Lydia's Story Part V: GOTCHA DAY!!

After a week of dear friends and family asking when our adoption would be final, today was finally THE DAY. April 27th, 2011...the day Lydia would officially become ours.

Needless to say, there have been a butt-load of prayers going on for our sakes! And a good chunk of them have been coming up from our own home, so Joe and I were anxious to get "the call" today!

AT 10:18 am, my phone FINALLY rang - it was Carrie. The first words out of her mouth were, "I have good news!" Before she had finished her sentence, I was laughing and crying at the same time. "Really?! That's awesome! Praise the Lord!" I gasped, and then smiled so huge I seriously thought my skin would split!

She shared with me how Heather had answered all of the questions well, and the judge was satisfied with her answers. And how, after all this time, Lydia was OFFICIALLY OURS. In the words of Carrie, "I'm so glad we persevered!!"

Amen, sister!

We mailed some pictures of Lydia to Carrie so that Heather could have them immediately following the hearing. Carrie said that Heather loved the pictures, and was also happy to have our portfolio to keep - a special keepsake of who Joe and I were before Lydia entered our lives.

After I hung up with Carrie, I grabbed Liddy out of her moses basket, and started dancing and jumping! I hugged her tight to my chest as tears streamed down my face and just kept whispering, "Thank you God! Praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus!"

Then I remembered I had to tell Joe! Ha! So I wiped my eyes and ran upstairs, bringing Lydia with me. I woke him up and then said, "It's done! She's ours! Heather did it!" Joe groggily grinned - which is the equivalent of jumping up and down for him :) - and said, "Yaaay!!" Then it was back downstairs to call the grandma's and grandpa's and aunties and text a bazillion friends and update my facebook status and blog of course!! haha :)

So there you have it - we are now, OFFICIALLY, parents!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I don't think I've ever praised God so much!! He is AMAZING!!

"My soul exalts the Lord! And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior!

For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave...

For the Mighty One has done great things for me;

And holy is His name.

And His mercy is upon generation after generation

Toward those who fear Him."

Luke 1:46-50

GOTCHA!

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!! He has done GREAT and MARVELOUS things!!

We got the call at 10:18 this morning -- LYDIA IS OURS!!!! FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER!!!!!!!! PRAISE GOD! PRAISE GOD! PRAISE GOD!!

More details to come!

(The second half of the video below is an example of how Liddy and I were dancing around the living room after we got the call!! ;) )

Just in case you were wondering...

TOMORROW is the day Heather goes to terminate her parental rights!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

We are anxiously awaiting the results and lifting Heather up in prayer as I'm sure she's nervous about it. Please join us in lifting up tomorrow in prayer -- we'll be sure to post the results as soon as we have news!!

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

As most of you know, yesterday was Heather's meeting with the guardian ad litem. Carrie called me after their meeting, and let me know that things went really well! Heather was able to answer all of the questions and the guardian ad litem seemed happy with her progress and where she's at.

The Lord worked out some other small details as well - like the fact that the meeting with the guardian ad litem was at the same court house where her termination of parental rights trial will be, so Carrie was able to show Heather the exact court room that she will be in next week! AND....while they were doing that, the judge that is presiding over her case walked by, so Carrie was able to show Heather who her judge was -- so basically, she is as prepared as she can be for next week! Praise the Lord!!

All that's left now is the hearing. April 27th at 9:30 am. I know I sound like a skipping record...but hey! It's a big day!! :) :) And assuming that all goes well, we will get a call next Wed. morning after the hearing to let us know, and then the following day we will meet with Laura to sign some final paperwork and pay the next large chunk of adoption fees. And then...she's ours - FOREVER! And NOBODY can say otherwise!!!! Woooohooooo!!!!! I am SOOO doing a happy dance right now! :)

Thanks again so much for your prayers! I'll keep you posted of how things turn out! Only 8 more days!!!! :)

Half-way there...

Just wanted to leave a quick update for all you prayer warriors out there!!

First of all...HEATHER WAS RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL ON TUESDAY!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUHHH!!!!!!!!!!

*whew*

Now that I got that out of my system......*insert face splitting grin*...........this means that we are half-way there to having everything finalized with Liddy! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) After talking to Carrie, it sounds like Heather is doing well - and keeping us and the adoption in mind, which is a positive thing for all of us.

Today she will be meeting with the guardian ad litem, who will determine whether or not she is competent enough to make this decision. Please pray that this meeting will go well. The guardian ad litem's opinion of her is huge in regards to her ability to terminate her parental rights. I'm praying that she will properly represent herself, and not have any panic attacks or anything like that.

And then, once that is done, all we have to wait for is the court date on April 27th! Yay! We're getting closer...one step at a time!

Speaking of one step at a time....I can't believe my baby turned 3 months yesterday! How time flies...

Itty Bitty Liddy

Now that the whirlwind of the last 3 weeks has subsided....I feel like we're finally getting into a little bit of a schedule with Lydia, so I thought I'd share how we're doing as a family so far.

First of all....Lydia is a fantastic baby! We are so incredibly blessed! She is very content most of the time, and has even been sleeping through the night! Wow!

She loves her daddy and will almost immediately smile when she sees him. She's begun to interact with us more when we talk to her, and she'll smile and coo back at us. Soooo fun!! Liddy loves her play mat, and has just begun to bat at the toys dangling above her, as well as study different patterns and colors.

But her favorite thing above all else, is bath time!! She's a little spa girl, and completely relaxes as soon as her body hits the warm water. :)



Smiling Spa Girl! :)

All bundled up in her baby robe! :)

As far as bonding goes.....we are totally and completely bonded. I can't imagine life without her!! She is so perfect in so many ways, and I am loving being a mom even more than I thought was possible! God is sooo good!!

Here's some more "eye candy" for you to feast your eyes on....hope your weekend is beautiful! :)

First Walk! Daddy's so proud :)

Check out this STINKIN' ADORABLE hat that Joe's Aunt Judy made Liddy....it sure keeps her warm in the wind!

This was the outfit she wore for her first Sunday at church. She was adored by everyone!

Gamma snuggles!

Taken just this morning....our lil' cupcake is gettin' big!!

She melts my heart...  :)

Update!

I know many of you have been praying for us as today was the next court date on our checklist of things "to do" before Lydia is officially ours. So here's where we're at...

Yesterday, Carrie called me and let me know that Heather was showing signs of progress - she remembers us and is still positive about the adoption plan. She reeeeally wanted to be in court today to terminate her rights so that we could finalize Liddy's adoption.

BUT...

Unfortunately, she is still not quite to the point of being released yet. She is still in the hospital - though making lots of progress! When I spoke to Carrie, she said that LSS is wanting to hang on for one more month, since Heather is improving, and see if she would be able to terminate her rights so this whole thing could finally be over! I agreed, and so this is the current plan. I'm not sure when the next court date will be, but if Heather is not doing better at that time, THEN things will be handed over to the state and we'll go through whatever rigamarole they have for us. :)

Joe and I believe this is good news, and are praying that she can fully recover and be present at the next court date.

Thank you so so SO much for all your prayers and concerns! We could NEVER do this without the Lord's strength and our AWESOME supportive friends and family! We love you all!!

**I found out today that the next court hearing is 9 am on Wed., April 27th. Please keep Heather's recovery and that date in your prayers!!**