a full heart and a forever day

today is the day we've been waiting for since we brought haven home. our forever day. this morning we headed to the courthouse to finalize all things adoption. it's official-- haven's stuck with us as parents forever! it couldn't have been a better morning. our lawyer was a pleasure to work with and the judge was great too. friends of ours were with us at court as their daughter's adoption was finalized too which lessened the scariness of being in a courthouse and increased the celebration all the more. they're our friends that kinda 'got us into all this' and we are so thankful that they were present to witness the last piece of the adoption pie. 

my heart is so full. i wept the other night putting haven to bed. i am so rich, so blessed. God's mercy is too much for me to grasp. long before jon and i first conversed about making adoption a priority when we were dating, God had this day ordained. psalm 113:9 says 'he gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. praise the LORD.' how good is God? and how worthy of my worship? where h's birth was a bit of a whirlwind (as most baby's are), this event has been much anticipated and easier to soak in. this day will i treasure up in my heart as mary did with the magi. 

here are some pictures from this morning in random order. tonight, we're celebrating with friends who are more like family over waffles and ice cream so more pics to come!

'z' is for zila!

our forever family

getting sworn in ( on a real bible and everything! just like matlock...)

haven did great through all the questioning and such-- she only spoke up a few times :)

the judge was so kind. word is, that he's retired and only comes back a few times a month for 'fun days' like finalizing adoptions. he thought haven was so cute and might have been a little distracted by her! in this picture, he's asking what she thinks about all of this and of course, she babbled right back!

this is just after the judge announces us as a family and declares haven's full name. jon got a little choked up and everyone cheered even hae!

our forever family with the judge

daddy and haven outside of our house with a pink 'h' to commemorate

oh. funny story. jon was in charge of dressing h this morning so that i could have a bit more time in the bathroom getting ready. no big deal, right? i, as a girl, typically take longer than he in getting ready PLUS i had already laid out haven's little dress, tights, shoes, and sweater... so, piece of cake (in my mind). :) i come out of the bathroom ready to jump in the car to see my baby girl playing on the floor with naked little legs and the sweater UNDER her dress. ??? jon says he didn't see the tights(who wants to bet he did and had no idea what to do with them!) and to his credit, she'd never worn a little cardigan before. later, in the car, i noticed jon didn't do anything with his hair OR shave OR grab a coat/blanket/anything to keep our child warm on the day a JUDGE decides if she'll be ours forever. when i asked about it, he puffed "i got stressed dressing the girl and forgot all the other stuff!" i just laughed. next time, i'll dress girly and let jon take his time in the bathroom. :D (*haven never felt the cold as jon gave up his jacket to bundle her in. triple bonus points for the husband!)