It has been almost two years since Aubrey and I decided to pursue adoption. We have learned much during the process and it has taken quite a bit longer than we expected. Our adoption has been an “at risk” adoption. What that means is that there was difficulty in getting documentation from the birth father, which in turn meant that there could have been a contestation of our adoption if the birth father showed up and decided that he wanted the baby. We were blessed to be able to accept our little girl when she left the hospital. In fact, we were there for the birth and stayed with her and the birth mother for the entire time. It was an amazing and trying experience. Since then we have loved her and raised her as our child. However, during this period she has not legally been our child. In November of 2016, the termination of parental rights hearing took place. We figured it would be a short wait after that, but God often lets us wait beyond what we think is the correct waiting period.
All that said, our finalization hearing will be in less than three weeks! At this point, there really is not much risk. Our case has been fully reviewed and the hearing is a little more than a formality. It will be a day of joy and tears, of many pictures, and a celebration with our family and friends. We look forward to sharing pictures and videos with you all (without hiding our little girl’s face). It has been a long journey and we are so thankful to God and to you, our friends and family who have supported us in countless ways.
Thanks be to God!