Finally Official

It has been a whirlwind of the past 24 hours.  Yesterday morning, I woke up sick as a dog.  No worries, this always happens when we have court.  I think it has to do with our lives being torn apart in a courtroom just over 2 years ago.  But, yes, I get physically ill on court days.  I was actually so sick that I didn't not know how I was going to sit in a courtroom.

Finally, after some prayer and water, my stomach finally settled down and we headed to court.  The kids were so excited!!  My parents followed us and we met up with Brian's parents there.  Our adoption worker and foster worker were also there.  It was a great day of celebration.

We had to meet with our attorney to review what would be asked in the courtroom.  After several question the guardian ad liden (representative for the children's best interest) asked to speak with us.  While chatting with him we realized that there was a major error in the court document.  It stated that the children had lived with us since March of 2011. Those of you who know us know that the boys moved in in August 2010 and Lacy followed shortly thereafter in October 2010.  My heart immediately sank and I thought, "Oh boy, here we go.  We are going to have another delay."

The guardian was super cool about it and said that everyone makes mistakes and that it was no big deal!  Thank you, Jesus!!

We went into the courtroom and the kids were so well behaved!  We were sworn in and the process began. Our attorney asked a lot of basic questions about employment and our ability to care for the children.  Then he really put the pressure on me and asked if I knew this would forever change my relationship with these children.  That for all intents and purposes these children are now just as if they had come out of my body.  Needless to say, for those who know me well, I lost it!  I was so proud and humbled and elated all at the same time.  Of course, I answered yes through tears streaming down my face.

At that moment, next to me, I fell Brian's shoulders begin to shake...he was losing it too!  Behind me I hear the sniffles of all our family who have been there to support us through this rocky journey.  The tears did not stop until the hearing was over.

After our testimony, the guardian had to make a recommendation to the judge....wait for it....he said that we were the best placement for the kids and he recommended the adoption to go through!!!

The judge reviewed everything, and after a lot of words, she finally declared us the true parents and introduced the children legally for the first time as:

Cebastian John Corbly

Ashton James Corbly

Lacy Elizabeth Corbly

Everyone was applauding and crying.  I was finally able to turn around and look at my family, and I saw all the tears of joy on every single face (except the kids--they were trying to figure out why everyone was so sad on such a happy day!!!!!!)

Hugs were given all around and the judge allowed us to take a couple of pictures!

The rest of the day was just spent enjoying the fact that no one can ever take us apart from one another.

If you have read my whole blog, you know that this has not been an easy journey.  But those things that are worth waiting for usually aren't easy.  I have no delusions that life will be perfect from this point forward, however, I trust Jesus that we will be a perfect family for each other!

This is only the beginning of our story...stay tuned!!!

Court Date

After a long wait, we have a court date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November 30, 2012 at 9:00 am, these 3 kiddos will officially join our lives forever.  We are so blessed and thankful that they are a part of our lives.  We cannot wait to celebrate the official finalization of our adoption.

DCFS Approved

We are finally approved to adopt are kiddos!  DCFS approved our subsidy last week.  We are now waiting to have the kids served for court and then hear when our court date will be.  We feel so blessed to finally be in this position.  We truly could not be happier about everything.  It has been a very long and bumpy road, but God has carried us through!  Looking forward to having all of this finalized!!!

Update

It has been so long since I updated this blog. Sorry followers. Well, everything has changed. Parental rights are now terminated and best interest is adoption. My caseworker has gotten paperwork back from the state stating that the children are free for adoption. The final visit has taken place as well. The children are freely calling us "mom" and "dad" now. We should be meeting with our adoption worker next week. We are pretty stoked about that! Looking forward to a wonderful process and praying that all goes smoothly. Thanks for hanging in there with us!

Book Review: Out of a Far Country

I recently read the book, Out of a Far Country. It was an inspirational tale of a homosexual son and his mother with a hardened heart. Along this journey, both learn to accept one another and experience what is like to be loved by an unconditional God. I really enjoyed the book. It was such a blessing to me and a reminder that God forgives all. He waits with open arms for us to come or return to him. The story made me take a look at myself and how I am walking on my own journey.

Not Much of an Update

I have had several people asking about an update on the status with our kiddos. I haven't posted anything, because there really isn't anything to update. The only thing that I can tell you is that on September 14 we will have our big trial. This is the epic turning point of the case. So prayers for that trial please!! I'm not too concerned, but as many of you know, I will not count my chickens so to speak! Thanks!

Court Hearing Update

The first of several court hearings for termination happened on Wednesday. We did not go, because it was just an appearance hearing for the parents. Both parents, shockingly, showed. The father was extremely rude to our case worker, but said nothing about the children...sad. The next court hearing is on July 11, so we wait until then. In the meantime, we are loving these 3 kiddos. I am enjoying being home with them this summer!!! I will post again when I know more :)