What Do You Want for Christmas Daddy?

As she sat next to me outside the Probate Judge's courtroom, she looked up with the brightest smile and deepest expression she could muster and said "Daddy, what do you want for Christmas?" And just like that, it became clear that a three-year old had more clearly understood the events of the previous 30 minutes than I could have imagined. All I could think of to say was "I just got it, sweet baby girl."

We are slowly, but surely, checking the boxes that are required for us to bring home Lily's sister one day and this was just another step in the process. You see, for Lily Grace to travel to China with us to meet Lia, she needed a U.S. passport and to get that, we needed a birth certificate issued in the U.S. And in order to get that, we had to convince the State of Alabama that she was really our child and that we'd be good parents to her if they let us adopt her! Even though Lily Grace is ours according to the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA), and even though she is a full U.S. citizen, she was not officially "ours" according to the laws of the State of Alabama. So no official birth certificate could be issued for her until we accomplished this step. Most of you know this already, so just smile at us and whisper a quiet "Oh My. Bless Them."

So, we hired an old friend to do some legal work for us and met with the probate judge at our appointed time and finalized the adoption by the laws of the State of Alabama. You want to know the really cool thing about living in a small county? The probate judge was the same judge who issued a marriage certificate for us 23 years ago! I think he even recognized us and we certainly recognized him. Now, Lily will get an Alabama birth certificate and then eventually a U.S. passport for travel. Yea!

But for this day, all she could think about was what I wanted for Christmas. And all I could think about was that the joy and love that she has brought into our family was all I really wanted. And what does Lily Grace want for Christmas? According to the Santa Claus at Santa's Village - "a candy cane!"

What do you really want for Christmas? Here's another question to consider "What does Jesus really want for Christmas?" It is, after all, His birthday we celebrate. Tomorrow night, I will be blessed to celebrate Jesus' birthday with my K-2nd grade girls Upward basketball team. I plan to talk about what we might give Jesus for His birthday. Maybe, just maybe, one of them will think it a good idea to give herself to Him ...

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace (and Lia Faith)
Green, Party of Five