Readoption Day!

She is mine, mine and all mine! Proud Daddy!

Happy Girls!

Whatever with the past has gone, the best is always yet to come.
Lucy Larcom

Today we went to court to readopt Elainea in the state of Utah. It was a day full of excitement for the two girls. It was clearly manifested in their behavior as they ran up and down the courtroom hall before we convened. Our lawyer had a look of panic on his face at the thought of taking these two little girls before the judge.
I called Hannah over and told her how important a judge was and how we need to respect his authority. I told her that she was to sit down at the table and color and be quiet as a mouse. I must admit that I was a little nervous on how they were going to behave in front of the judge. We went in the courtroom and I was surprised at how well behaved Hannah was. A magical transformation came over the girls and they were little angels. Imagine that from hooligans to angels in less than five minutes. Who would have thought?
The second district court recorded the adoption proceeding and gave us a copy. The judge asked us some relatively simple questions and then asked Hannah if we should keep Elainea and she very politely replied "yes". I thought we had pulled one over on the judge by sucessfully hiding the hooligan-like behavior sucessfully. He then looked at us and winked as he said, "It looks like you have your hands full." I think I turned 10 shades of red. then a sense of relief as he saw the good and the ugly. He continued to say that he thought we had a beautiful family. Then it was official, she is ours according to both countries! We then went to verify the information for her birth certificate. It has Joe and Pam Rockwell as her parents. Just think the only way people will know that she is a adopted is by seeing us all together!
We are so blessed and I can not even remember life without Elainea. Miracles happen!

Six Months Anniversary!

Hannah in her China Dress.

Elainea in her China dress.

Our Family Photo.


Twenty Little Princess Toes.


Elainea and her cousin Katy.

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan

My how time goes by so fast. I can not believe that it has been six months since Elainea joined our family. In a way it feels like she has always been here. There is no doubt in my mind that Elainea being part of our family was predestined and it was God's will to build our family using both methods.

We went to celebrate our six month anniversary by eating out at a restaurant. It was the first time we have had a nice dinner out in several months. We enjoyed ourselves and Elainea was on her best behavior so all of us got to sit through dinner. Elainea was being really cute with the waitress. She wanted to learn how to carry the tray.

We need some photos of the family to send to CCAA for our post placement study. My Aunt graciously volunteered to take pictures for us. We always manage to have a picture of three of us but never four because one of us is always behind the camera. We went to her house after spending the afternoon at the swimming pool. Well Elainea and Hannah had their fill of each other and wanted nothing to do with each other during the photo shoot. Elainea was wired and did not want to sit still for a minute. We ended up with one that will just have to do. Elainea has her tongue sticking out and she is trying to get out of my lap. Hannah is not smiling and is growing her bangs out so they are in her eyes. Oh well. Our family is not perfect, but we love each other and are happy so I guess they will just have to deal with the photo we send them.

We put the girls in their Chinese dresses and took some additional pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.