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Tomorrow is October 2, 2010.
Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of Cooper legally becoming a part of our family.
It would also be my dad’s 72nd birthday.
I thought I would share with you a couple of posts I wrote back in April & May. A special tribute to the history of this day in our family.
October 2 (Repost)
My Cooper came home in November of 2007. Thanksgiving that year was amazing, full of family, love and joy at this new arrival. My dad, who had been very sick for several years, had a great day, and was so excited to meet his grandson, who was just ten weeks old. My dad died just five weeks later.
![A grandpa and grandma holding their infant grandson](https://www.yellowblissroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Grandpa-Gram-Cooper-5x7.jpg)
![A dad and his adult daughter sitting together on a yellow sofa](https://www.yellowblissroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/kristin-dad.jpg)
![A grandpa sitting in a recliner holding his infant grandson](https://www.yellowblissroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Hockey-with-Grandpa.jpg)
![A grandpa sitting in a recliner and holding his infant grandson](https://www.yellowblissroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Feeding-Time-with-Grandpa.jpg)
Signed, Sealed, Finalized! (Repost)
There are many important dates in an adoption:
These are the most memorable for me, although every adoptive parent has their own. I’ve shared before about the importance of the date I chose for our finalization, but today I’m going to talk a little bit about the day itself.
I don’t remember what time we got to the courthouse, or how long it took to get inside. I don’t remember much of what the judge or the attorney said. It was an overwhelming day; I was overwhelmed with the feelings and emotions of exactly what that day meant.
I had heard stories about adoptive parents getting emotional during their finalization hearing, and I was determined to keep myself together. The judge asked if I agreed to “bestow upon him all the rights of a natural-born child?” With a lump in my throat, I nodded, yes. Then he told me we were bound together forever as parent and child, and the tears came. Nearly seven years of agony were over. I was a mother in every sense of the word.
This is the only picture I have of us with the judge. Sorry, the lighting was terrible…
![A mom holding a toddler boy, standing with grandma and an adoption judge](https://www.yellowblissroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/untitled.bmp)
There is something inherently different about adoption – with childbirth, no one asks you if you promise to love and keep your child, but with adoption, you make a verbal and legally binding commitment to the child whom you have chosen to parent. You stand before a judge, and numerous other county employees, and make a conscious decision to take on the responsibility of the life another human being.