[tybeemarie]

I would appreciate people's prayers. Tomorrow, Friday, at noon, we are going to court to get the interim order of adoption on our 3 kids! They're 7, 9, and 11. It's been almost 2 years that we've had them. 35 days later, we get the final order of adoption. As I don't need to tell all of you, it's a big day for us.

The kids are happy and excited, but also conflicted about their feelings, as they miss their birth mother and I think feel some level of disloyalty to her in being adopted. They have been testing a lot, and I am drained, drained, drained. This is not good, because I know after the adoption is when the testing REALLY starts. Ugh, I am exhausted in advance!

The good news, after feeling very blue on Wednesday after 4 and a half hours of AT, the kids' sadness and forced attempt at happiness over the announcement of the court date, and general exhaustion, yesterday I felt happy and excited myself as I shopped for our very styling clothes and shoes for the day. The girls got fantastic hair cuts, they have never looked so cute, and they are extremely cute. My son went and got his hair cut at the barber shop with his dad. I am grateful that I feel some of the joy I had dreamed of feeling on this day.

I pray that the kids can enjoy tomorrow, which is such a big day for them. Adoption is necessarily a bittersweet experience, and all the more so where abuse and neglect and drug and alcohol exposure are involved. I would like them to feel the sweet. God knows we get plenty of the bitter!

We plan to go out to eat after court, and we've got tickets to the Sox game tonight. (Go Sox!) I really hope it is a nice day. At any rate, good or bad, I will be looking fabulous in the most expensive outfit I have ever worn, LOL! (I used my sister's wedding dress, so it really is the most expensive!) I'd really like to be smiling, though. From the inside.