Forever Family Day!

After Claudia dropped Taylor off with us forever!


After our embassy appointment

We are celebrating our first "Forever Family Day"! What a wonderful day it has been. We will be celebrating at dinner tonight. Terry is working so Taylor and I have spent the day playing! We will be continuing our celebration tomorrow because Terry is off from work. We will be going to a "Halloween" parade and cook out with some friends. It will be nice to just spend the day together as a family!

This time last year we were at La Casa Grande waiting for Claudia to drop Taylor off. Boy how I remember that day. We almost missed our connecting flight in Atlanta (due to a 45 minute delay in Roanoke because of fog). We ran through the airport and reached the kiosk just as they were finishing boarding the plane. I've never been on such an adrenaline kick!! Terry was sick and I was rushing to get there before they shut the doors. Once on the plane, we finally relaxed a bit.

I remember checking in to La Casa Grande and seeing our friends Jane and Drew and anxiously waiting for Taylor. He wasn't too happy to leave Claudia and it was very hard for her also. Several of her family members came with her; her mother, daughter, Angela and her brother and nephew. It was quite emotional. We had our time together and then they left. The rest of our trip was great. We spent a nice weekend with Jane, Drew, Tara, Cherish, Cheree, her mom and Jonah. Luis took us to the market after our Embassy appointment and we got a few things. It's amazing how much one can remember at times!

The past year has been full of changes for us! It's definitely not always been the easiest but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Taylor is such an amazing little fella and keeps us on our toes.

I have thought alot of Claudia today and wonder how she is doing and what she must be feeling today. She was such a loving and giving influence on Taylor. She and Blanca have definitely made one of our dreams come true!

Enjoy some pictures from last year!





Coming home!


The front of our house (the day after arriving home!)