Finalized!

Today was a great day for our family. Noah's adoption was finalized this morning & as the judge declared us legal parents, Tyler & I were both surprised to have eyes blurred with tears by the end of that 5 minute court hearing. I partly blame the court reporter who looked at us with puppy dog eyes & a smile the entire time like she was witnessing the sweetest moment. And I loved how the judge shared with us that he was adopted & how much he loved adoption. Hearing about positive adoption experiences just makes me happy. I know for every negative experience there are hundreds of positive experiences like ours. The judge told us, "Today I made you legal parents, but Noah was always meant to be yours." Every person we saw working in the courthouse today made a big fuss over our happy day & our sweet baby boy. I had forgotten just how amazing this finalization process feels for us. It serves as such a great equalizer to the pain & inevitable suffering that adoption brings & helps my heart to heal more fully. And here is our blurry, awful picture to commemorate this day that I want to remember:

Yeah, those are matching shirts Tyler & I are wearing...why do we do this on such a regular basis?! And look at that judge holding Noah's little arm - such a sweet man.

 

 

Noah seems to have filled up a chamber of my heart I never knew existed with love overflowing. This boy of ours has been blessed with the sweetest temperament & has been a delight from day one. Today goes down as a win & I feel like one lucky girl.  



Rubyisms

Almost every single day Ruby says something that cracks me up. So in an attempt to remember some of these gems, here's the latest:

 

As she sits at the table for dinner & picks up her fork, "Oh, a dinglehopper!"

 

When Tyler was getting ready for work & had on a new pair of pants, "Oh, daddy! Those are cute little pants! I like them!"

 

After I told her her hair was pretty, "No! It's not pretty! It's gorgeous!"

 

When we were playing outside she suddenly grabbed her purse & took off running. When I asked where she was going she said, "To a hotdog party with dad!"

 

To Noah in the morning, "Hi happy boy! He so smiley, he so handsome."



What Matters Most

Last week I found myself sitting in a waiting room with Noah for a lot longer than I would've liked. As I sat there I looked around the room at a number of other parents with their children & I couldn't help but notice that every single person seemed to be on their phone or iPad. Nobody was making eye contact or interacting or even speaking much to each other. Have you ever read the book Fahrenheit 451? It's one of my favorites & I swear the author was writing it about our day in age when that book was published over 50 years ago. As I sat & observed what was going on in that waiting room I resolved to myself that I would be less connected to things that distract me from what matters most. I want my family to remember me looking in their eyes when they talk to me & stopping what I'm doing when they need me. I don't want to look back & realize that I was in a state of perpetual distraction as my children were growing right before my eyes. Instead I want to savor these moments that we have together & find joy & beauty each day in these people I love most.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Adopted

Today 4 toddlers plus Ruby sat around our kitchen table eating snacks. I love to be a fly on the wall & overhear toddler conversations. It's entertaining to say the least. But today I listened as Ruby told her little friends matter-of-factly, "I grew in Cassie's tummy. Mommy's tummy was broken." And the kids just nodded like they had a clue what she was talking about & then someone started barking like a dog & they had moved on. But hearing her say that today made me really happy. Tyler & I never want our kids to have that moment where they're like, "Wait, I'm adopted?!" We just want them to always know because it's something we've always talked about. And hearing Ruby say that today made me realize that she's starting to get it. Certainly not all of it, but the toddler version. These kids of ours have great stories & really beautiful beginnings & I hope to instill in them a confidence in who they are & where they came from.

Ruby's version of heaven = eating donut holes for breakfast in a tutu

Our little mister



5 Months

 

 

 

 

At 5 months Noah is using his hands like crazy, rolling over, trying to sit up & grabbing his feet all the time (that's my favorite!). He's cuddly but he loves to be thrown up in the air & has a deep belly laugh that cracks us up. This little boy has a way of stealing our hearts every single day. Whenever I read to him he'll turn his head almost upside down & just stare up at me with those deep brown eyes & a look of contentment. I can hardly even handle how cute he is when he does it & I'm going to savor the days that his sweetest looks are reserved for me. Happy 5 months, baby boy!