A Pretty Cool Anniversary

It's not often that I get all sappy on this blog, but a mininal amount of sap is called for on this occasion.

One year ago, we stood before a judge and were officially deemed a family. A tall bald man draped in black looked at us, smiled and, despite the fact that my fingerprints were unreadable by the FBI, he told us that we didn't look like criminals and wished us a very happy life with our son. Mom V was there to share in the 4 minute life changing experience with us. Dude was too young to take in any of the details, but we won't ever forget it. Not that we needed a judge to tell us that we were a family, but it was sure nice to make it all legal.

I'm grateful for a lot in my charmed life...never did I think that I'd be thankful for my lack of fertility. But I am. So grateful. Our little man is the epitome of what we've always dreamed of in a kid. And I wasn't gifted with stretch marks as a result. Lots of hidden pluses in the adoption world! God has given us a sense of incredible peace with the way our family came to be. He opened our eyes to the miracle of adopting one of his children who so desperately needed us. The beauty is that we needed him just as much.

We love you little Duder. And we love that God has put a little bit of each of us in you. We can't wait to see what you teach us in the years to come! Happy Adoption Day. (Next year we'll work on all looking at the camera for our family picture).