The adoption is DONE!!!

It was already done, really. Coen has been a US citizen since he step foot on it's ground. We adopted him in Ghana and he has legally been ours since March 17th and a citizen since September 7th. By choice, we readopted him in the US today. There are a few reasons to do this, but the primary one for us is that it will give him a US birth certificate.

We have his birth certificate from Ghana, but sometimes you need a certified copy (like if he ever wants to adopt a child from Ghana - he'll need a certified copy dated within 3 years if things are as they are today). We didn't want to risk his needing one and having to somehow contact someone in Ghana in an office that currently doesn't have an electronic filing system and might not have any record of him.

So today, we went before a very nice judge and completed the process. The judge wanted to stress the importance of our family and encouraged us to realize the responsibility we have not only as parents, but to our community and nation. He applauded us for being a committed couple that seemed to value each other and our family. He made Chris promise to say he loves me every day (he already does at least twice) and to thank me for being his wife before going to bed. He then added that I should follow suit. :)

I can only imagine the sad cases that this man faces as a family court judge. I am so incredibly blessed to be married to such an amazing partner and it was nice to be reminded that what we have is special and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Without further ado...