Intake interview: CHECK

Mark and I made the ever-thrilling drive to Omaha on Friday morning for our intake interview that we've waiting a month and a half for. It's basically the beginning of the home study process. We met with a really nice gal from the Children's Home and went over questions/concerns first and then jumped right in to the interview process. She asked us questions about how we met, what our dating life was like, what made us want to get married, how we spend our time these days, our family background, etc, etc. I realized how freaking long we've been together!! It's hard to remember my life pre-Mark. We met and started our friendship almost 9 years ago! It's REALLY crazy that we'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this month.

The only 2 slightly humiliating things said in the interview went something like this:
("K" is the intake coordinator, "M" is Mark)
First embarrassing moment:
K: (to Mark) "Do you or Ashley suffer from any mental illnesses, any diagnosed problems with depression or anxiety disorders?"
M: "Well, Ashley doesn't handle stress very well" (at this point I turned to him STUNNED...not many people could handle the stress associated with my job and I think, considering everything going on in our lives, I do a relatively good job handling stress. He later apologized but I'm pretty sure he still feels that way.
Second embarrassing moment:
K: (to Mark) "What do you and Ashley do with your free time?" (I was thinking of a million things...take our dogs to the park, go to sporting events, hang out with family/friends, do mundane things grocery shopping, etc)
M: Watch TV.

So anywho. It was a great experience and we're super excited for our next step: ADOPT (A Day of Parent Training) classes in July. Yes, July. Until then, we have a stack of books to read about adoption and the plethora of things you'd never know you needed to know about it. Overall, this process is amazing compared to fertility treatments. We just feel so hopeful and excited about the future and not sad and spent. It was really strange to be driving to Omaha with Mark and not going to get poked or ultrasounded or inseminated. When we drove pass the exit for my reproductive endocrinologist and had to fight the urge to exit the interstate because I did it for 13 months! Praise God for fresh beginnings and for the joy this process has already created in our lives. :)