The courthouse
Waiting for our court time..
Taking a photo-op before court
Swearing in..
The judge signing the paperwork
Posing with the judge and our lawyer
Our FIVE kids outside the courthouse!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Adoption is Final!
Today it became official in the eyes of the US courts that Caleb is ours! Our final adoption decree is in the mail and his Alabama birth certificate is being created! Before we moved, we attended the initial court hearing and appeared before the judge. Today, our lawyer attended the final hearing and he is all ours! We are so thankful that we were able to get this taken care of before we moved. Typically, our adoption agency doesn't grant the permission to adopt until you have had the child for 6 months and have completed 3 post placement visits. However, they made an exception in our case and gave us permission early so we could complete the adoption before moving. This saved us the hassle of trying to complete it once we moved. We are so grateful that they did that. Now we can work on submitting the paperwork to make him a US citizen and get him a social security card! Enjoy these pictures from our court day!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thankful Thursday
This Thursday I am thankful for:
~I am back online and back to blogging after our move from 1 state to the next!
~For our precious Georgia family that we moved away from. We soooo loved living so close to them and seeing them at least monthly! We will continue to Skype but you can't hold a precious baby with Skype! Love you Georgia gang!
~That we are making progress settling into our new house. We have had our household goods for a week and a half and all of the kids rooms are done! Plus the kitchen, of course! I am tired of seeing boxes but it is a lot of work with 2 little ones running around. They are tired of playing with boxes and sometimes just need mommy to sit and hold them awhile. We finally got a comfy chair cleared out in the living room so I can sit and hold them!
~Speaking of the little ones, I am thankful that they are sleeping in their own room! Yep, you read that right. They have slept in their room since we got here! Right now, we find Caleb in Claire's bed all snuggled up together. It is so sweet! I am just so thrilled that they are sleeping in their own room!
~The big kids have found friends in the neighborhood already! The boys play nightly with the neighbor boys. They play flashlight tag or have a nerf gun battle! Brianna has a high school girl that she goes and plays volleyball with at the YMCA. Our neighbors across the street came over last night and invited Claire and Caleb to come play in their backyard with their girls. I just love small town America!
~That Gary and I celebrated our 19th anniversary (see previous post!). I am thankful that Brianna babysat so we could go out and get away from the boxes for awhile!
~I am thankful for the adoption agency reunion that we are going to this weekend. We finally live close enough to go to the reunion for the agency we used when we adopted Claire!
~Finally, I am thankful for the pedicures that Brianna and I went and got tonight! After all of the unpacking we have done, it felt heavenly! What a way to be pampered!
What are you thankful for?
~I am back online and back to blogging after our move from 1 state to the next!
~For our precious Georgia family that we moved away from. We soooo loved living so close to them and seeing them at least monthly! We will continue to Skype but you can't hold a precious baby with Skype! Love you Georgia gang!
Nicholas and Noah!
Mallory, Noah, Hunter, Michaela and Caleb.
Claire loves her Uncle Wayne!
Michaela loves Claire and Caleb!
Noah - isn't he just the cutest?
~That we are making progress settling into our new house. We have had our household goods for a week and a half and all of the kids rooms are done! Plus the kitchen, of course! I am tired of seeing boxes but it is a lot of work with 2 little ones running around. They are tired of playing with boxes and sometimes just need mommy to sit and hold them awhile. We finally got a comfy chair cleared out in the living room so I can sit and hold them!
Claire's new bed and room!
The room came painted green with the rainbow!
Caleb's side of the room!
Hunter's room!
Nicholas' room!
Brianna's room!
She is just a little obsessed with the Jonas Brothers!
~Speaking of the little ones, I am thankful that they are sleeping in their own room! Yep, you read that right. They have slept in their room since we got here! Right now, we find Caleb in Claire's bed all snuggled up together. It is so sweet! I am just so thrilled that they are sleeping in their own room!
~The big kids have found friends in the neighborhood already! The boys play nightly with the neighbor boys. They play flashlight tag or have a nerf gun battle! Brianna has a high school girl that she goes and plays volleyball with at the YMCA. Our neighbors across the street came over last night and invited Claire and Caleb to come play in their backyard with their girls. I just love small town America!
~That Gary and I celebrated our 19th anniversary (see previous post!). I am thankful that Brianna babysat so we could go out and get away from the boxes for awhile!
~I am thankful for the adoption agency reunion that we are going to this weekend. We finally live close enough to go to the reunion for the agency we used when we adopted Claire!
~Finally, I am thankful for the pedicures that Brianna and I went and got tonight! After all of the unpacking we have done, it felt heavenly! What a way to be pampered!
Brianna's toes! So festive!
My toes! Very patriotic!
What are you thankful for?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
19 Years Ago...
I married my best friend! I never imagined that when I met Gary that we would move multiple times across the country (we are a week into our newest location!), would give birth to 3 amazing kids, and would adopt 2 more amazing kids! But God knew, and I'm glad that God brought us together. The journey has been sweet so far and I can't wait to see where and how God leads us next! Happy Anniversary, Honey. Love Ya!
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Monday, June 14, 2010
We've moved again
Wow, where do I begin? So much has been going on at our house. We have been busy moving. Yep, we moved again for the 2nd time in 11 months. We are currently in temporary housing waiting for our household goods to arrive. The truck with the goods is set to arrive tomorrow morning. Then the fun of unpacking boxes begins! It's like Christmas to the max! Except the things aren't new and it is in the 90s with humidity to match!
The little ones are doing well with the move so far. This is Claire's 2nd move so she is a pro now and Caleb is a pretty go with the flow kind of guy so he is doing well too! The boys started basketball camp this morning so we are jumping right in and getting involved in things. In case you didn't know, moving is exhausting! Gary and I decided we are getting too old to keep doing this!
There are so many things that I need to blog about to catch you up like going to court for Caleb's adoption, spending a great weekend in Georgia, bowling with friends....I think you get the idea. I promise to share after we get settled and at least a little unpacked.
This video of Claire will have to hold you over until I can post more adorable pictures! She is our little monkey and is so strong!
The little ones are doing well with the move so far. This is Claire's 2nd move so she is a pro now and Caleb is a pretty go with the flow kind of guy so he is doing well too! The boys started basketball camp this morning so we are jumping right in and getting involved in things. In case you didn't know, moving is exhausting! Gary and I decided we are getting too old to keep doing this!
There are so many things that I need to blog about to catch you up like going to court for Caleb's adoption, spending a great weekend in Georgia, bowling with friends....I think you get the idea. I promise to share after we get settled and at least a little unpacked.
This video of Claire will have to hold you over until I can post more adorable pictures! She is our little monkey and is so strong!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Celebrating 2 months!
I can't believe that it has been 2 months since Caleb has come home!
What a crazy, wonderful, amazing time it has been!
So, happy 2 month Gotcha Day from...
Our neck squeezin..
Belly-laughin...
Cheek kissin...
Celebrating 2 months together house!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thankful Thursday
This Thursday I am thankful for:
~Hunter's successful surgery! He is doing very well with only some minor discomfort and bleeding. Thanks for your prayers!
~Caleb's appointment with all of the different doctors that we had this week. We spent all day at the spina bifida clinic and met many wonderful doctors. Caleb got good reports from all of the doctors. Gary and I walked away from the appointment thanking God for the miracle of Caleb. As we witnessed child after precious child with leg braces and wheelchairs we could only thank God that Caleb is doing so well and is walking and running! God is certainly showing his might and healing power through Caleb. What a testimony Caleb will have to share some day.
~That Gary officially graduated today from his milit*ry courses! I am so proud of the hard work that he put in to finish the class all the while taking care of his ever expanding family! Of course, this means we will be moving again for the 2nd time in a 12 month period. You could never say our life is boring! The pictures are from the air show associated with the class Gary attended.
~For the successful end of AWANA. Both Hunter and Claire completed their books this year and recieved awards.
~For the home school band concert that Brianna and Nicholas participated in!
~For the great visit we had with Flat Stanley. Our friend, Grace, sent Flat Stanley to stay with us for awhile and we had a great time with him!
~And finally, drum roll please....Caleb is sleeping in his own bed and sleeping through the night! We finally decided to move both toddler beds into our room in hopes that Claire and Caleb would sleep through the night in their own beds. You know what, it worked. They have both been sleeping great. We now refer to the master bedroom as the "dorm" but hey you have to do what works and this is working. I have actually slept through the night more times the last couple weeks than I have in the last 18 months!
Now, that is a lot to be thankful for. What are you thankful for?
~Hunter's successful surgery! He is doing very well with only some minor discomfort and bleeding. Thanks for your prayers!
Hunter waiting to be called back to the OR
Almost ready to go home; not feeling the greatest yet
Oh, how I love this face!
~That Gary officially graduated today from his milit*ry courses! I am so proud of the hard work that he put in to finish the class all the while taking care of his ever expanding family! Of course, this means we will be moving again for the 2nd time in a 12 month period. You could never say our life is boring! The pictures are from the air show associated with the class Gary attended.
My fly boys
Hunter in a Blackhawk helicopter
B2 Stealth Bomber
Blackhawk helicopter
This one is for you Laurie! F 22
~For the successful end of AWANA. Both Hunter and Claire completed their books this year and recieved awards.
Hunter and his leader.
Claire and her leaders!
~For the home school band concert that Brianna and Nicholas participated in!
Nicholas on the drums.
Brianna in pink on the flute.
~For the great visit we had with Flat Stanley. Our friend, Grace, sent Flat Stanley to stay with us for awhile and we had a great time with him!
Flat Stanley wants to be a pilot when he grows up!
Claire and Stanley in front of the B52!
Claire and Stanley with the cool helicopter.
Flat Stanley wanted to pose in the bright sun with the big kids!
~And finally, drum roll please....Caleb is sleeping in his own bed and sleeping through the night! We finally decided to move both toddler beds into our room in hopes that Claire and Caleb would sleep through the night in their own beds. You know what, it worked. They have both been sleeping great. We now refer to the master bedroom as the "dorm" but hey you have to do what works and this is working. I have actually slept through the night more times the last couple weeks than I have in the last 18 months!
Here is the proof that he is sleeping in his own bed!
Now, that is a lot to be thankful for. What are you thankful for?
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