Adoption Day!

 

This post is super late- but that’s pretty typical around here! 

Back on May 16th we adopted our Zoe.  You will have to scroll back a year and I believe I talk a little about when we got the call to pick her up from the hospital as a foster baby.  We didn’t know much of anything when we took her home at 14 days old but we didn’t care- she was our baby for as long as the Lord wanted her to be!

So, after fostering her for a year, her parents rights were officially terminated and we became a number in a stack of paperwork waiting for the adoption.  There were a few things we had to have inspected at the house but mostly, we were waiting for someone to make a copy. 

 

Then, once we got “approved” for adoption we went to the CPS office and signed paperwork that basically got rid of CPS but we still had to wait for a court date.  Then a month later, we got court scheduled.

 

On your court day, you all go to the courthouse and stand in front of a judge and it’s official! 

We didn’t know what to expect at the courthouse or how long it would take.  I had asked for a lunch appointment because I really wanted to go to a fancy restaurant in fort worth to celebrate after (typically the adoption cases are first thing in the morning).  They had graciously accommodated my request and I think I made lunch reservations for 1.5 hours after we were schedule to be in court. 

 

 

So everyone goes into the court room and stands in front of the judges desk and he asked us a couple of questions about how we felt about Z and asked C a question about being a big brother and that was it!  We had already signed all the paperwork and so the judge just asked if we wanted pictures. 

He was so kind to take as many pictures as we wanted and never made us feel rushed (I believe it was his lunch hour) and stayed and visited with us.

The bailiff brought out a present for C- the piggy bank- and that just made his day!

 

 

Visiting with the judge.

Our attorney presented the information to the judge. 

We loved our attorney!  If you need a name of a great family attorney then let me know! 

 

Here’s our first official family picture!

 

Here we are with our amazing CASA worker and attorney.  Y’all, look into being a CASA volunteer.  It’s a great way to work with kids who need help.

 

And our caseworker for our foster agency, Mark with Arrow.  We highly recommend Arrow for a foster/adoption agency. 

 

So from start to finish- our journey from foster to adoption was 14 months.  It was a rollercoaster but I’m so glad we had that experience and I’m so glad we have Z.  She’s pretty much the coolest baby ever and I can’t believe we get to raise her. 

 

If you think you are not cut out to be foster parents or adoptive parents, think again.  It’s not about YOU.  You don’t have to have your whole life together.  You just have to be willing to let your world be shaken up a little bit.  So, pray about how the Lord wants you to help orphans.  There are so many different ways you can help!