First of all, Andrew was fully adopted in China and became a U.S. citizen when he stepped foot on U.S. soil. That was done. Complete. Good-to-go.
However, we wanted our state to officially "recognize" Andrew's adoption that was completed overseas so that he could receive a birth certificate from our state. This step is not necessary, but it makes life A WHOLE LOT EASIER for the remainder of his life in the United States. Thus, in so receiving a U.S. issued birth certificate, all his important Chinese paperwork would not have to be pulled out continually in the future--when he entered school, got a driver's license, went to college, got a new job.... The "Recognition of Foreign Adoption" preliminary paperwork allowed our state to have copies of all his important Chinese paperwork along with all the English translations, and from there, they did a full investigation. Upon completion of all their investigations, they have found that all Andrew's records are complete and accurate, so they in turn, they will now issue him a state birth certificate. This birth certificate will stand in place of all his previous records (as far as school, jobs, etc. is concerned). And, with that birth certificate, we will now be able to apply for a passport for him so that he can travel internationally with us.
This "Recognition" step just makes all the future steps MUCH EASIER! All his records are now stored in our state's computers so that--just like any child born in the U.S.--all he needs to show in the future is his state birth certificate and/or passport.
In addition, we only received three original Chinese birth certificates for Andrew, and that's all we will ever be able to obtain. So, if we didn't take this step and anything happened to his birth certificates (i.e. fire, flood, lost in a move, etc.), we'd have a lot of trouble--I don't even want to mentally go there....
So, with the investigation finished, we received an appointment and headed to court. After we swore before the judge that we would "never abandon, neglect, or mistreat Andrew"--as we had earlier at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, we had an opportunity to chat with the judge and get some pictures.
It turned out that Andrew's judge is the same judge Cherish's case had been assigned to =). Thus, we took pictures of Cherish with the judge on this special day as well, so that we could have memories as the children grow up.
Also, since there are so many family-law judges in this city, the judge told us to be sure to ask for her so she could be Hope's judge as well. How cool that she cares even about the "little things"!
And, by the way, on the way to court Derek played "Orphans of God" over and over again in the car as he drove us all downtown. He knew I'd be a crying mess--but quite happy. He was right! =)
At the courthouse:
Waiting for our turn with the judge:
Cherish in May 2008:
And, now:
Happy Pappy! =)
Waiting for official documents at the Family Law Department:
Afterwards, Pappy and Nanny treated us to lunch at a nearby
restaurant--which is at the top of the building.
The restaurant happened to have a view of our courthouse:
Then we had some family and a friend stop by:
(Thanks, sweet ladies!!)
(Thanks, sweet ladies!!)
And lastly, we celebrated Andrew's half-birthday.
Here's Cherish--always hugging and kissing Andrew.
A-L-W-A-Y-S!
A-L-W-A-Y-S!
Nanny makes half-birthday cakes:
Patiently waiting:
Cherish had picked out a gift for Andrew:
Look at Cherish's hand around him:
I love how excited she is for him:
It's Percy!
A car from daddy:
Jonah's "big fish" from Pappy and Nanny:
And a handmade, crocheted blanket from Grandma
(which I, unfortunately, did not get a picture of
Andrew unwrapping).
We praise God for the wonderful gift of our precious son!
He has been chosen...
for life!
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