Adoption Finalization!!!

An EXCITING Announcement:
Luke "officially" became a member of our family today!

We had to be at court at 9 am and by 9:30 am, were in front of the judge.  Our attorney asked us several questions about our intentions for the record:  ... did we want to adopt him? ... did we understand this was forever? ... are we sure?  The answers were:  ... Yes!  ... Yes!  &  ... Absolutely!

Then the judge signed the paper ...
... and Luke legally became OUR SON!  Forever and for always.
He is the baby we have dreamed of ... longed for ... prayed for ...
... it was an emotional morning.

There were two other families adopting children today.  Both were adopting as step-parents, now taking legal guardianship with a biological parent (ex:  new wife, etc), but it was special and emotional none-the-less.  Even though I didn't know any of these people, my heart & eyes were overflowing for this special moment in their lives.

Adoption is beautiful.

Here is a shot with the judge (who is an adoptive father of a 33 years old):
(Unfortunately, the only photos we have are blurry!  The nice gentleman who took the pictures for us must have shaken the camera each time he took a picture.  (EEK!! So frustrating!!!)  ... so squint your eyes and we'll look perfect!  BTW, did you know you cannot take a camera into court?  Or the hallway outside the courtroom?  At least in our small town, it is not allowed.  They only let us because we were adopting today.

"Officially" a Family of Three!  Thank you, St. Joseph!  

And THANK YOU blog ladies!  Your prayers have made this Adoption happen!!!