Complete

Seven months minus one day since we heard about our precious boy; six months and sixteen days after he came home, we got that special phone call from the lawyer's office to say that the adoption order has been granted!! I nearly cried - got pretty choked up. I can't say I expected that response from myself, but I guess this is, and always will be a sensitive spot for me. Our sweet boy is now legally our son, and we are so excited that the process is complete! To set the record straight, it's not that as of Wednesday we view him any different, he's been our son in our hearts since day one, but there's just something special about it being finished!
Adoption has a bitter-sweet element to it though, and while we are thrilled to have this little boy and call him our son, we also remember his birthmom. {I once came across a blog where the writer beautifully acknowledged her daughter's birthmom, and (with her permission) I too want to do that - though I'm not such a skillful writer.} We think of her as we celebrate, knowing that she very likely feels her loss each and every day. We hope that she will always know that she is a very special and important part of who Justin is, and that she holds a special place in our hearts. We can not describe what an honor it is to be given a child through adoption; to have the opportunity to meet Justin's birthmom, and have her ask us to be the parents of her little boy. This selfless act of love that she made for him (and for us) is something we will always respect her for. Despite other "options" she chose to give Justin life, and we are forever grateful to her for that and for entrusting her son to us.

Again, we realize God's hand in bringing this all about, and we praise Him! And pray that He will help us to raise our son to His honor and glory.

We celebrated this special event in typical Martin-Wieska style: with ice cream. And, while Justin was and is completely unaware of the end of "the process" he thoroughly enjoyed the treat :)