Happy Adoption Day Thomas Joseph!!

One year ago today we finalized Tommy's adoption - he officially and legally became our son.

I remember being disappointed when the court assigned us our date. We were hoping to finalize in 2010, but our date was in January of 2011. As soon as I wrote down January 28 I realized it was the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas and chills went up my spine. What are the chances? I couldn't believe it. And even though we had to wait an extra year for our adoption tax credit, I love that my Tommy's special day landed on the feast of St. Thomas.

It was a crazy week last year because of a snowstorm. We lost power and our house was so cold!

We ended up staying in a hotel near the courthouse so that we wouldn't have trouble getting there, and also so that we could have heat/power! We showed up to the courthouse on time, although everything was delayed by two hours because of the weather.

I remember thinking that this day would just be a formality, I wasn't expecting it to be a big deal since Tommy had been our son for 8 months. But I was wrong. It was beautiful to see all the other families who were finalizing their adoptions. I was overwhelmed with emotion when the judge read the official proclamation that Tommy was legally and forever our son. Everyone in the judge's chambers had tears in their eyes and he gave Tommy a little stuffed bear. It was a very special day that I will never forget.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!