Our Unexpected gift...

I thought that I had finished blogging about our growing family, but God had a different plan.

We are expecting baby #5!!!

Here is our miracle baby's story:

These past few weeks I haven't been feeling well and really couldn't figure out why I couldn't kick the nauseous feeling.  I just kept thinking maybe it is exhaustion.  Then, over this past weekend it seemed to get worse and I started to have pregnancy thoughts.  However, I new this wasn't possible as I had  surgery last April to close my tubes.  In July an x-ray was performed and the surgery was confirmed successful.  Finally, Monday afternoon I decided I just needed to rule it out.  I couldn't believe what I saw when I read the test.  The shock, the tears, 5 kids, starting over and you have got to be kidding me were my first reactions.  Fortunately, Joel is amazing and could help me calm down.  After the panic came the worry.  If I am really pregnant is the baby ok?  I didn't sleep well that night and prayed and prayed that I could get in to the doctor in the morning.

Fortunately, the Doctor's office did call me back Tuesday morning and got me an appointment in the afternoon.  They were also in shock for us and wanted to make sure everything was ok.
Tuesday my heart was heavy and I was blessed by this quote that was sent to me...

"Trust and thankfulness will get you safely through this day. Focus on Me, entrusting your concerns into My care."

When the Doctor (the very one that confirmed my surgery successful) came in the room I could tell he was hesitant not knowing what to expect from us.  Joel and I were smiling and laughing, so he quickly relaxed and these were his first words...
"Congratulations you are our first failure!"
All Joel and I could do was laugh.

He proceeded with a sonogram and right away there was our baby, right in the correct place.  I felt so thankful... and then we heard the heart beat.  There was our unexpected gift!  I really was pregnant again.  I am 7 weeks due October 10th.

Our family is very excited and though this is definitely a life changer, we know it is a blessing from The Lord!

We would totally appreciate your prayers:
For a healthy baby and pregnancy
For me to not be fearful and to have strength each day as I am not feel well
For Joel as he has a very full plate (preparing for Mexico) and now I'm not 100%
For our sweet kids to have patience as they are so very excited
For peace as we adjust and plan for the arrival of our baby

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you" 1 Peter 5:7

Thank you again for being apart of our journey as we go from a Forever Family of 6 to a Forever Family of 7!

Memories...

We are excited to share the amazing pictures that Grover Style Photography http://www.groverstyle.com/ captured of our adoption celebration at the court house.  Thank you so much Amber for using the talents the Lord has given to you to bless our family with an incredible gift.

Check them out!
http://gallery.groverstyle.com/Our-Galleries/Family-Galleries
Scroll down and click on Boone Family Adoption
Password is: Savannah (make sure the "S" is capitalized)

Enjoy our video (just in case you missed it) of this amazing moment captured by our close friend at  http://jeradhillphoto.com/.  Thank you so much Jerad for the precious gift you have given to our family and especially our daughter. She will forever be able to see the joy and celebration we experienced the day she became officially ours!

Boone Family Adoption Hearing on Vimeo

Love The Boone Family... our adoption journey is finished!

887 days... WE ARE FINAL!!!

Our adoption journey began August 5, 2009...
Our paperwork was completed August 10, 2010...
We got the call for Savannah October 13, 2010...
We met Savannah "our sweet girl" on November 1, 2010...
Savannah came home on November 5, 2010...

And....
Monday, January 9, 2012 all 6 of us sat in court together, surrounded by family and friends as we signed our final paper and heard the greatest words come from the judge's mouth,
"Savannah is officially yours!"

My eyes were filled with tears of joy!  I was finally, officially and forever Savannah's Mom!

Enjoy our video of this amazing moment captured by our close friend

Boone Family Adoption Hearing on Vimeo

As I walked out of the courtroom, I held my daughter's hand tighter then ever!  The fears were gone, the what ifs disappeared and I looked her in the eyes and with absolute certainty I told her.. I am your FOREVER Mommy and you are FOREVER my Savannah Joy Boone!  It was amazing!

We celebrated after at IHop for breakfast and then headed home to decorate for her adoption party.  It was a "Sweet Love" theme with a picture timeline of her last fourteen months with us, as well as a candy buffet and cake pops!  She was beyond excited.

We get to move forward... 

I no longer have to write two names, show documentation I have legal care of her, call the social workers when we are leaving town, only leave her with a babysitter for less then 4 hours, fax medical check-ups, document any medicine she takes, keep her picture off the internet, answer any questions, etc... The Lord has given us the most incredible gift, we are her Dad and Mom.

Her birth certificate reads:

Savannah Joy Boone

Name of Father: Joel Boone

Name of Mother: Sarah Boone

The Lord has been faithful to complete our family in a beautiful way and I wouldn't trade any of the 887 days!

We couldn't imagine our family any other way!

Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, hugs and celebration you have shared with our family as we walked through our journey of adoption.

Court Date!!!

The first couple weeks of December were a roller coaster of emotions for me.  We were told that "the" papers we signed would be filed with the court the first week of December and then our finalization court date would be a week or two after.  Everything was to be done in December.  I was so excited and SO ready!!  It has been a long and emotional 14 month pregnancy/labor and I was ready for the delivery:)...

Unfortunately, everything didn't go as planned.  "The" papers took longer and then "the"papers took longer and then there was one paper missing... I am really done with papers!
We were now waiting for one last paper from the county Savannah previously lived in and they hoped to release it to our social worker by December 13th... hoped... ugh...

I found myself extremely anxious, frustrated, discouraged and bitter.  I didn't want to wait anymore.  I wanted to drive and release the paper myself.   I had a plan and it wasn't happening.  I didn't like that and I didn't understand why. I am thankful for my sweet hubby, friends and family that listened to me, prayed for me and reminded me that the Lord was in control and that His plan was the greatest even if I couldn't see it.  Each morning I would ask the Lord for patience, some days were better then others and some days I had to ask a 100 times. I began to feel His peace and release my plans.

On Friday December 9th I got the call that "the" paper had been released (music to my ears), but it couldn't be faxed, it would be mailed.  Ahhh... really?  Ok, I could do this.. waiting that's what I do.  I was told that by the middle of the next week everything would be filed.  I was praying for a miracle, that "the" papers would be ready Monday and that there would be one more court date available in December.

SURPRISE... Monday morning (December 12th) we got the call that "the" papers were here! Our Lord is amazing! "The" papers were being hand delivered to the court to be filed and I would receive a phone call in the afternoon with our court date.  I knew chances of a December court date were slim and I was prepared to hear January, but I was still praying.

Around 2:00 our social worker called with the date...
January 9th!!!

The Lord chose not to answer my prayer for December, but finally WE HAD A DATE!  I was thankful for  His peace.. it was filling my heart and I wasn't disappointed.  He answered my prayer for "the" papers to arrive on Monday and I didn't want to forget that! Finally, we had an end date to all of our waiting!

Our 2-1/2 year adoption journey will come to an end in 10 days.. what a journey it has been..
from Day 1 till Day 887 we have experienced every possible emotion, but through it all we have experienced the Lord's perfect plan in bringing our daughter home.  Thank you for all of your prayers... what a blessing they have been to Our Forever Family!

Now it's time to plan our Adoption Day Party!!

Our Family 3K Fun Run

Our Adoption Signing celebration continued...

Just an hour after signing "the" papers, we headed down to Monterey and Pacific Grove for a night away and to participate in a 3k Family Fun Run for Atheletes for Adoption.  When we arrived in town, we went to Chili's for dinner and were joined by my parents, Joel's parents, my brother's family and Joel's brothers family.  It was so fun to all be together for my birthday meal!  After dinner we all headed back to our hotel in Pacific Grove and tucked  into bed.

Saturday morning was the 3K Run.  We had so much fun getting ready.  The kids were so excited to put on their AFA shirts and bib numbers.  They were ready for the race.  As we walked down to the start line (all 17 of us) the day was beautiful, there were lots of people and so much excitement.  

We arrived at the start line a few minutes early so we got to talk with other families that were there running for athletes for adoption as well as take lots of pictures.  At the 5 minute warning they played the National Anthem.  As I stood there listening to the song and looking around at the 17 family members there with me, my eyes filled with tears.  Today my family joined with me in my passion for adoption and my daughter's journey. They booked hotels, paid race registration fees, drove hours and set aside time in their schedules to be here with us.  I had never felt so supported and loved.  It was overwhelmingly awesome!  My family rocks!  

The gun fired and the race began... 

and for us it wasn't about the race but about the fun.  We ran for about 1 minute then chased, played, laughed, walked and talked all along the ocean.  It was such an amazing hour.  Yes, it took our family just over one hour to go 2 miles, but we finished!   I think we literally were the second to last group.  However, that hour will forever be a sweet memory.  Our families had the best conversations over those 2 miles and my heart was so happy watching all the kids play together.  I am so thankful it took as long as it did!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to our friends and family that sponsored us for the run!

We raised $500 for God's Grace Adoption Ministries which will  help bring children home to their forever families! 

Also our family won for greatest family participation for The Athletes for Adoption Team

http://athletesforadoption.org/twitter/705/ (click for photo)

Add Todd and Tatyana's daughter, Katya got youngest participant

http://athletesforadoption.org/twitter/703/ (click for photo)

A Burden Lifted...

We were always told that Savannah was here to stay, she wasn't going any where and that no one would move her... but it wasn't till after signing "the" papers that I realized I had those thoughts in the back of my mind.  As I look at my precious daughter, I realized that burden had been lifted and I could squeeze her that much tighter.  We are one step away from officially knowing that no one could ever take her from us.  I can't wait for her Adoption Day!!!

Please join with us in prayer as we wait again for our court date...

Happy 31st Birthday...

November 18th was finally here... I couldn't wait for this day, yet I had guarded myself just in case it didn't happen.  Obviously the day would happen, as well as my birthday, but I was anxious for us to sign Savannah's adoption papers.  However, knowing that it could quite possibly be postponed, I tried once again to not have high expectations... knowing I would ball my eyes out if the date was moved.   Right at noon our social worker arrived, so we were yet another step closer.  I kept my phone close just in case Savannah's social worker got lost or needed anything and then about 12:15 she arrived!  I think I could of hugged her forever (she had the papers we needed to sign).  As she came in she said, "There is  just one problem, I made a mistake..."  at these words my heart dropped to the floor and I could almost feel the instant tears, "I forgot a blue and black pen", ohh huge relief, I had plenty of those to share.  We all gathered around our dining room table as she explained each paper in this massive book (basically Savannah's life story before our home).  I couldn't stop looking at the cover.  It was the first time we saw her forever name on an official document.  It was beautiful!  We had a signing party as all four of us passed papers around placing our signatures in all the right places.  Savannah sat right on my lap as she was so happy for Mommy and Daddy to be signing her forever and ever  I will never have to move again papers.   The process took about 45 minutes and we thanked the social workers for all they had done and then they were on their way to there next appointments.  As the door closed all I could do was smile.  I felt so giddy.  We were no longer Savannah's foster parents.  We had signed the papers to officially be her forever Mommy and Daddy.
We were finally in adoption placement!! It was the best birthday present ever!! The Lord had answered my prayer!!

Family Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated our First Family Birthday!!  It has been exactly one year since Savannah came home and we became a forever family of 6!!

We took the kids out for a very special "fancy" dinner at Dewz and we had the most incredible time.  Sometimes, I find myself leery of having expectations for special moments so that I am not disappointed, but last night couldn't of been more beautiful.  All 4 kids were so well behaved and loved choosing fancy appetizers, really yummy big kid dinners (prime rib), and huge desserts.  Joel and I felt so blessed to be able to have a night to spoil the family.

While we were at dinner Joel asked each one of our children to share special moments that they remember from this past year... Here is a glimpse

Gavin- Seeing sissy for the first time, Wagon Train Summer Camp and camping with our friends The McCay's and The Vasquez's
Merek- Discovery Kingdom, that sissy got to go to the Beach House and The Boardwalk for the first time (our annual vacation of many years) and bobbing for apples
Eiler- The Hoe Down and Camping
Savannah- Disneyland with Daddy and Our Family Birthday

Our evening ended with picking up our "race" shirts for Athletes for Adoption, so that we could wear them today in support of Orphan Sunday.  We were one "Big Red" family at church today and we look forward to doing our Family 3K run on November 19th in Monterey.  I am so excited that my parents, my brother's family, Joel's parents and possibly Joel's brother Todd's family will be joining us in the race! We are thankful we can join with others in raising money for God's Grace Adoption Ministry so families can receive financial assistance for adoption expenses and children be united with their Forever Families!

Here is a link if you are interested in sponsoring our family in the 3K Run
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/boonefamily/bigsur?fge=ask

and a link to Athlete's for Adoption
http://athletesforadoption.org/

as well as a link to God's Grace Adoption Ministry
http://ggam.org/

When I think of last night, I smile...
I am thankful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to be a Mom to 4 precious children.  May I bring the Lord honor and glory and would He find me faithful as I raise them.