417 Days In The Making

I'd like to apologize for my week long absence. We drove back from California on Sunday afternoon and Monday. Yesterday I couldn't find any words to blog. I felt oddly silent as I stood in the middle of a miracle. There are so many posts percolating in my mind regarding the events of last week, the moments of the past 417 days that I never blogged about, the way God changes perspective. I'm sifting through what to say and when to say it or, perhaps, if it should be said at all. There are so many things I wish I could write but won't. I wish I could talk about the way everything went down without interrupting the privacy of certain people (Matthew's other parents, attorneys, the judge, and other professionals involved in this case) but I just can't. Only time will tell what bubbles to the surface as I survey my new surroundings. You see, everything changes when a storm blows over.

Back at the beginning of all this I wrote a post about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar tells the men that he will have them thrown into the fiery furnace if they refuse to worship his image of gold. They reply, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

We have been rescued from the furnace. The way that God brought this all about has been nothing short of miraculous. The four of us, Matthew's parents, are embarking on an incredible journey together. We are calling each other family--and meaning it. On Friday we received a text from Matthew's father. In short it said that he felt good about his decision.

Two weeks ago my hope and prayer was that the trial would be over by yesterday. I didn't know if we would ever finalize Matthew's adoption. Today we went before a judge and did that very thing. We made Matthew an official and legal part of this family. The paperwork finally caught up with our hearts! A new birth certificate was ordered with the following name:

Matthew David Eric Doozleberry*

Matthew meaning Gift of God. David meaning Beloved. He shares this middle name with his daddy. Eric meaning Always Ruler. He shares this middle name with his father. We asked him if we could use one of his names so that Matthew would carry a name from each of the fathers who love him. He chose his middle name. Today, as Matthew squirmed and giggled in my arms we promised to love and care for him forever.

Back in October I posted a video...


Here is what's been happening since... (it's really only 4 minutes and 20 seconds)


Thank you so very much for your prayers and your support. It has meant the world to us.

*Not our actual last name, thank goodness!