Finalization Video

Here is a rough draft of the video I have created of our day on Monday. I struggled with music, so forgive me for my choice, but I wanted to get this out there! If any of you have any other suggestions for music, let me know!



God is Good!

Finalization Day!

Well, what a day! I can not express the emotion, joy and happiness that I felt today. We started with lunch at Spaghetti Warehouse with Grandma Derri. The kids did well. And to my surprise, it was kids day, and all meals were only 99cents! (BONUS!) So we got done eating around 1:45 or so, and headed for the courthouse. From the moment we walked in, you could feel the excitement. The security guard knew why we were there, and sent us in the right direction. We then waited for Grandma Debbie and Papaw Rudy.

It was so sweet, the clerk saw us in the hall before hand and knew who we were from our Homestudy. She said it was so sweet reading it and she was so happy for us. Kuddos to our Social Worker!!

There were two other families finalizing, and we were the family in the middle. We were all in the courtroom together, and we first got to go up and confess our desire to adopt Toby. Then we took a photo with the Magistrate. Then we went back up a little later and Toby got to place the official seal on his certificate of adoption. She also let Taylor and Drew stamp a piece of paper to take home. All three kids also got to pound the gavel. They really enjoyed themselves!

Following our time in the courtroom, we headed out to our cars and to the surprise we had for the kids to celebrate the day! We took the kids to Build-A-Bear! They had so much fun. This was Toby's first experience there! He was a champ! Taylor said it was awesome! We finished up with some cookies at the cookie shop and headed home. We are all very tired from a busy day (without naps) and I must get the kids to bed (as Nate is at his basketball game).

And here are a few photos! You can see more at the Photobucket Link (view all images). I will hopefully do a quick video later tonight, once the kids are in bed! It was an indescribable day! God is SOOOOO GOOD!!!

Kinda sad... Yet so Exciting!

So our last social worker visit was last night! It was a crazy night. I wasn't thinking about election day, so we had to fit that in. I also have been watching a baby this week, which means I get nothing done around the house!! So I walked in the door, dinner in hand, 5 minutes before Kim arrived!! I joked with Kim that you could tell it was our last visit. The first visit you spend hours cleaning the house, the last visit, she's lucky she has a chair cleaned off of toys to sit on!!

While it is so exciting to be close to the finish line with all the paperwork, visits, financial obligations, etc. with the adoption, it is also sad! This roller coaster we have been on for over two years has been all consuming! The highs have been to the moon! The lows have been some of the lowest! I wouldn't change a moment of it! I still get choked up thinking about how Gracious God has been to us through this process. We are not rich, but He provided! I am not patient, but He helped me endure lots of waiting. Transition can be very difficult, but He prepared us all! Our son was sick, but God has made him healthy! We were afraid, but God comforted us! I am not the best mom in the world, but God reminded me that "with God, all things are possible" (Matt 19:26). I could go on and on... but mostly I want to say that God is Good. When we chose Toby's name, I had simply heard it on a TV show and thought, "That's nice, and not over used!" but when I searched to find the meaning of the name, and it came up that Tobias means God is Good! I knew we had found it! What other way to express our gratitude, than to name our son in such a way!

So as we close this chapter, this season in our lives, we look forward to what God has for us next. And praise Him for what he has brought us through!

God is Good!

Deuteronomy 10:21 " He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes."

Final Social Worker Visit

Tonight is our final visit with the social worker before finalization next week! It is so darn exciting to be this close to being done with the paperwork and the supervision. We have had one visit a month since Toby's arrival. Granted, our social worker is wonderful, and it has been completely painless. It is just a matter of having to go through all of that, that we will be glad to have it over. No more having to "report" to someone else on how Toby is doing. No more singling him out and setting aside an evening each month for the visits. Drew asked me the other day who his social worker was. I just had to laugh at that. He thinks that is just how it is done!

Now the only question is... when can we start again?!

Plans are coming together for Monday! I was hoping to get some special outfits for the kids, but haven't really found anything. I have Drew and Toby covered, it is Taylor I was struggling with, but I'm sure we'll find something. My mom is coming, my dad is going to try, and Nate's mom and step-dad are coming as well. Taylor and Drew will go to school in the morning and we will pick them up and head straight to lunch and the courthouse from there! Should be a special day!

God is Good!

Finalization Date!

Yeah!! We have a date!! Toby's adoption will be legal and finalized on Monday, March 10th. We do not know what time yet, but it is so exciting to have a date. It is only a few days after Nate's birthday, which is fun! I will have to look back at my journal, but I believe that is very close to the day that we first saw his picture!! I know we verbally accepted his referral on March 22, so I'm guessing it was about a week before that that we first saw his photo and began praying about whether or not this was the child God had for us. I'm so thankful he was!! He is a blessing beyond words!

We have to go to Summit County Courthouse and are hoping to make a very special day of it. The older two kids will be with us that day as well.

I know I said I was working on Christmas videos, and I am!! I have uploaded the video, now I just need to edit... when I get an hour of free time !!

God is Good!