Brielle's Adoption Day!!!!

Thank you so much for all of you who were praying for our special day!

It all went so well! 

Praise the Lord!

The weather was lovely,

our time before the judge was very pleasant,

and we had a fun time of celebration together as a family!

 

We left home at 7:30am, picked up Lydia,

and headed to Seattle! 

We planned to spend a little time on the waterfront before the 1:30pm hearing.

 

I snapped this picture the moment we stepped out of the van

while Daddy was feeding the parking meter.

 And then, right after I snapped it, a very kind lady that was walking by asked if I would like for her to snap one with me in it! So sweet!  It was a great start to our day in the big city!

We decided it was close enough to the lunch hour for us to start our trek to Ivar's.

But we discovered that the city of Seattle is doing major construction there on the waterfront,

and Ivar's was closed.  So we walked to another little food court area in the building ahead.

They had an assortment of things to choose from, so that suited everyone!

 SWEET SISTERS!

 Then it was the seagulls turn for some french fries!

 

It started to sprinkle a little,

so us girls took cover under this little cement overhang. 

 Right after I snapped the picture,

another very kind lady walking by asked if she could take a picture with me in it.

Wow, this meant a lot to us . . .

to have such nice folks stop, who didn't even know how special of a day it was for us,

and offer this little act of kindness!

They were surely blessings from God!  

   Brielle got carried a lot, as we forgot to bring her stroller.

(Actually, that's the way we like it! ;-)

Lydia lovingly made this blanket for Brielle's special day.
She gave the blanket to Brielle when we picked her up early in the morning!
Since I forgot to bring her a jacket,
it worked perfectly for keeping her warm!

 Brielle also did a lot of walking!

(She's in her "travel" dress in these pictures!

  Just wait 'till you see her special adoption day dress!  Oh my!)

 I love this picture with the shadows on the ground . . .

 

 

We all felt so HAPPY and EXCITED!

Now, on to the couthouse!

 Valerie snapped this picture below,

just before getting on the elevators up to the 3rd floor of the courthouse!  

 Brielle in the elevator!!

We and two other ladies packed it full!

 A little snapshot of Brielle's special adoption day dress . . .

 A very sweet blessing was having Stephanie Williams, from Antioch Adoptions,

 join us at the courthouse.

She has been a super special part of both Benjamin and Brielle's life.

She brought a special gift for Brielle.

A little teddy bear,

and a beautiful quilt lovingly made by a volunteer that makes them

and gives them to adoptive families.

 We had just a few minutes to wait before our turn in the courtroom!

 At 1:30pm on the dot, we were standing before the judge.

 Getting "sworn in."

 Our awesome attorney is the man on the left! 

 It was truly a very joyful few moments!

 IT"S OFFICIAL!!!!!

 After the hearing, our attorney told the kids how blessed they were to be in a large family!

SWEET! 

 Then, off to celebrate,

with Richie joining us for a delicious Chinese food dinner!

 Returning back home around 8:30pm,

we saw balloons on our mailbox . . .ahhhhh!

And the front of our house decorated too!

 And our front door had this sign and décor on it!

 What a very sweet surprise and blessing from some anonymous (temporarily) friends!

It didn't take us long to figure out who did this labor of love! 

It had to be done by one of the most caring and thoughtful families we know . . .

the Smith Family!!!!   Yup, it was confirmed this morning!

Thank you Brian, Amie, Trevor and Sarah!

  We can’t tell you how much this blessed us and how much it meant to us that you would drive all the way out here and do that for us!!!  It touched our hearts deeply to know that our dear friends love us that much to not only rejoice with us and praise God with us, but to tangibly show your support and the excitement you’re sharing with us.  

We just feel so loved and blessed to have such precious friends.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Ps. 9:1