Charlie Adoption Update

I don't think I've given an update about Charlie's adoption status since I got back from Italy and things were really up in the air. The good news is that we feel really good about the direction things are going and feel like we will be able to adopt Charlie and have him as our forever family. Hooray!

We got to meet Charlie's biological sister, who took care of him for the month that he was away. She is a very nice person who I think has a good heart and I want Charlie to always know that she really wants to raise him and be close to him. But after meeting her, we were able to have a frank heart-to-heart in which we shared with her a few of the reasons why we thought that Charlie would be better off being raised by us. Although I know that it was emotional for her, she ultimately agreed with us, which I think shows that she is really thinking of Charlie and what is best for him.

I am feeling really happy that things are looking so positive for us and I feel really excited about getting to keep Charlie. Nothing has happened in the actual court system to make us any closer to this reality, but this is just a really strong feeling that I have and is also based on the fact that now that the sister isn't going to contest our custody, there really isn't another candidate because of the issues with the biological parents (the birth dad is currently in jail and the birth mom is not easy to locate). I think it's going to take a long time to work it's way through the system, but I think that this is really going to happen.

Although having three kids spaced so closely together is really a challenge and is still a bit overwhelming, I'm really happy with our family and love our three little kids. Can't wait until it's all official!