Finalization

Little did we know, three and a half years ago, that losing our daughter, Faith, would set in motion the events that would lead us to this day; such a legacy for some one that was on this earth for just a few hours.

Today was the day we made the adoption complete. A lot of people asked me if I was excited and I have to say, I was excited, but also calm. It's like having a baby. Up until your due date, you stress about what's going to happen, how painful it will be and if you and the baby will be ok, but when the day comes and you're in labor, a sense of calm comes over you and you're no longer as scared as you were. You just know that you are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to birth this tiny little baby.

The adoption of the boys was the same way. The last six months have had their ups and downs. We've been scared, frustrated, happy, nervous and even angry. We asked each other constantly if we were crazy for getting ourselves into this. In the last week, though, a sense of calm has come over us. We know these boys were meant to be with us and we know we can handle this. We're completely ready to face the road ahead. That long, long, long, loooong road ahead. Kidding!

So...our date started as usual. The boys were the first ones up and just like every morning, they sat in their beds and talked to each other as if they were on opposite sides of the house. In other words, we could hear every word because they were yelling.

We were running late to the court house, because after six months, we still haven't figured out how to get out of the door on time with three children. Just like Depelchin warned us, we got to the court house and did a lot of waiting and waiting and more waiting. When it was finally our turn we approached the bench and our lawyer asked us a bunch of questions:

What is your name?
Have you had these boys for 6 months
Have you been given all their background information and read it?
Do you want to adopt these two children?

After all the yes's and I do's and a few teary eyes (even Jaime...sssh!)the judge pronounced us a family. We took some pictures and that was it. I think were in there for a total of FIVE minutes. The judge was very nice. He let us behind his desk to take a picture and then all the kids, including Grace, got teddybears.

Memaw (my grandma), Grandma Grace and Uncle Nelson all came along to support us. We discouraged most of the family from coming because taking 30 minutes to drive down town, paying $15 to park and waiting over an hour in the lobby just didn't seem worth it for a five minute show. The funny part of all this was as we're walking out of the court house, Grace starts crying. She's just bawling and hanging onto my hips as we walk past all the other families waiting to adopt. She was tired and unhappy because her stomach was hurting. (We got some bad kolaches for breakfast) But, as I'm walking out, I'm wondering how many people are looking at her and thinking, "That poor girl. She doesn't want her brothers."

This was such a wierd day, because after all the classes, paperwork, homestudies, checkups by Depelchin and CPS, the ending was so anticlimatic. It was like running a 50 mile marathon and getting to the finish line only to find a bunch of empty plastic cups and soggy streamers lying on the ground. I guess part of me expected balloons to drop from the ceiling and President Bush to come out of a side door to shake my hand. Not to worry, because we had a nice lunch where we were joined by Grandpa Paco (My dad, who is much better company than the President) and Aunt Shannon (much goofier than the President).

To top it all off, I got to come home to this:

along with dinner waiting for me in a cooler. I just want to tell Tammy, Ken, Michelle, Kenny, Lisa, Kurt, Kim and Mike that you guys are the sweetest, nicest most thoughtful people. I love you all and we want all of you in our lives forever...even if our kids become mortal enemies.

It's official now. We are a "par.t.of.five" and couldn't be happier.

Now could somebody please pass me a glass of wine? Make that the bottle!

Dominic the comedian

The conversation that unfolded as I handed Dominic his drink:

Dominic: Thank you, Mommy
Me: Uh huh
Dominic: Mommy, you are supposed to say, "You're welcome"
Me: I'm sorry. You're welcome
Dominic: From now on, when I say thank you, you need to say you're welcome.

In another conversation:
Dominic: Daddy, I have two words for you
Dad: What's that?
Dominic: Teetee and Poopoo
Dominic: First I'm going to go teetee and then I'm going to go poopoo
Dad: Thanks for the rundown Dominic