Our Happy Adoption Day!

Ivy's adoption was finalized on Wednesday, July 1st. We've been an authentic family since the minute we took her into our arms on November 26, but the finalization hearing officially puts our names on Ivy's birth certificate and grants American citizenship. (This is a simplified explanation of the process.)

I've been focused on being a mom to our 16-month-old toddler and really didn't spend a lot of time pondering the significance of the hearing, so I was surprised at the tears of happiness that welled in my eyes as Kevin, Ivy and I sat down in the courtroom with my parents, sister, nephew, niece and Tantes Kimi & Mimi. I was glad that they were all with us on our special day. Ivy happily played with my necklace throughout the 10-minute hearing.

Judge Ebert finalized our friend Natalie's adoption in April and we were glad that we were assigned to him, too. July 1st was his last day serving as a Dane County judge before his retirement and he was thrilled to spend some of his morning with us. He gave Ivy a giant teddy bear that she absolutely adores.

July 1st is an important day; not only is it Ivy's adoption day, but it's also my parents' wedding anniversary and Tante Kimi's birthday. We gathered up our dear ones and enjoyed a celebratory lunch at our house after the hearing. There was so much to celebrate and my sister surprised us with lovely little handmade dolls that look like our family. Readers of previous blog postings might recognize the clothes that the artist painted on each doll.

To our great joy, we're an official forever family.

Thank you to everyone for all the support and love you've given us these past 14 months.

Weekend celebrations

This weekend was a celebratory one. Today is Ivy's 14-month birthday and she wore a fancy sun hat, a spring dress and her sweetest smiles.

Another birthday was observed in South Korea this weekend. Korean Buddhists marked the birth of Buddha on May 2nd. The festivities in Seoul were spectacular as thousands flocked to the streets for nighttime parades; here in Madison the three of us reveled at home in our greening backyard -- the blue sky our dome, the afternoon sun our temple bell and Ivy our baby bodhisattva.

We all come together as one, singing and dancing under a shower of pink lotus petals.

Lacking lotus flowers in our Madison garden, we painted them on scraps of fabric, made a garland and hung our cheery lotus flags on our pergola where they fluttered in the breeze all afternoon. Ivy liked watching them during our Buddha's Birthday picnic on the grass.

Afterwards we relaxed on the deck in the shade of our sun umbrella . . .

. . . laughing and finding joy on this enlightened day.

We hope that you've all had a peaceful weekend.