New to mommyhood, new to blogging :): ADOPTION!!!

Saturday November 23 was National Adoption Day and we were privileged to be able to finalize our adoption on that day! It was amazing knowing that it was only a happy day at the courthouse...and around courthouses all around the nation. It was an incredible day that we were able to share with my family and Luke's family :)

It was an emotional ~~day~~ week. Just over a week before court, I got a call from our lawyer and found out that Addison had been in Missouri illegally the entire time because our first lawyer had not gotten the permission she needed for us to have her. It was when I got that news that I realized I'd been worried the entire 6 months that something would go wrong and we would lose Addison. It wasn't a thought I always knew I had, but looking back I realized it had always been there, a weight on my shoulders. Thankfully our new attorney (who was so so great) got everything figured out within a couple days and everything was back on track.

After the L O N G journey we have had with the termination and our first lawyer, it didn't seem possible that adoption day was finally here. But it was and we were beyond excited!!
It was a quick, simple and wonderful day. Luke and I both went on stand and answered questions..I almost cried..my mom and Luke's dad both said some sweet things..and it was done. She was ours- FOREVER!! I was relieved, excited, in love with my girl, exhausted, and just so happy!

We had a lot of people praying for us during this journey. Some days I don't know if we would have made it through this without all the prayers coming our way. So, THANK YOU to everybody who prayed for us...I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted...I'll have to gather more from various family members :)