Together Forever

What a sweet experience taking these kids to the temple! We'd been prepping Michael and Aliyah as much as we could before going and hoping they'd remember everything there. It was wonderful that they got to go with us and sit close by to be able to witness everything.

We had so many friends and family show up and were truly honored that so many people would  travel so far to the temple (3 hrs each way for locals) to be with us on our special day. It was beautiful to watch our children walk into the sealing room all dressed in white and run into our arms. The ceremony was beautiful and they became ours...for Eternity. 

Our family and some of our friends that joined us.

The paci was helpful when she started getting upset at the altar. 

Beautiful in white.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!

June 13, 2013 - Adoption Day

Aw, the long awaited day. The morning was like every other morning, Matt went to work, the kids and I did chores around the house and the neighbor kids came out to play. However there was that underlying feeling that everyone had, today was special.

I put Avery down for her nap early (who schedules toddler adoptions at 2:00pm anyway?). After lunch  I woke her with enough time to dress her, do her hair and pile the kids in the car. We were told to be 20 minutes early so we got there right about 1:40pm. Memories flooded back as we pulled into the parking lot. The last time we'd been there was 2008 when we adopted Aliyah. I started tearing up but fought it off.

We parked, unloaded the kids and walked towards the courthouse. After going through security we spotted our county social worker. Soon after, our Angels social worker, Jennifer, and our CASA worker, Terryl, walked in. Jennifer brought balloons for each of the kids.

That was a great idea as it kept them busy. There was a family before us that went if for an adoption hearing so we were waiting our turn. Nobody else was in the waiting area, it was nice to just let the kids roam.

Then they called our names.

I know this picture is a bit blurry but I love it. Brock and Avery, walking into the courtroom to have their adoption finalized.

After we were sworn in and Laurie (our county social worker shown below) announced who was present, Judge Garcia got down to business.

He announced the case in the kids legal names which for some reason took me by surprise. Seriously, I don't know why that shook me a little, it's not like this is my first time doing this. I guess they've just been Brock and Avery for so long that it was uncomfortable hearing their other names.

Judge Garcia asked us questions like:

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

and

"Any last minute regrets?"

Matt handled those questions very well. He said we've been hoping and praying for this for 22 months and we don't have any regrets. Well said!

Then the judge directed his attention to Michael and Aliyah. Asking them how they felt about having a little brother and sister. Asking them what they do for fun together. I loved Michael's answer. He said he likes to hide from them and when they find him they all laugh.

Then he asked them how they feel about sharing their mom and dad with them. They weren't sure how to answer that. I'm pretty sure they'd never thought about that before. But they managed. Both of them. They were supposed to sit up and talk in the microphone when the judge talked to them. I wished I'd have known that would happen so I could've prepped them a little. Not with answers to questions but with poise and eye contact. Oh well. They did great.

With all the balloons and wiggly children in the room it was hard to keep it too serious but Judge Garcia did try. Or at least it felt like it.

Finally he announced that he felt it was in the best interested of the children to be adopted into our family and their names will now be Brock Matthew and Avery Capri Egbert.

We signed the papers, and just like that, it was done. I've often thought since then how powerful those words were. And yet they're words, that a judge spoke, that changed our lives.

After the signing and pictures, Judge Garcia brought out a big bucket of candy and told the kids it was like Halloween and they could help themselves. And don't think our kids didn't! Hahaha it was funny.

Outside the courthouse we got to try to take pictures with kids, with candy, with candy clothes, fingers and faces. It was fun! :)

Candy necklaces

I asked the kids to give hugs, this is what we got.

Jennifer, our Angels social worker.
She offered a shoulder to cry on, love and support through it all.

Terryl, our CASA worker. She was a life saver when we felt like we needed it.
She loved the kids and took them on fun outings to be their friend.

Laurie, our county social worker.
She was with us for the last 6 months and helped with the finalizing process.

And a candid shot. Aliyah always making us laugh.

♫ "I have a family here on earth..." ♫

We were home by 3pm. It was short and sweet. We decided dinner at Olive Garden was in order. Avery loves pasta and Brock loves salad. It was, after all, their adoption day.

Finalizing Adoption

Yesterday Matt and I signed adoption papers for Brock Matthew and Avery Capri. It was almost like buying a house. Well, not that bad but there was a lot of paperwork to sign.

But we're very excited that our adoption day is Thursday June 13th!! Only a couple short weeks away, I can't believe it!

For those of you following and praying for us, THANK YOU! Really, I feel like this process has come together in large part due to the many prayers offered on our behalf. We're so grateful for the outcome and are thrilled that these kids will be permanently ours.

I'll post pictures of adoption day!

Final Word

Hip Hip Hooray!!!

My siblings and I flew into Seattle last weekend to surprise my mom for her 60th. My dad picked my sister and I up at the airport and as we were driving into Seattle we got on the subject of Brock and Avery and the court system. I was commenting how after all this time we still hadn't heard if bdad had made an appeal or not. His 60 days was up on March 23rd but the county was behind in paperwork so we had to wait, and wait. The social workers kept telling us, wait until the end of the month, the end of this week etc. So frustrating!

Well not 5 min after this conversation I received a text from my social worker. She said, final word had come in {from county social worker} that NO APPEAL WAS MADE! What?! I don't understand but I'll totally take it! So the adoption workers are busily working on our file to hopefully finalize the adoption in JUNE! We're so excited! We're hoping to take them to the temple the 1st weekend in July. We'll see how it goes.

I can't believe this process is winding down. August will be 2 years since we got them. This time last year we were in full panic mode as it looked like they'd reunify with bdad. What a trip this has been. With all the highs and lows, and there've been many, I would do it again and again if it meant keeping these children.

My Own

I've had a lot on my mind lately but I haven't found much time to write. Homeschooling has proven to be the most challenging thing I've ever done, and the most rewarding. I absolutely love it and it absolutely consumes me. I'm always looking for better ways to teach...well for that matter, ways to teach. I wish I'd done this in college rather than dental assisting. Well anyway, this is not what I wanted to talk about today.

I remember years ago (11 to be exact) I was having a conversation with my mom about adoption.  She was adopted at birth so I grew up in the face of adoption and always had a pretty good understanding of it. Matt and I were beginning our own adoption process and I was talking to her about it. I told her that I'd always wanted to adopt, I just thought I'd have my own kids first. She said plain and simple, "they are your own". What a powerful statement! This has always stuck with me. People quite regularly ask me if I have any of my own kids. My first reaction is always confusion  then I remember my own mistake of not understanding the difference and I give them a break. 

Good News!

Parental rights were terminated today. YAY!! This was supposed to be done on 12-12-12. They continued it at that time to Jan 8 2013. On Jan 7th, we got a call that the kids attorney wasn't available for the 8th so they rescheduled for the 22nd. So FINALLY today we had court.

Now bdad has 60 days to appeal it and if he does it will add about 6 months to the adoption process. Our social worker is thinking he may do this, especially since he's been fighting this all along. We're praying he doesn't so we can quickly adopt but we'll see!

From Minivan To...

NEW MINIVAN!

Ok, well I couldn't quite get away from the minivan, at least not in this stage of my life. I looked at SUV's etc but with 2 little ones who require my help getting in their seats and me lugging around strollers etc, this was the best option for us. And it is brand spanking new which I never thought I'd get. Every time I drive it I can't believe how nice it is. And every time my kids touch the outside I cringe. Especially when Brock was running his little matchbox car across it. Hahaha. Such is life with a van. If I didn't have kids I wouldn't be driving a van, and with kids comes scratches, spills, dirt and fingerprints. I just take a deep breath and get over it.