Legally at least! We got the most wonderful news today – ‘We received the final decree!’. The last legal hurdle has been crossed and Ava Chia-Wen is now legally our daughter. Years of waiting and hoping and finally we will have a daughter. It may take us 6 more weeks but at the end of it she will be with us and we are then committed to giving her the best possible life we can.
What a relief! We were getting very nervous the last few days since it was taking a little longer than expected between the first and final decree.
The gotcha day is May 23rd. Yes, that’s the day we get to hold her and bring her back with us. That’s the day our lives change forever. We are planning to travel on the 20th of May out of Los Angeles and return on the 26th. This is not going to be a sighseeing trip for us, although we will take as many photographs in as little time we have out there to create some memories for our daughter.
This is not the end of our journey but just the beginning. Until now and for the next few weeks Ava is our daughter we cannot hold or touch. On May 23 she truly becomes our daughter and will be dependant on us for a long time. This is a big responsibility and we will try to chronicle the early years of the post adoption part of the journey on this blog. I say try because we have a vague idea of what we are venturing into and have been told that time (and sanity?) is one thing we can count on not having after we become parents! *smile*
Did I mention that we are excited?
4:50 pm
Hi!
Molly here, leaving to go pick up our son Malone on Tuesday! I am so excited that you have your travel date! We recieved our date with 6 weeks to wait till we could pick up Malone too….and let me tell you the time just flew by!!!!!!! It truly will be here before you know it! We will update our blog while there so check it out if you have time!
Mol
10:24 am
HURRAY!!!
Wonderful news for you and DH ~ I am so very
excited for you both! These last few weeks are
going to be hard – hopefully you have more preparation to occupy yourselves. Take some special quiet time together and cherish these last few moments before Ava arrives!
C~O~N~G~R~A~T~U~L~A~T~I~O~N~S!!
3:18 pm
WOO HOOOOO!!! I am SOOO excited too! Praying like crazy and crying with happiness for you – this is MEANT to be! Can’t wait until you get her. God bless!!!
Lv Yvonne xxxxxx
5:35 am
Oh, wonderful! I’ve been quietly keeping up and I must tell you how truly blessed I feel for being allowed to follow along on your journey to parenthood. You are a mommy now, with all the good, not so good and ugly (trust me, potty training can be an U-G-L-Y thing!) that comes with the title. Please know how terribly happy I am for you. You deserve this!!
5:13 am
What wonderful news. You must be so excited and walking on cloud 9. Im sure the next 6 weeks will be the longest feeling too. Im praying that it will fly by for you and you have a safe and joyful trip. Please share photos with us on the board when you have time after your return.
Hugs, Hugs & more hugs.
Angie