Farhan, Ayoub and I were in a car in Virginia when we got the news that Ayoub’s US adoption was finalized, signed, stamped and sealed by a judge here in our little town in VA. Alhamdulillah! The finalization also means that Ayoub is now a US citizen. It was a unique independence day of sorts for our little family. I was hoping that it would happen around July 4th and it did!
We had actually forgotten about the fact that we were waiting to hear something from the lawyer. This process is a far cry from the Moroccan one where we were literally holding our breath until the adoption was complete. Ayoub and I went to the lawyer’s office to pick up the paperwork and of course I started crying when it was handed to me! There was a typo on the final order but it can be easily corrected (some info was incorrect). No big deal–the judge signed the paper and that was the most important thing!
This has been a long time coming and it feels fantastic to be able to check this off our steps list. WOW! Wow! Wow!
People have said in the past that these legal hurdles are no big deal and that once you lay eyes on your baby, he is yours in your heart. I absolutely agree. At this point it doesn’t even feel like Ayoub was adopted. He IS ours and one of the best things that has happened to me and us. However, this is part of the process and we are making progress and it feels great. It’s easy to get caught up in the mundane tasks of raising a child but it’s also important to stop and remember how precious this child is and how hard we worked to have him in our family. This is a quiet reminder.
As I was rocking him to sleep I just gazed at his lovely face and thanked God for the opportunity to be his Mama. Alhamdulillah.
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