AUGUST 22, 2012 -THE BEST DAY OF OUR LIVES

On August 22, 2012 Darryl and I were officially and legally named the adoptive parents of Claire Elise! Though her birth mom lovingly signed away her parental rights in the hospital, it still takes several months for all the paperwork, signatures, and state documents to go through the court system. I almost felt like this was my "labor" day in a way. A day where I knew that this baby would be ours and nothing or no one could take her away from us. Darryl and I have always considered her ours since day one, but hearing it announced by a judge and taking an oath to love her, take care of her, and treat her as our own in front of family and friends made the adoption seem complete. I think Darryl and I can truly say that this day was the greatest day of our lives!
Our good friend Tammy came to witness this special event and documented it through pictures! Enjoy!

Our little Claire spent a lot of time crawling around the waiting hallway.

Claire and Auntie Pam

Our little cutie patootie!

Our dear friends Matt and Melanie with their son Hunter (aka...Claire's future husband) Haha! Matt and Melanie have been with us since day 1 of this journey. They spoke with us about their first adoption experience when we were thinking of adopting, they were at the hospital when Claire was born because their adopted son Hunter was born on the same day at the same hospital, and then for the big finale....they closed their adoption on the same day at the same courthouse! We love them and they have been such a blessing to us!

Claire and her Auntie!!!

Awwwww! She loves her Auntie!!!!

Mommy signing the adoption papers!

Daddy holding a sleeping Claire and signing the adoption papers!

Our wonderful Judge telling us our responsibilities as adoptive parents and Claire bear starting to wake up.

Yay!!! She's awake!!!

Picture perfect moment!

One happy couple with their...uh....tired baby. :)

Us with Grandma and Grandpa!

When we all entered the courtroom, the bailiff said, "No,no...this is just one adoption going on at this time", and we had to explain that yes, we were all here for that one special adoption! :)

I'm awake!

Another picture with our fabulous photographer! Thanks Tammy! We love you!

Us with the Aunties, Ma, and cousin Audrey!

Thank you for all of you who have been praying for us throughout this journey! It finalized with lots of happy tears and an overwhelming sense of joy! We will continue to blog about Claire's childhood and any future adoptions. *Darryl has already picked up the paperwork from Bethany and seems to be wanting to get back on that list ASAP! :)

Claire's birth mother...

Yesterday we had lunch with Claire's birth mom. We have an open adoption so we take Claire to visit her every 3 to 4  months or so. An open adoption allows Claire to get to know her birth mom and ask her questions as she grows up. She will always know that she was adopted and that she grew in her birth mommy's tummy. Our adoption agency primarily deals with open adoptions because they have been proven to be much better for the child than a closed adoption. Who wouldn't want to know where they came from and what their family history is? Claire will have all these questions answered and will grow up knowing the person who will have all the answers. We don't want them to be strangers and as Claire gets older it will be her choice on how often she wants to keep in contact with her birth mommy.
As we sat at the park yesterday having our picnic I started to realize how lucky we were to have a relationship with our birth mom. She is so easy going and lets us decide when and where our meetings will be. She loves receiving pictures and letters about Claire but never once have we felt that she is overstepping her boundaries. The other day she sent me Claire's first pictures! Her ultrasounds! When I got the text, I almost had a heart attack because I thought there may be another one on the way. But when I opened it, I realized it was my precious little girl. How sweet is was of her to send me these!

After visiting yesterday, I realized that our birth mom doesn't always feel accepted by her own family. Though she admits to making some mistakes in her life (as we all have), to us...she is an angel. I wish I could call her mom and tell her how amazing her daughter really is. She not only gave us the best present anyone could ever give us, but she made that choice knowing it would be the best thing for her baby. Right now we have no connections to her mother and at this time, she doesn't even know about Claire. I hope that when the time is right and that conversation happens, that she realizes how strong and brave her own daughter is and what a loving thing she did for a couple who couldn't have children. Thank you H for the decision you made and the little life that you gave us. xoxo

Claire's First Vacation

Sorry we haven't posted in a while but we have been super super busy! Now that it's summer time, I have a little more time to keep up on our blog. So now I'm going to take us back to April. We were able to take Claire on her first vacation to Yosemite. When my Grandpa died, he wanted his ashes spread in Yosemite so we promised to take a family trip each year to not only keep his memory alive but to visit one of the most beautiful places on this Earth. Darryl's sister Trisha, her husband Bryan, and cousin Audrey also came with us and we had a blast! Here are some pics of our trip.

 Uncle Bryan and cousin Audrey

 The whole gang climbing one tough Mist Trail

Gorgeous!

 The Shirley family! Look at our little Claire Bear!

 The Vine family!

 We love Yosemite!

 Trying to feed the little one and not the 4 squirrels who had us surrounded.

Audrey and Papa

More Yosemite Pics!

Here are some more pics from Yosemite!

 

The hubby and I getting ready for our first hike!

Our sleeping beauty. She did so good on all of our hikes. Thank God for the Bob!

Waterfalls everywhere! This was one of my Grandpa's favorites.

 

 It's cold out here but I'm a happy camper! 

Audrey, Bryan and Trisha looking all cute by the river.

The Shirleys. This is where we said goodbye to Grandpa a year ago. The big rock marks the spot.

I told Trisha she has to take a few pics like this. :)

Audrey and Mommy

Papa and Audrey walking along.

Such a cute pic! :)

Claire loves her baby Bjorn. I think Daddy likes it too!

Off to see another waterfall.

"Hi Mama!"

Sistas!

We felt the need to re-enact the Dirty Dancing scene! (We didn't know other people were watching us! Hahahaha!)

Standing at the foot of one of the waterfalls and getting pretty wet!

Beautiful!

Smile! Pretend you're not getting soaking wet right now! :)

So pretty!

The whole gang!

The deer just walked around everywhere! Pretty cool to see!

Trisha and Audrey taking a little walk before dinner.

Beautiful Audrey

Uncle Bryan and his girls.

Cousin Audrey's Birthday party!

So this post is just another reminder of how far Darryl and I have come on the journey to have children and how blessed we truly are. Last year my beautiful God daughter/niece, Audrey, turned one. Darryl and I wouldn't have missed her party for the world but as I sat there on the beach watching all the moms and dads with their children, it was hard to hold back the tears. Though we were surrounded by our loving family, I still felt left out and couldn't understand why we didn't have what everyone else did. I tried to remember how lucky we were and that God would someday make us parents but I also couldn't wait for what all these happy families had. However, seeing my niece so excited for her big day and all the work her Mommy and Daddy put into it made me a very proud Auntie.

Auntie and Audrey at her first birthday!

Audrey turned two this year and had a birthday party at her house. Our cousin Ryan snapped this picture and when I looked at it, I couldn't help but remember where we were last year and how far we have come. I think the smile on my face as well as my daughter's says it all. Darryl and I are finally able to experience the joy of parenthood and I wouldn't trade God's timing for the world!

Claire and her Mommy at Audrey's second birthday!

 Trisha's sister-in-law made these adorable rompers for the girls to wear at Audrey's birthday. The cousins look so cute and I can't wait to see what beautiful girls they will become inside and out. :)

Claire's First Visit!

Thanks to our good friends that work at Disneyland, we were finally able to take Claire for her first visit! Though Claire was too small for many of the rides, we still had a good time walking around, enjoying the scenery, and buying Claire her first Mickey ears!

Claire waving from the hat store!

"Whatcha doing Momma?"

"Look at me! I'm at Disneyland!"

"I said....LOOK AT ME!"

"Thank you!" :)

Yay Disneyland!

We were going to go on It's A Small World until Mommy realized she brought the good stroller and didn't want to leave it. Maybe next time! :)

Getting a little sleepy.

 

All tuckered out with her Minnie Mouse.

Thanks Tina and David for our fun day!