Emma's Gotcha Day!

Yesterday as we were driving through Kansas on our way home, we got fantastic news from Missouri!  Emma's adoption was finalized yesterday afternoon in court!  Unlike Texas, Missouri does not require that adoptive parents be present in court for an adoption finalization. 

Emma's court hearing was at 1:30 yesterday afternoon, and we were on pins and needles (actually, I was on pins and needles waiting as I was driving and Dave was taking a well-deserved nap) until we heard from our lawyer's office that Emma's finalization had gone through smoothly.  Even though Emma's adoption was not contested, we still have a huge sense of peace and relief that Emma is truly OURS.  Legally, she is now ours just as if she were our biological child.  Her birth certificate will now be rewritten to say that we are her parents, and her legal name is now Emma Victoria Rinn! 

While we have so much joy that Emma is our daughter, we also think often of the sacrifice and love of Emma's amazing birth family.  We were able to visit them on our way to Minnesota, and we are so grateful for how much they love Emma--and us, too!

Happy Gotcha Day, Emma~September 4, 2012

We love you!

For two years we prayed

for another baby to love

God answered our prayer with Emma,

more precious than we'd dreamed of... 

For us to have our Emma

is like a dream come true.

Emma Victoria, we're so grateful

God gave us the gift of you!