ADOPTION DAY - We are Family!!! . . . October 4, 2012

The day had finally arrived!  She came to live with us on July 24, 2011, and was officially ours (a Butler) on October 4, 2012 - a little over 14 months!  We had been through amazing, wonderful events with her, as well as some tough times, and we had grown through each of them . . . grown in understanding, grown in love, and grown in our trust in God!  The most amazing memory so far . . definitely her getting saved and baptized!  We now knew we would be her forever family here on earth and would get to spend eternity with her in heaven!  As well, still pretty amazed that she wanted to call us "mom and dad" so quickly, wanted to have an "A" name and be a part of the family in that way, and adapted to our lifestyle so well.  All in all, these past 14 months were pretty amazing!

Well, I had found our outfits (which was an incredible feat in itself - kinda like getting ready for the Christmas picture but in between seasons) the week prior, ironed everything the night before, and we went to sleep with much peace.  There seemed to be a calm over our entire house, as if so many people were praying and God said, "Peace, be still."  Scott and I awoke early to have our quiet times and get ready in plenty of time.  I was glad that I remembered it was his birthday and greeted him with "Happy Birthday" first thing :)!  Time did seem to slip by rather quickly as I wanted to be sure to have time to curl Aleeya's hair and make sure everyone else was ready.  But we made it out the door at a decent time, and off to the court house we went!

We arrived at about 8am (the time we had told our friends to meet us there) and made a quick trip to the restroom.  As we walked up the stairs, we were met by one of our dearest friends and walked down the long hallway to the turn where we would find our court room.  We stood out in the hallway and greeted everyone - wow, it felt so good to be there with so many precious friends!!!  Each of them held such a special place in our hearts!  They opened the door, and in we went.

Our family went up to the hearing table (I guess that's what you call it) through a little opening and sat down.  There weren't quite enough chairs at that table, so the boys grabbed some other chairs and brought them to sit right behind us.  Aleeya sat between Scott and I, and Ashley sat on the other side of Scott.  We had some wonderful friends taking photos and video throughout so we could remember this day forever!  I've been told that the judges really enjoy doing these finalizations, and we had a great judge!  The way she spoke was as if she knew our family well.  She said everyone's name correctly (Aleeya had been worried they would say her old name that day, but I assured her they wouldn't - I really wasn't positive, but couldn't imagine it!).  The judge noticed that the sisters had the same color shirts, and talked about how exciting this day was.  She talked about the fact that as of today, Aleeya would have every right that our other three children had in our family, and would be an heir to our inheritance.  She then asked Scott and I if we were ready to take on the responsibility of being Aleeya's parents, to which we said a resounding "YES!"  Then she asked Aleeya if she was ready to be adopted and become a part of our family, and she said "YES" too (to which I found myself taking a deep breath and feeling relief)!  Then she said, "She is officially yours, Aleeya Joy Butler!"  I immediately hugged her and then Scott gave her his big bear hug and everyone clapped.  Aleeya had asked me if I thought I would cry earlier that week, and I told her I wasn't sure.  I had come to tears so many times as I thought about the day, but it's always hard to know what you'll really feel when it's happening.  And what I felt was pure happiness and joy!  While my eyes teared up a little at times and I later saw others very much tearing up as I watched the video, I mainly felt an unending smile that day!  After the clapping stopped, there is a fun ritual that adoptive families get to do.  The judge had us all come up to her seat and said that each one of us could hit the gavel.  I guess it's our way of making it official too!  Aleeya went first, then Ashley very excitedly got it the chair and hit it hard!!!  So hard in fact, that one of the judge's picture frames on her desk fell over.  I winced, but thankfully nothing was broken.  The rest of us weren't sure if we should do it too I guess, so Scott said, "Well, I'll do it!"  Then the rest of us followed suit and enjoyed the moment!  We got a few pictures with the CA seal above us and then came down.
It was so wonderful, and a rather quick hearing!

When we came back and faced all of our dear friends, Scott asked a close friend who is our High School pastor at our church, and who also adopted a little girl this year, to lead us in prayer.  While I'm not sure if anyone got a picture or recording of that time, I will always remember it!  Later, we were told by others that they had never seen that before, but we couldn't imagine leaving that room without thanking God!!!  I wondered if it was "ok" to do that in a court room, but figured we were good since no one stopped us :)!

We headed out into the hall, got some congratulation hugs and thanked people for coming, and were taken to the office where they give you the adoption papers!  These show that she is legally ours!  Then we walked out of the court house feeling free as a bird!  Our amazing social worker was with us during the process and gave us hugs goodbye.  He told us we could start the process again in 6 months!  We were still getting through this birth, but it was fun to hear anyhow - love his faith in us!  We took lots of "FAMILY" pictures to remember this day and talked with some friends for awhile.  Everything just felt so great!

Before we left, Aleeya spent a few minutes in our van by herself reading "her story."  Our friend who took the video (and did an unbelievable job) had talked to us about some ideas to make this really special.  He was considering doing it in a documentary style and coming to our house early that morning and following us to the court house.  I wasn't sure about that since I'm not much of a morning person and didn't know how it would all work, but I had been thinking about a story that Aleeya had typed on the computer a few weeks before.  I asked if he thought it would be cool to have Scott read it and use it in the video in a story type format.  He suggested that Aleeya read it, which I thought was a great idea!  But, I didn't know how she'd feel about sharing "her story"or having to read it.  I asked her the night before and she wanted to think about it.  I had read it and realized a couple of small things (like where she was born) were missing, so I added them and printed it out just in case.  On the way there, she said she would do it.  So, the video became that much more special!  It all came together perfectly and is something we will cherish forever!

We left the courthouse and went to a nice breakfast with some or our "adopted family."  Since we don't have any family living near us, these families have become that much more close!  They have walked through and prayed for our journey continuously, and have probably heard more than they wanted to hear about all the ups and downs!  But sometimes, you just need someone to listen so you can talk it through, and it was great to always have a listening ear and know you were being prayed for!  I have to say, if you're planning to adopt, know who those people are and keep them close!  They are truly needed, and I am so thankful for them!  At breakfast, Aleeya opened some cards and gifts and seemed really touched by them.  She got a really special card with pictures of her and her close friends doing things throughout the year, a sock monkey with a sweatshirt on it that said "Butler," a special necklace, a stuffed Mini-Mouse from my parents since they live in Florida, and we gave her two charms for her bracelet we had given her on "Gotcha Day."  One was a "b" since she was now officially a Butler, and one was a dragonfly since God had used this part of his creation to speak to us and remind us of His presence so often.  As well, we got her an engraved frame like the other three kids got soon after they were born (theirs said their birthday, weight, time born, etc.).  Her frame said, "Aleeya Joy Butler" at the top, and "October 4, 2012 ~ Forever Family" at the bottom. The card we gave her was also really special and told her that while she wasn't born in my tummy, she was in my heart and that we would always love her and be her forever family!  We could tell she was touched by it!  We felt really thankful for the two families that took all of this time to celebrate with us!  What a blessing!

Although it was a Thursday and the kids were supposed to be in school, there was no way that was happening!  We spent the rest of the day together celebrating!  Since it was Scott's birthday, we headed to the closest P.F. Chang's for lunch, which was also a special memory with Aleeya since that was the first place we took her to eat.  We walked around the mall, and of course, visited the Apple store.  It was really cool that day because I could actually feel a difference in the way Aleeya and I looked at each other!  It felt so different, so much better!  I wish I had the words to explain it . . it has still left me in awe.  Knowing that you belong, and knowing that a child is yours is truly priceless!  It brings security and peace.

After lunch, we headed back toward home and watched "Finding Nemo" in 3D.  It's one of our favorite movies, and we thought it would be fun.  What Scott and I didn't realize was how exhausted we would be . . emotionally and physically.  We were wiped!  I love to see movies, but was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.  It was fun though, and we were the only ones in the entire theater!

The rest of the day was full of getting ready for the party the next day and finishing up some homework :(.  It all worked out ok, but was hard to get back to any sort of reality!  I think we did end up watching a "Little House" episode, one of our favorite family traditions in the evening, and we made a cake for Scott and sang, "Happy Birthday!"

At the end of the day, our hearts were full and we felt truly blessed!  "We are Family!" was now a true statement, and one that we celebrated with great joy! Thank you Lord for your amazing goodness in bringing Aleeya to our family, in bringing us to this day, and in promising to go with us into the future!  "We have come so far, You have been so good."