FOREVER

What.a.week.

Seriously it's been a crazy, crazy week. I have many posts swirling around in my mind (about our special house guest during the March for Life, the crazy thunder-snowstorm on Wednesday, and losing power - and heat! - for two days, etc.)

But, the big news is that we finalized Tommy's adoption on Friday! He is (officially and legally) forever our son!! And the fact that our assigned courtdate also happened to be the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas is like icing on the cake. I look forward to celebrating this day every year as a family!

Here we are waiting in the courtroom to be called back to the judge's chambers.

With the judge. (Pay no attention to my tear-streaked face.)

I wasn't prepared for how emotional that moment would be. I really didn't think much about it ahead of time because in my mind this day was just a formality. Tommy has been our son since day one and watching a judge sign the adoption decree didn't seem like a big deal.

But as I listened to him read aloud the words that Thomas Joseph is now legally and irrevocably our son, I completely lost it. My husband had tears in his eyes and even the judge's clerk was teary-eyed as she snapped our picture.

The judge couldn't have been nicer. He asked to hold Tommy and even took a picture of the three of us. He gave Tommy a teddy bear before we left which I thought was so sweet! We had a celebratory lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and we couldn't stop smiling all day.

Thank you Lord.