SO! What is new with our little family??? Only the most exciting news in the whole world! After MONTHS of waiting- Elijah McCarrey is OFFICIALLY ours!! YAY!! We recently finalized his adoption in court and took him to the Temple to have him sealed. It was wonderful- needless to say- I was a sobby mess most of the weekend. BUT! I have lots of pictures that I thought I would share. So- here ya go.
These first couple of pictures were at the courthouse when we went to finalize the adoption. It was awesome. When we went to court for Kennedy we actually were in open court- with the judge in his formal robes and the whole works. But when we got to court to finalize for Elijah- we were actually escorted into the judges private chambers and we did everything in there. Which I think I much preferred. It just made it feel like more of a celebration. We still had be sworn in and everything had to be done formal and right- but afterwards we were able to visit with the judge and she wanted to hold Elijah and we were able to just celebrate with our new little family and the judge and our lawyer. (Who was great by the way. We used David M. McKonkie- for anyone out there who is looking for an adoption lawyer.) The kids were really good- and they even gave us a videotape of the whole thing- so that was kind of cool. Anyhow as soon as the judge said- "It is hereby ordered that Elijah is officially declared our legal son" I misted up and started crying and then the judge starting scrambling to find tissues. It was just neat. So wonderful to know that he is ours. That last picture is of our new completed family and the Judge that presided for us.
This next set of pictures were taken the next day after we were sealed. It was really nice. Very, very small and quiet with just our little family. We had a rough time getting there- and it seemed like everytime I turned around we had forgotten one thing or another- but once you're inside the Temple all the craziness was forgotten. It was so fun for me- because I had this sweet little lady escort me to the Brides dressing room- and I got to be pampered and spoiled by the sweetest little temple workers. I really did love it because it was so fun for me to sit and watch the new brides as they were getting ready and it was like reliving my wedding day. I even found myself getting a little nervous and so much more excited to see my sweet husband at that altar. I have said it before- getting kids sealed totally ROCKS! It is even better than getting married because you get to repeat the exact same awesomeness- but with your sweet babies by your side also. What an incredible physical reminder of forever families! The kids both looked so darling! And considering the fact that Elijah hadn't had a nap yet that day- he did AWESOME! Not a whole ton of giggles and grins- but he didn't scream either- which I was SO grateful for. After the sealing we got to go outside and take some pictures which was kind of fun. Kenna seemed to love all the attention and really got into the fact that everyone thought she looked like a princess. That's my little Diva. Elijah just liked being outside- and I was just so happy to be with my new forever family.
And that's it! Our first official photo of our real, true to life, awesome, crazy, LEGAL, Forever Family! Woohoo!