Chapter 17: Thankful

In Mid-November, Charlie's brother George was legally adopted by the Weasleys.  Robert and I were invited to the adoption hearing, and a number of other friends and family were crowded into the family courtroom as well.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  I was emotional.  And I was jealous for the day when we will call our Charlie by his rightful last name: Wiggins.

Grandpa and Grandma D were the first extended family to meet Charlie, coming from their winter digs in Arizona for Thanksgiving.  It was a first on a couple of fronts... not only did they get to meet their newest grandson (but not youngest!) and it was Charlie's first Thanksgiving with us, but it was also the first Thanksgiving I had spent with my Dad in many, many, many years.

I have to say... when we first began this process, I didn't know how my family would react.  Many have watched us make choices over the years that yes, we believe put our family first, but also strained us financially, and to add a fourth child at a time when I could perhaps join the workforce regularly and help transition us into a new tax bracket...

Plus... four kids?!  Come on.  Our family is big enough!

I knew God called us to it.  I knew my husband and kids were on board.  I knew I had the support of church friends and family.  I just wasn't too sure about my parents and sister.  Maybe I sold them short, I don't know.  I'm just being honest here - I was scared to death to tell all of them.

And when I told my dad over the phone a couple of months earlier that we had decided to pursue the adoption of Charlie, he was incredibly excited and beyond supportive.  He would call or text from time to time, asking questions about Charlie or his background or needs.  Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was, and I took it as further confirmation that this is exactly what God had planned for our family.

So when Dad and Denise decided to join us for Thanksgiving, it was truly, truly something to be thankful for.

They met our Charlie the day before.  It was a simple time of hanging out and catching up.  It was lovely.  And the next day we got to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Charlie's birthday together... it was a wonderful, wonderful day.  Very, very thankful.

On Friday, rather than joining the rest of the world fighting over sales and deals, we celebrated Charlie's eighth birthday with a party at the roller rink.  He'd never had a party before (indeed, I honestly believe that before he moved in with us, he hadn't even *attended* a birthday party before!), and we went all out.  Unfortunately, it was a holiday weekend, so only one of his school chums could attend, but even that was a blessing - turns out that child's mom works in the adoption industry and we have since begun getting to know each other and are becoming friends.  We had some friends Charlie's age from church, Grace and her friend, and our family including Grandma and Grandpa D.  We ate too much pizza and cake and drank too much soda, skated til our feet were sore, and played the arcade games.  There was a silly grin on my boy's face until we tucked him in at the end of the night.

It delighted us to do it.  It delighted us to delight in him, to celebrate him.  Someone should have been doing that for him for the last eight years.