An Orphan No More!

It's official Sasha is ours!  January 4, 2013 is a day that changed our lives forever, and I have to say, I expected to feel a little something more than I did.  Now, before you start to worry, don't.  I honestly can't explain to anybody, except perhaps to another adoptive mom who has experienced the same thing, but when the judge came back in and "officially decreed" that he would grant our application to adopt Sasha and officially change her name -- there was just this sense of . . . hmmmmm . . . how can I explain this?

OK, let's go back to the very first time I saw Sasha's picture. I felt like I had seen her face 1000 times already.  On the very first day I met Sasha and she hung on my shoulder, trembly and self-conscious, I felt like she had already been there, and I'd held her up and patted her head a hundred times before.  She just felt like mine.  So, when the judge came in and gave his little spiel, I felt like . . . hmmmmm . . . still can't quite explain it.

I mean, I KNOW that it all becoming official is very important.  It's vital, of course, that she become legally ours.  But, I guess that the whole legal thing didn't mean that much to ME because I had already become her mom a few months ago.  It was just a relief, really, that the legal process was FINALLY coming to a close and we could breathe a little easier.  But, to me, there was nothing "official" about the judge's decree.  It was "official" before the foundations of the earth when God knew she would be ours -- and "official" when God wrote her name on our hearts back in August.

So, yes, Petyk Oleksandra is now officially Oleksandra Elizabeth Wylupek.  And, for that, we are INCREDIBLY thankful!!!  This journey is just beginning . . . but I want to say how proud I am of my youngest daughter.  She shows incredible courage and determination to walk into a whole new world with people who can't even understand a word she is saying!  But, she understands our love -- and she trusts that.  That's quite a thing for a 9 year old!