Decree of Guardianship... and Pictures!

Most of our adoption process has been an exercise in patience.  But in an unprecedented turnaround, we found out on Monday that Vera’s Decree of Guardianship arrived – a whole month earlier than expected! 

Explaining what this means and why it is significant is a little complicated… stick with me here for a minute: 

Even though Vera was placed directly with our adoption agency upon her release from the hospital, her birthparents were still her legal guardians for a bit – until 30 days after they each signed the “termination of parental rights” paperwork.  After those 30 days were over, they could no longer change their minds and decide that they wanted to parent Vera (you may recall that July 27^th was that magic date).  At this point, the risk of the adoption being disrupted was over (whew!).  Once July 27^th came and went, our agency was able to officially petition the courts for official guardianship of Vera.  Usually this process takes about six weeks, so we were shocked to hear that it was done in only two weeks!

What does this mean?  Well, our adoption agency now has official legal guardianship of Vera.  They have delegated her daily care to us and we are, practically speaking, Vera’s “official” parents.  However, guardianship will not legally be transferred to us for another six months or so.  Between now and then, we have to work with our lawyer to get her a new birth certificate (with her new name) and a social security number, petition the court for a date to finalize the adoption, etc.  At some point (likely about six months from now), we will go to court and stand before a judge and legally adopt Vera.  This is all good news – there is no more risk of the adoption being disrupted, and we simply need to finish out the final parts of the legal process over the next several months.  Hooray! 

Here are nine of our favorite pictures starting from when we first met Vera when she was one week old, up through today (when we tried on her baptism dress - adorable!).  At the end, there’s also a video included at the end that shows you her happy personality – if you’re on facebook, you likely saw it posted there earlier this week.  :)

Risk Over!

We received GREAT news today – news that we have been anxiously anticipating for over four months.  Vera's "risk period" is officially over!  This means that we no longer need to worry about her being removed from our home and returned to one of her birthparents or to foster care. 

We still have about six to nine months of completely normal legal stuff to do before we go to court and formally/legally adopt her, but that is all part of the normal adoption process.  The tenuous legal situation that caused her placement with us to be classified as “high risk” has come to a close.  God is good all the time and no matter what, but we are especially basking in his goodness right now! 

PS:  We still can't post her picture on social media – we need to wait for the official "decree of guardianship" paperwork, which should arrive in approximately four to six weeks.  In the meantime, if you’d like to see a picture, email jeannineshannon@gmail.com or text 301-613-5790 and we’ll send you one that way.

Four Week Update

Vera came home four weeks ago.  She is now 15 weeks old (about 3 ½ months). 

Everyone is adjusting pretty well.  The first few days, you could tell that she would wake up thinking, “where am I?”  And we had to learn what to do to comfort her, which involved a lot of trial and error.  After about a week, though, she seemed to settle in and feel comfortable with us and in her new home.  She’s doing well bonding to us; she is content in the arms of others, but looks around for us and watches us to make sure she knows where we are. 

We had our first pediatrician appointment a week after she came home, and she is very healthy and was 11.5 pounds.  We go back again next week for a check-up. 

We have had lots of visitors, which was a blast!  Grandma and Grandad Olie came to visit the first weekend Vera was home.  Grandma and Grandpa Shannon came the next weekend, and then my best friend, Kate, and her husband came down the next weekend.  Over the next week, she will also get to meet her Aunt Ashley and Uncle Jon and cousins JJ and Ethan, her Great Grandma Audrey, and her Uncle Collin!

Vera and I also enjoyed two baby showers hosted by my church and my colleagues.  We left both with a full car and even fuller hearts.  Speaking of colleagues, yesterday was my last day of work after 11 years at Washington Christian Academy.  The past two months, I have been working part-time and mostly from home, which has served as a good transition for me.  Yesterday, I went in to work for the last time to finish up a few things and turn in my keys.  I was so blessed by my mom staying home with me as a kid, and am glad that I can do the same for Vera.  We are nervous about finances, as they will be tight, but feel blessed to be able to give it a try for as long as we can make it work!

The legal situation is ongoing, but there has been progress!  We now have a date by when we will know for sure whether or not Vera will be able to remain with us.  On July 27^th, we should know something for sure.  Vera’s adoption is still classified as “high risk,” but if all goes well, it will switch to “no risk” on the 27^th. 

Several people have asked how we are handling it all.  To be perfectly honest, we don’t think about it much.  We know that it is hanging out there, but we have chosen to focus on Vera and love her as our own through this time.  It would be devastating to lose her, but we don’t feel it would be healthy – for us or for her – to dwell on that possibility.

So, keep praying for the legal situation over the next few weeks.  We’ll keep you posted!