Thank goodness our social worker doesn't drink coffee.

We had our first home visit this past week.  I was more than a little nervous, in fact, I sort of felt sick to my stomach.  So, I did what I always do when I'm stressed:  I plan.  And plan.  And plan some more.

Also, we cleaned.  A lot, in fact, since no picker-upper-thing magically appeared at our house.  It wasn't so much the vacuuming or dusting, it was more the craziness of being in the middle of major house projects, and the chaos that inevitably comes with said projects.

Nevertheless, 9:30am on Wednesday came, and we felt pretty prepared.  I had planned and cleaned as much as possible, and we prayed it would go as well as possible.  It's kind of weird, to think that someone is going to come into your home and study you and your house, and determine whether or not you will be fit parents.  It's also nerve-wracking to think about how much power they really have over your future.

I'm so glad that God reminded me that he is still sovereign, even over social workers, and we prayed everything would go according to His plan.

So, she came, looked at our house, had a few minor suggestions, and then we sat down to start the questioning.  I offered her coffee, and she politely declined, opting for ice water instead.  Then, we got down to business.

First, we were given MORE paperwork.  In fact, an entire STACK of additional paperwork.

Next, we were asked a TON of questions about our personalities, our hobbies, views on parenting, and our relationship.

She asked Dave and I what attracted us to each other, and after Dave and I both answered, she said, "I've been doing this for 11 years, and am pretty much never surprised, I've heard it all.  Until this past question.  I've never heard two people talk so specifically, deeply, and highly of each other!"

So, I guess we get bonus points for being in love.

Anyway, we finished answering the questions for that session, scheduled the next one, she packed up her things, and we showed her to the door.

Fast forward to today.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I had planned ahead of times what cups I would serve which beverages in for her (while we're into confessions, I had also planned ahead of time what coffee cup I would use based on what I was planning on wearing.  I may have a problem.....).

Since she had gone for water, the coffee cup that I had planned was still in the cupboard, and I got it out for today's coffee.   As it turns out, the cup had NOT gotten properly cleaned in the dishwasher, and I'm not at all sure how I missed that when putting it away!  So, I'm quite thankful that our social worker doesn't drink coffee, that would have been embarrassing, and we probably would have gotten docked points for not being able to wash dishes properly (we actually had to read about how to do dishes.  In case you're wondering, you should use hot soapy water, followed by a rinse in clean water, in between uses.)

Next time I will check the cups when planning.