All morning in court (Part IV)

The adoption is final!

Our whole family went to court yesterday morning for the final hearing. Mindy’s parents were there along with my parents, grandparents, and Aunt Jen to support my Teen. And now she legally is MY Teen. We met up with even more family later that evening for a celebratory dinner. It’s been a great day; a day that I have long awaited and an very thankful to have behind me.

For all the uplifting email I’ve received…Thank you.

I took Princess and Sugarbear to the adoption hearing as well. It was important to me that they be there when the Judge secured our future together as a family, giving legal weight to the reality we’ve been living. They got a big kick out of the process and the formality of the event really helped it materialize to all three of them that this is a big deal. For them nothing really changes, but the threat of my Teen being taken away is now gone. Those little minds didn’t quite grasp the importance of it all. The Judge and court officials were all very nice. They posed with us in pictures and let my Teen strike the gable when the hearing was closed marking the end to the ordeal. The kids enjoyed the day out of school, and while it makes for a little bit of catch up work I think it was worth it to really make the day stand out in their minds as a special one.

The legal proceedings are all complete. Now onto the task of having all the documentation updated. We have to get the birth certificate and Social Security information updated so that I can get her properly enrolled in school next year. More pressing is a plane flight coming up in June…my Teen has to take ID with her to fly as an Unaccompanied Minor to see her paternal grandparents and getting all the ducks in a row for that will be tough. At least all the heavy lifting is done.

Today I’ve felt lighter, it’s strange how I physically feel different when something so significant occurs. It’s been about a month since I’ve felt this way which was when Bio Dad’s rights were terminated. It’s makes everything seem better and no matter how long it lasts….it’s never long enough. I’m sure the mother’s out there may have a different opinion but for me the euphoria from the adoption being complete was comparable to the feeling I had when Mindy first told me we were pregnant. I say we because she let me know when WE didn’t feel well and WE didn’t get to do a lot of things because WE were pregnant. (In my head she just playfully slapped me for that last sentence.) Maybe it’s the context in which the adoption took place but there is definitely a sense of completeness now that I never knew I was missing before. I hope I can do justice to Mindy’s expectations for raising our children. She gave me a bit of a head start when she brought such wonderful little lives into this world for us to enjoy.

But for now I’m thankful. God is obviously at work in keeping us together.