December 20, 2010
It was a beautiful day, a day we had been looking forward to for quite sometime. We loved Dane from the moment we laid eyes on him, he was ours and he has always been a part of our family, but to just know he is officially ours is extra special!
We arrived at the court house at 2:45. We greeted our family and social worker. To my surprise my mom was there too! She literally had come straight from the hospital to the court house. She had spent a week in the hospital recovering from surgery where they had removed a cancerous mass and a lobe from her upper right lung. She had been telling the doctors for days that she had to be out, she had somewhere important to be. I had told her several times, despite how much I wanted her there, not to worry about coming and she always told me, "I will be there unless they won't let me out." There was no stopping her. Her love for Dane is fierce, unstoppable, it is that way for all she loves-she is amazing!
A few minutes later we were informed that the judge was running behind - he was dealing with a complicated case and it would be a bit before it would be our turn. We (9 adults & 6 kids) were ushered into a small stuffy room to pass the time. Joel and I looked at each other and smiled...it would take a lot to ruin this day. Throughout this process, we have waited, waited and waited some more; time lines were frequently extended and we ran into many delays. So, it did not surprise us to know that we would have to wait.
A little over an hour later we were informed that the judge would see us. We walked in and took our seats, and Dane began to cry. I think he had had enough of this waiting business, he wanted to go. As I was getting Dane settled the judge began to apologize for the long wait; he was so nice and so apologetic. Finally Dane settled and we got down to business. The judge asked us some questions and really made the day extra special! He was amazing! After all was said and done, he pronounced that Dane was officially ours and both Joel and I were in tears...
The judge allowed us to take our time and take pictures. David and the judge really hit it off. They had a great time laughing together. I have some amazing memories! We ended the day with family and a trip to one of our favorite ice cream places for ice cream.
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| Dane snuggling Daddy |
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| Dane & Mommy passing time. Thank you Aunt Brenda for letting us use your bracelet, it was a great toy! |
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| What?? These chairs are fun! |
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| Our family & social worker in front of the judge. Dane is on my lap. |
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| Family pic. with the judge |
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| Our family |
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| David and the judge...givin high fives! |
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| Our official family! |
Despite the perfect day, I know that on that day Dane lost a lot, he is no longer a Korean citizen, along with many other things. But he also gained a lot too. I , well we, love that boy to pieces. We are so thankful for him! He is a such precious blessing!
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