Finalization

Yesterday, December 16th, 2012, my alarm went off at 6:45 AM EST. I hit the snooze button, but I stayed awake. This was the day we had been anticipating for a long time.  As we got ourselves and Liam ready for the day Keith and I were pretty quite with nervous anticipation taking over our thoughts. By 8:55 AM we were outside our bank carrying Liam toward the front doors. We spoke to the lady at the desk, clearly the manager we had spoke with the week before had not made us the appointment we asked for, but things were quickly settled and we were seated in an office where Keith called the Judge's office in Florida. We were put on hold as we waited our turn. Finally the adoption Lawyer came on the line and we were sworn in, just as we put our hand down the Notary from the bank walked into the office silently and he sat down with a smile. The lawyer proceeded to ask us to affirm certain critical information and then the Judge came on the line. He asked us many questions, but the one that stuck out to me was, "Do you have enough love to give to this child?" Keith and I both smiled at each other and tears filled my eyes, we both answered "Yes."

Throughout this entire process it has never been anything for either of us but the desire to love a child. When we could not conceive and the doctor told us it was unlikely we were not very interested in going through the not so certain arena of fertility treatments, it was never about being "pregnant" for me or Keith. To be honest we wanted a child very deeply, but the concept of being pregnant was not one I was to thrilled about. Sure you get a new wardrobe and you get to feel the child growing within you and every joy of being pregnant itself. But it was never about that, it was about becoming parents and when we decided for sure we were going to pursue adoption that was all I could think about. I could not really sit around and wonder will my child have my eyes or would the poor dear have my ears, or his/her Daddy's smile; but I did wonder what they would look like. I wondered what possibilities there would be for our child not having to worry about so many family comparisons and the freedom that would give him/her.



Never did I imagine a child as beautiful, as sweet, as demanding and loving as Liam. From the moment the nurse wheeled that little plastic bassinet towards us with our swollen sleepy little baby boy wrapped beneath layers of receiving blankets I was in awe of his strength and curiosity with the world. His dark brown eyes seemed to look right through us and even when he was sick for that first month or so he was absolutely a dream come true. Oh there have been hard times, impossibly loud moments, amazingly precious seconds and still this little boy means the world to his Daddy and I.

We want to thank you all for following our Journey down the road of adoption and know that though this journey is legally finished this is just the beginning of our story. Liam was definitely worth the wait! We are forever thankful for the blessings that have carried us thus far and the amazing journey this has been.