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Why isn't it official?

The question of the day... week... month... year.

When are you adopting her?

We answer honestly... That's completely up to her.

Shortly follows some iteration of:

Doesn't she know how lucky she is?


Here's the short answer to that. The 14 years she lived through to get to us would not make ANYONE feel "lucky." But yes, as far as who she ended up with in the foster system, she is happy and feels something like lucky. That does not mean that she trusts the system or us enough to be stuck with us forever.

I have asked this a lot... "how long did you know your husband / wife before you got married? Was it more than a year?" Being adopted is a huge commitment. Especially for a 15 year old who has been burned. A lot. If you wouldn't be willing to marry someone in less than a year, why should a child be willing to be adopted in the same time frame? It's a choice on both sides. Just because we are willing doesn't mean she needs to accept. We love her regardless of the paperwork.

It seems crazy that it's been over a year while at the same time it feels like she's always been with us. Things aren't perfect (she did drop her phone and didn't look for it until 4 hours later by which time it had been smashed up and run over about 20 times) and we don't always get along... but we are SO happy.

God's hand has been there through this whole process. I believe He prepared our hearts for her and her's for us - and everything is made perfect in His time... not ours.

Thank you for hanging with us through this journey... it's been an amazing year.

#OChristmasThree
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