Goodness, this job gets me some days.  Or maybe I’m just getting more emotional the older I get… I cry at weddings, I cry at births and I cry at adoptions!  I think the only session I haven’t cried at are mini-sessions :-)

You may remember Katie and Adam from two and a half years ago when they got married.  Last summer, she and I began emailing because they were working on their adoption book for the adoption agency and they needed some updated photos.  After that session though, things seemed to happen SO fast.  About 9 months ago they brought home this joyful and most wonderful little boy!  I was able to go meet him for his first official photos when he was about 3 months old and, like Katie, I’m so excited to be able to share some of those now!

In the last couple of weeks, Christian officially became Katie and Adam’s son.  Being able to walk through part of this (long, complicated, joyful, difficult, most incredible) journey with them has been a blessing they will never fully understand.  Anytime someone invites me into their stories to capture photos is an honor, but beginnings like this melt my heart in so many ways.

Christian, you have some incredibly amazing people who are head over heels in love with you.  And you get to call them family!

I forgot just how small he was earlier this year until I saw him in person and then went
back to look at his 3 month old photos.  He really was just a tiny babe back then!

No photos are allowed in the courtroom until the proceedings are complete so each time I’m invited into one, I try and bottle as much of the moments into my memory as I can.  But what ends up sticking are the emotions… the smiles, the laughter and the joy behind the tears.  Being able to hear each parent say WHY they want to adopt their child and hearing them say the child’s new full name gets me every time.  It’s like when God calls us by name when we’ve been adopted by Him because of what Jesus has done.

Most of these children are too young to try and do anything to earn the love and favor of their new families… they physically and emotionally aren’t able to earn their way in.  And that is EXACTLY each of us with God.  There is nothing we can do to earn our way into His arms.  Except believe that we need Him and believe in His Son.  Our own adoption comes to life for me each time I’m able to sit in a courtroom like this.  His love is so immense and I was overwhelmed (yet again!) with how much Katie and Adam love their sweet Christian!

Also, I love how Nana couldn’t take her eyes off her new great-grandson!

The bailiff came over and handed Christian a little stuffed puppy and it was so kind and sweet and unexpected!

Katie and Adam, thank you for trusting me with another piece of your story!
I love you guys and am so excited for your entire family!