Introducing the Tite's- Ta Daaaaa

The stars have finally aligned and after four really long years- we are parents!!! I would like to introduce you to the Tite's! Ta daaa- as N always says! Today our adoption was finalized! In many ways I envisioned the process to be something like buying a house for the first time or a car where you sign your name about 100 times. However, the forms were minimal and I think we signed less then 15 times. Not bad at all! The kids were so excited to see their last name as Tite! They cheered and chanted America America one more day! I think they were almost as excited as they were at TWO IN THE MORNING! Yes, you heard that right. ANdy got up to go to the bathroom this morning at about 2 or 2:30 and came back to tell me they were wide awake! I was half asleep and I asked what he meant, he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I mean the lights are on, they are wide awake sitting in there having a Hungarian conversation!" LOL. He had to go in and tell them it was bedtime and to turn the lights out and get to bed. I am sure they were packing AGAIN! Each night for the past several nights we have to unpack them! they will be so excited tomorrow night when we don't have to unpack them! I think they are afraid we are going to leave them behind when we go. They sit with their little backpacks on waiting.... it just makes my heart melt. I can't even imagine how they must be feeling to leave everything they have always known behind, including their language. They must know deep down that they will have a better life. These kids are survivors. In fact, sometimes I really wonder what they are thinking. Today we passed a man riding a Segway sitting on a stuffed horse pulling a wagon with a dog in it. (I can't make this stuff up you must know that). Z saw him and asked "In America will I have a real horse." We laughed and told her only if she works really hard, goes to college and gets a good job and buys a horse instead of a car. We had just a few glitches with our paperwork- small things like did we have a copy of our marriage certificate with us..... Ummm, no. I guess they just needed to know that we were actually married after all this HELL we have been through to get here...LOL. Lucky for me something told me to have a copy of everything so I scanned it all and put it on my Ipad. Woo Hoo- thank you technology you saved me. We left for lunch while the new birth certificates were being created. When we arrived back we were told the birth mother just happened to be there at the same time we were. She was standing on top of this lookout deck that overlooked the parking lot when we arrived. We kept the kids in the car and took shifts going in and out. What are the odds that she would be there at the same time we were. For a moment I felt sorry- as if God was giving her one last look at her babies she would never see again as we took them out of the country. That was the "compassionate me." Then the "realistic me" kicked in and while I felt so terrible for her I took a long look at these beautiful children ANdy and I have just been blessed with and my heart felt for them- they were the victims here.... the innocent parties that never deserved to be treated with anything less than love and respect. That moment, this time, when the stars aligned and put us all in this time and moment together for our paths to cross I have to say was not coincidence. Nothing about our journey has been coincidence so how could this be? It is hard not to feel sorry for her knowing these beautiful children. Life is about choices and consequences and she made her choices. Now Andy and I will help them move and make sure that they have a most incredible life filled with rewards and opportunities. I do wish her peace. We taught the kids how to sing Deep in the Heart of Texas and we sang it on the way back from lunch. N keeps forgetting most of the words other than Deep in the Heart Of Texas (as he sings it) but he has the tune down so don't you worry because he substitutes Scooby Doo for the words he can't remember. Ha ha- it works. After we arrived back in Budapest, we made our way to get the kids' Passports- our kids will have Dual Citizenship which is kinda cool! I will add that it is not a coincidence either that we landed in Lucky booth number 13 where the kids had to have their pictures re-done because the lady messed up and she had to call for help because this was her first International Adoption. Our coordinator went with me to pay and we left ANdy with the documents in case they called our number.... hats off to my husband who kept his cool in a frustrating situation, When we came back in to the office area, her had this look on his face. I asked what happened and he said, "I don't know, I don't speak Hungarian and she doesn't speak English. She muttered a few things and left. I haven't seen her since." I wanted to laugh out loud because it kinda describes so much of the events that have happened these past 30 days! We finally finished and we are all praying tonight that the passports get done by tomorrow so we can come home on Wednesday! On the way home we got a kick out of Z who told our coordinator, "Actually, my behavior is much better these days." It was pretty funny but confirmation to how in control she is! It was a GREAT day in Budapest! We ate pizza for dinner on the way home to celebrate our new family! Hip Hip Hooray! We thought this day would never come! After a river of tears and a pain so intense I could never begin to describe to you, a hurt that sometimes felt as if you were dying inside- it's all over. I feel like Gumby tonight (remember Gumby- the little green guy from the 70's that was bendable and no matter what you did to him he snapped back?) Yes Andy and I are like Gumby and tonight we snapped back and all of our dreams came true! We have our family and it feels so good! I am sure that there will be many more mountains to climb in regards to my new family. But I have mountains!!!! WOO HOOO! I also know that a piece of paper does not make a family. As much as I have griped about living here in Budapest and in Hungary for 35 days- the Ministry knows what they are doing. It is not the piece of paper that makes us a family but the sacrifices we make for each other, the moments we have shared so far together and the trials and tribulations we have had in these 30 days as we got to know each other and moved from roommates to family. I know there are many of you reading wondering if adoption is for you or where to go next if you are struggling with infertility. Just remember to stay focused on what you want as your outcome. If your answer is a family, then keep marching forward. There is ALWAYS a way to reach your goal- it's just not always the first way you think you're going that pans out. Trust in your faith that what is meant to be will happen. Goodnight all- from the Tite's in Budapest! I think I will be smiling in my sleep...... Tonight my dreams came true!