Rebecca's Adopted!!

Well...we have reached the finish line, or the starting line, however you want to look at it. Court was incredible. We got the certified interpreter (yippee!!) and she was great! We had the same judge that our other daughter was adopted with, so she got to see our family come full circle. The girls CASA worker was there even though she has been off their case for years. CPS and our private agency case worker was also there. Then there was the court reporter, the interpreter and the 4 of us. It was pretty full. The judge first took us to private quarters, but it was too crowded, so we moved to a courtroom upstairs. The CASA worker recorded the whole adoption for us, she kept the camera on Rebecca's back and the interpreter so that she can watch we can all watch it back later. We took several pictures of the girls and the judge on the bench and then a picture of all of us with the judge. The interpreter came up to me afterwards with tears in her eyes saying this was the best and most rewarding interpreting job she has had in 30 years and thanked me for making sure that they had her there. She said that she has interpreted babies being born and thought that was incredible, but our adoption experience blew that out of the water. I loved her and I am so grateful that I pushed for her. Thank you Ms. Washington! You were wonderful and an answer to my prayers.

After court the girls ran out of the courthouse screaming (they had been quiet for an hour), "OH YEAH!!!" Rebecca screamed, "I'm adopted" at the top of her lungs.

Then we headed to San Antonio for a weekend at Sea World and the River Walk. The evening of our adoption we took the girls to the Hemisphere Tower for dinner. They enjoyed the scenic views of San Antonio. We crashed right after dinner at our hotel and then got up early for breakfast and Sea World. Sea World was very accomodating and the girls had a fantastic time both days! The last day it was sprinkling, so we walked down the river walk a little bit, drove by the Alamo and then headed back home stopping in Austin along the way so the girls could see the capital building. It was still raining, so we did not get out.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, thoughts and advise this past year. I am thinking of names to change the blog to, I would love any suggestions or thoughts - I haven't thought of anything that sticks really. Our family is kind-of crazy, I want it to remain about adoption and children in foster care because that's the heart of our family. One of my daughters has RAD, PTSD, ADHD, mood disorder (bi-polar), etc. and then Rebecca has Ushers Syndrome. We have a challenging family and try to face each day with dignity and faith. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks again!! SHE'S ADOPTED!!!