Re-Adopt Complete - CHECK!

Today was our day. The day we get to appear in court and complete our re-adoption of Gracyn. She's officially ours! Wasn't she already??! The whole morning Peyton thought we were getting on a plane and that we were headed for Taiwan. He cracked me up! Then I of course told him he'd better behave in court because the Judge can send bad people to jail. . .it worked.

Before leaving the house, we had a rough start. . .Let's see, I sprayed Anti-Itching Oil for my growing belly onto Gracyn's hair, thinking it was detangler. I almost walked out of the house without applying my make-up. (Add these to the my list from the past couple of weeks of forgetting to get on the freeway and ending up on my way to daycare (kids weren't with me or at daycare), and trying to put milk in the cupboard.

We show up on time, enter the court room, and wait until the case ahead is being completed. We witnessed a couple going through a custody battle, and the attorney representing the Mother blurts out that the Father, came raging into the home recently saying, "Shut the FU*K up!"- NICE. . .My kids are sitting quietly, eating their cheesy duck crackers, sharing a bottle of water, and then there she goes, again, repeating what the Father said next, which was "Get the FU*K out of my house." Ummmm, isn't this family court, isn't it supposed to be a nice happy day for us??? Guess not. Little did we know this case was about 4 ahead of ours, so the guard offered to have us wait outside and he'd call us back when we were up. Thank you kind stranger.

We are told to re-enter to hear a different couple battling over a home, whether or not they can re-finance, and then I kid you not, the Judge tells them they have to stop so he can do an adoption case before Noon! WOO-HOO that would be us! Seriously? Thank you Judge. Then for 10 more minutes, literally, we sat there listening to the two attorneys battle over their schedules for the next hearing. . .oy vey.

Then, we're up! He even called up Peyton and I was so proud of him. He spoke into the mic and said "Hi" - We told him to say, "Hi, Your Honor" and then we were informed that he wasn't Judge but rather a "Referee" but was qualified to make the judgment. Fine by us. Explains the cases we witnessed.

We had to answer a few questions that the Referee apologized for having to ask. "Yes, she's under 12. Yes, we're more than 10 years older than she is. Yes, we'll love her as our child, care for her, provide a home, etc. . ." Given what this poor guy hears all day, I would have emphasized the importance of the last question!

Then, CONGRATULATIONS! That was it - easy as pie. Well, then of course after he made the judgment he found a form or two that were incomplete. He asked if we had been assisted with our paperwork, and then had us fill out a couple of things, but no big deal. Forty minutes late, but only 30 minutes away from home and some paperwork to fill out, I can handle that. Nothing like being at AIT with a missing signature, a husband miles away, and being stuck far, far away from home.

 

Peyton decided he'd take the pictures, see below. Nice nose shot of Gong-Gong.

 

The guard below is the one that shared his flashlight with Gracyn and she held his hand and walked him around the court room! Nice butt-shot of Dad, Peyt. And thanks for taking a picture of my back rather than my butt!

 

Then, we were off to a nice celebratory lunch. REAL NICE place we went to. The Golden Arches. . .Ever heard of it??? We were short on time, kids were hungry, and well, it was the Fries that won her over in Taiwan, and we did have our first meal together on the way home from the airport at the same venue, so what the heck. Gracyn got mad getting into her car seat on the way over. Either she wanted the guard to join us, or she thought we were eating there. . .On the way home the nice treats inside the Happy Meals worked great! Kidz Bop CD's!! We have #2 and #3 - Gracyn loved dancing on the way home, and falling fast asleep. . .

 

What a relief. . .Re-Adopt Complete - CHECK. Are we done now??