Today, October 7, 2014 is the day that we signed the final adoption papers to make Marissa our daughter forever!  She has been on a period of adjustment for the last six months with regular supervision to see if she "adjusted" to our family.  Needless to say this time has been one of angst and turmoil.  We have loved her beyond measure and the mere thought of having her taken away was unthinkable! After all of the visits from the social worker, all of the supervision and all of the worries on our part we are now over the moon to have been able to go to Hamilton and sign the final adoption documents.  Mark was all ready for school but insisted that he be allowed to come with us as it was a "family day".  Daddy and Mommy could not argue with his logic so we called in to the school and told them that Mark was not going to be there today as he had to go to Hamilton with his parents to adopt his baby sister! Now that the documents are signed they will be sent to the court for final approval and then Miss Marissa Lynn Schell will officially join our family.  She will be issued a new birth certificate showing Douglas and Audrey Schell as her parents at birth and we will apply for her new government ID card.  Wow...we have a daughter and she is as real as the little brown eyes that are looking up at me right now! We are so blessed!  Our God is an Awesome God!


                                
 Here is our poor little girl on Feb 28, 2014 as we drove away from the only home and parents she had ever known.  My heart broke as I looked back at her. She seemed so lost and unsure of what was happening.  Our joy was tempered by knowing that this little Miss had no idea what was happening to her or why.  She was leaving everything behind and had no say in what was unfolding.  As much as she was loved there, it was also important to have her belong to a family of her very own.  We are blessed to be that family and we are much richer for her brave little heart.  She has embraced us as her own and for this we are eternally grateful.  So today there were many happy faces in Hamilton as we made this little girl a member of our family...forever. 
 This is Senta our very own angel!  A Social Worker beyond measure and a good friend.  She was able to look beyond the surface and see how much we had to offer a child and believed that this little girl should belong to us!

 On the way home from Hamilton, Marissa's emotions seemed to be all over the place.  Was she capable of comprehending what was happening or simply tired and unhappy with the long car ride?  One can never be sure what is going through their little minds.  I am pretty sure that it was simply the normal behavior of a three year old, however seeing how Mark cried his head off on first contact for about thirty seconds, I also wanted to capture the moods of this little girl.
This is what I call her "bunny nose" pose...I adore this look.  She is especially happy when she gives you the bunny nose!


 In the end it was all good.  We arrived back home with two very happy children.  Happy to have had this day together.  Momma was happy knowing that there will be many days where they will lean on each other, cling to each other, count on each other, encourage each other and plot with each other.  If nothing else they will understand each other and know that they share the story of adoption with each other.  In the days ahead there will be challenges and many, many spats but in all you can see how much they have come to love one another!


We are so blessed.  We are family.  I have all that I ever dreamed of and more!  I love these children more than I could have ever imagined.  They are my children and I am their Mom.  Amen!