Happy 'Ian'niversary!

May 25, 2010 was one of the most special days of our little family's whole life. Not only was it me and Mike's 10th wedding anniversary, but it was the day that we were given to go to court and FINALLY be able to adopt our sweet baby Ian.

It was our "Ian"niversary.

We woke up that morning feeling like it was the best Christmas morning of all time! We were filled with excitement and anticipation, but also peace and calmness. This was the day we had waited so many months, and even years for, and we were ready!

It was a beautiful morning. After several days of rain and snow, we woke to a bright sun and a warm breeze. We opened the windows to listen to the sounds of the morning coming alive, and tried to soak in all of the feelings we were experiencing. My wonderful Mikey and I were able to spend some quiet and reflective moments together before Ian woke up. We took our time getting ready, and as we did, we talked about our family, the miracles that had brought us to this day, and the love that had begun 10 years earlier. It was a special and sweet couple of hours - our last as a just a couple. Very, very soon we were going to be a family!

We arrived at the courthouse about 30 minutes early. Our friend Duston Todd met us there to take some photos for us. We have known Duston since we were kids, and we were SO grateful that he was able to be there with us to create beautiful images of our beautiful day. (I promise to post the pics as soon as I can - I know they are going to be amazing!)

After the photos, we went inside to meet with our attorney. When we rounded the corner, and entered the hallway leading up to our courtroom, we were met by a sea of loving friends and family. There were more than 30 people there to support us and our little family. It was very humbling, and we felt honored to be so loved! Our big and loving family is one of the many reasons Ian's birth Mom "E" knew that he needed to be with us. She knew that he would not only have two extremely loving parents, but he would have a small army of family to love and cherish him for the rest of his life. It was a great moment, and one I hope Ian will treasure when he is old enough to understand.

We met with our attorney and our caseworker for a few moments in a small conference room to go over some last minute paperwork. Then it was time.

One by one, our troops filed into the courtroom of the honorable Judge Andrew Valdez. He is the same judge who has presided over all the hearings in our case, and knows us well. We LOVE him and are so grateful he was the one picked to fight for our son and help us become a family. He is a great man!

Mike and I had been in this courtroom several times before, and each of those times has held a lot of emotion for us. This day was probably the most emotional of all of them for us, but for far better reasons. This time, instead of taking our usual seats in the audience, Mike and I took our seats next to our attorney. We grabbed each others hands, offered a quick smile, and held on tightly as the proceedings began.

We were sworn in and Judge Valdez then asked everyone in the audience to stand, state their names, and say how they were related to our little family. My tears started quietly falling as I watched one beloved family member or friend after another, stand and proudly announce "I am Ian's Grandma/Grandpa", "I am Ian's Aunt/Uncle", "I am Ian's cousin" or "we are dear friends of this wonderful family". We are SO blessed. Thank you everyone who was there with us that day. We could certainly feel your love!

Then the questions began. We were asked several questions pertaining to our age, our financial stability, our relationship, etc. but the one I remember the most was the question of "Do you accept this child as your own natural child"? We were asked if we would love him and care for him as if he were our own. Through tears and sobs, we of course said YES! In our hearts, he has been our own child since he was born, but that day it was finally going to become legal. The relief began flooding in - and with it, the tears.

I couldn't contain my emotions as our attorney asked us to explain how we have bonded with our son and what having him in our home these past 16 months has been like. How do I put that into words? The feelings I have for this amazing son of mine go so deep, that you have to look at my soul in order to fully understand. How was I going to condense that into a brief answer for of a courtroom full of people?

I think what came out of my mouth was something like this. "It is hard to be a foster parent, because I felt that he was my son from the first moment I saw him, and yet I didn't know what the outcome would be then. He has brought so much into our lives and our family and we love him SO much! (Ian was by now off my lap and playing with our neighbors kids and our nephews, so I added...) As you can see, everyone loves him and he has been a huge and important part of our family all along. We just love him." That probably isn't exactly what I said, or really even all that close, but so much was racing through my heart at that moment that I am just glad I was able to get anything out!!

Next it was time for our cute caseworker Tim to testify to what he observed over his time with our family. He was very sweet and mentioned how "the love and the bond between Ian and us was obvious." It was very touching.

Judge Valdez then read through our petition, stated his findings, and announced that Ian was now our son.

It was a beautiful, beautiful moment - one I will certainly NEVER forget!!

My husband put it best, so I am going to steal a little excerpt from his own blog and paraphrase for you a little bit about what May 25 means to our family.

"Ten years ago to the day, my “Beautiful Bride” and I uttered two small phrases, “I Do” and we became one unit - a Mr. and a Mrs...

...I am honored to have such a great, wonderful person by my side. Someone to hold hands with and enjoy the ride as we travel through the adventure of life. And yet today as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, our adventure is beginning yet again. Together the two of us will stand in front of many to utter the same two small phrases, “I Do.” To which our unit of two will become three."

I couldn't have said it any better! Happy "Ian"niversary Babe!!!