been through so much trauma in the past, it was extremely important that they stay together as a group.

So. Many. Emotions….

What if everything fell apart right in that moment? What if it was determined that we were not a good fit for them, and they would be removed from our lives forever? But, also, what would happen if we felt pressured into adopting? Would we be left with resentment towards each other or the kids? Would we still be in good health to be able to live full, long, healthy lives?

This was time that we needed to take for ourselves. Time with no pressure, time to just think. I was utterly heart broken, but put all my trust in Frankie and in God that everything would work out the way that God had planned.

After a few days of feeling the pressure dissipate and reflecting on the situation, we were able to take the time, clear our heads, and come back more refreshed. Trusting in God, we came to the conclusion that God put these kids in our lives for a reason, and that God would always provide. We have since notified the appropriate team members and today we signed paperwork for adoptive placement!!

Next steps…. Setting a court date for finalization, and hopefully soon after, we can have the kids baptized.

Adoption Home Study

Jenn Munoz — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 17:31:25 +0000

2/1/2024

Woohoo! We are making progress! Our Adoption Home Study is finally completed and approved! We are SO close! There is one more part to the adoption paperwork. The case worker will need to complete a personal development assessment for each child. She will complete this based on what she observes of the children monthly. It will include what their needs are and what needs she might see them developing in the future. She has mentioned to us that she sees our bond with the children developing, and we are growing as a family. It is important to keep in mind that through the adoption process, the workers are not only looking at our home as a safe place for the children, but they are also looking to see how the family functions as a unit. The adoptive placement needs to prove beneficial for the parents as well as the children. We thank you all for your prayers and support. You are all so special to us and your support is so meaningful! More to come soon! God Bless!

Licensing Updates

Jenn Munoz — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 01:28:58 +0000

6/12/2023

It’s official! We are licensed for foster care! We had our third and final home study visit on Friday and received the official licensing notice today!

It feels so real! The official transition weekend is coming up so fast! 4 sleeps!

Things have felt hectic around the house with trying to get their room organized, laundry finished, paperwork completed, and this week, preparing my coworkers for my leave. We have several appointments next week for them and for me, so it will take a lot of coordinating. But this is what we have been waiting for! We are excited, nervous, and all of the feelings wrapped into one.

We are grateful that my dad is able to come out for a few weeks to help us transition to new daycares, new services, appointments, meal prepping, etc. Love you mom! See you soon!

Thank you to all who have offered their help!! We appreciate every little thing you say or do for us! This process is overwhelming, not just with paperwork, but from going from 0 kids to 3. It will take some adjusting, so if we are quiet for a while, know that we are still reading your emails, replies, texts, etc.

For all that have sent gifts, cards, prayers, helped out at church or at home, etc, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! It helps us to focus on the bigger picture and worry less.

God has a wonderful plan, and we are so glad we said “yes”!

Home Study

Jenn Munoz — Sat, 27 May 2023 18:51:30 +0000

5/27/2023

Taking some time while all three duckies nap to write a few updates.

The next step in all that is happening is to get our home study completed so that we can get our foster care licensing. Wait… home study? Didn’t we just complete one of those in March? The answer is yes. So with all of the agencies being separate, we will need to do a home study for foster care licensing and another home study for adoption. Each of these home studies are a minimum of 3 visits, and lots of paperwork.

We should have had our first home study visit on May 16^th, but due to us being sick, we postponed it until the 22^nd. On the 22^nd, the foster care licensing agent came to our home and asked us several questions that we have answered through our previous home study. I know they are just doing their job and trying to get to know us. But its frustrating to have to go through the same process over again with another person. Oh well. Anything for these little ones!

Next up for us: Purchasing fire extinguishers and making sure each room has a working smoke alarm, and replacing any that are expired. We also need to draw up a fire escape plan for our house. Other than that, most of the paperwork has been completed, and we are waiting for the next 2 home visits. Next one coming up on the 30^th. We will also be needing to start paperwork with the adoption agency and get background checks and fingerprinting completed (for the fourth time in less than a year). We will get there!

All things being considered, I am grateful that things are progressing towards us having these kiddos in our home. We are praying that it will be less than a month away! Thank you for all of your generosity and prayers! Your immense support means the world to us!

We are so overwhelmed with joy, love, and grace! We honestly cannot thank everyone enough! God is working through us and each one of you to provide an amazing life for these kiddos. THANK YOU! Please let us know how we can pray for you!

God is Good!

Jenn Munoz — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 03:18:09 +0000

4/17/2023

Praise be to God!

We have been waiting for what seems like forever. Two months ago, we were informed about a sibling group that was looking for adoptive parents. It has been three weeks since the first custodial hearing. Waiting… waiting… waiting. Sometimes patiently, sometimes impatiently. Having this all happen during Lent was perfect timing, and gave us time to reflect. The thing that always came to the top of our minds was that God’s Will be done. God has His hand in each step of our lives. And if this was meant to be, He would make it happen, whether that means with these kids or other kids.

This morning, we were notified that we have been identified as the future adoptive parents of this sibling group! It has been a whirlwind of a day to say the least! Only a few of the siblings are eligible at this time, and the others are still going through the process.

What is next?? More paperwork, believe it or not. It is our goal to not separate the siblings from each other. Therefore, we have decided to go through the process of foster care certification so the siblings can stay together as we go through this transition. One of the more challenging parts about the North Dakota system is that all the agencies are separate. Foster care is separate from adoption, separate from infant adoption, and separate from adopting kids with special needs. This means that we need to do another application, another set of background checks and fingerprints, and other foster care training.

Things will be moving quickly! We are excited to share the news with everyone! Please keep in mind that everything is still confidential. Keep sending your support and kind words. We love hearing from you!

Buckle Your Seatbelts

Jenn Munoz — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 03:13:47 +0000

2/18/2023

Starting off this post with some housekeeping items. I know, it’s not fun, but I hope you all can see the importance of it. Understand that the information I am about to share is very personal. I want to ensure that details are to remain confidential due to the sensitive nature. This is to protect and respect the privacy of those involved. This goes for any details shared both in this blog and in other forms of communication.

We have recently been asked to adopt a sibling group.

When talking about this news with our current case worker, she told us how excited she is for us and how she thinks we would be a perfect fit for a sibling group. Needless to say, we are very excited!! Thinking about the details can sometimes be overwhelming, but we are in the mindset that God has a plan for us, and if this is meant to be, then it will be. We are putting trust in God and modeling our Holy Mother in saying ‘yes’ to the will of God.

Now the question is, what do the next steps look like? Well, we aren’t sure yet. We aren’t sure of what the timeline will look like either. Our case worker is certainly working on finding out for us though!!

We ask you all to storm heaven with your prayers for everyone involved! This is not a guarantee, but we are praying! I am not able to add a picture due to confidentiality, but thought the image attached is the perfect description of this moment.

We are still working on finishing our puzzle, especially now with the possibility of a sibling group coming into our home. Please consider donating and sharing with your family and friends so we can complete our puzzle and be prepared for what God has in store for us! God will always provide!

Home Study, Profile Book, and Nursery

Jenn Munoz — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 14:17:50 +0000

1/20/2023

I apologize for not posing an update sooner. We have been pretty busy these last few months. We were able to go to CA for Christmas and spend some much-needed time with our families.

Our home study is almost complete! We were able to finish up a few last items in December and are just waiting on the final copy to review. Unfortunately, because the process has been taking a while, our background checks have expired. Thankfully, we were able to get an appointment scheduled for this afternoon. Then it will just be a matter of waiting for those to come back, which should hopefully only take a few weeks.

We have been working hard at getting the nursery set up and getting some necessities while we wait for our little one. Check out our pictures!

Our profile book is in the works! Sarah has generously offered to put this together for us (in addition to the logo she made for us). Sarah, I hope you know how awesome you are! Seriously, thank you for everything!

Other than that, we are into the waiting game. Waiting to be matched, waiting to be chosen. Reminding ourselves that God is with us through it all and He chooses us for a specific purpose. Therefore, we continue to place our trust in Him.

Home Study – Second Interview

Jenn Munoz — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 16:55:41 +0000

9/13/2022

We had our second Home Study Interview on Friday 9/9.

I was so nervous for this interview! What questions were they going to ask? Would they see us as good fit for parents? Is our house clean enough? I had also been doing some painting to refresh the feel of the walls but was met with being overwhelmed by not having the house organized. Yet again, I was shown that there is no reason for us to be nervous. God is clearly in control of everything, and this adventure is no exception. A lot of the questions we were asked were in line with questions that we had already answered in our autobiography as a part of the application process.

Examples of some questions are: How would you describe your parents and your relationship with them? What values were important in your family when you were growing up? What was school like for you? What activities were you involved in while in school?

We had 3 hours set aside for interviews, 1 hour each for individual interviews for Frankie and me, and a third hour for a joint interview. Apparently, whether out of nervousness or wanting to give all the detail, I talk a lot. My interview lasted about 2 hours, and after a small break, Frankie’s interview started. Overall, he only had about 30 minutes before we needed to call it a day out of respect for everyone’s time. As a result, we will have another interview set up for the continuation of his portion as well as our joint portion.

God willing, once the interviews are complete, we will be eligible for placement. The next step after that, and something that we are starting to work on already, is our profile book. This book will be presented to the expecting parent(s) that we match with and will be their main deciding factor in whether we are chosen or not. If you haven’t done so already, please let us know how you would describe us and what makes you think of us. We will try to utilize these as we put our profile book together.

Home Study – First Interview

Jenn Munoz — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 23:14:11 +0000

8/19/2022

Our first home study is in the books!

We greatly appreciate all your prayers for this intention! All your words of encouragement really helped calm me for the visit and really helped me set my ‘Martha’ aside and just let God’s plan unfold. I cannot even begin to describe the excitement and joy that we have in being one step closer to have our home study approved! Next step will be to have a second home study with more in-depth interviews from the case workers. Note to self: start baby proofing! The number of home study visits is really determined on a case-by-case basis, but we are praying that they continue to go well. Then once the home study is completed, we will be able to continue with creating our profile book. This book will then be shown to expectant parents that are looking to place their child for adoption.

The case workers did advise us to prepare ourselves for the highs and lows of adoption. Similar to the highs and lows that we have had with each pregnancy. There will be times when our profile book is shown but not chosen. So, on the one hand, there is the excitement of being a potential match and having our book shown, but on the other hand, if we are not chosen from the selection, then we should be prepared for disappointment. And although this will be difficult, we know that putting our faith in God and trusting in His timing is necessary. We know that whatever child he has planned for us, will be the perfect addition to our family. Sometimes the hardest part is… waiting.

Our request from you (aside from continuous prayers) is to send us any resources you have on adoption. Maybe you read a great article or know of a great book. Or maybe you don’t know of any resources off hand, but you know someone who has adopted and maybe they have some great reads. Whatever the case, we ask that you send them our way! Any information would help, and we look forward to learning more on this journey!

P.S. If you would be so kind, we also ask for you to reply to this post or via email with a small blurb, sentence, paragraph, whatever you may choose, that best describes ‘Frankie and Jenn’.