OFFICIAL

So, had a "weepy" moment this morning! Chavalah's birth certificate with her new name and new "mother's name" and "father's name" were ready to finally be picked up! Not sure why, but after driving to Florence to get this "official certificate" with her new name, and after getting back in my car and actually LOOKING at it for the first time, I started weeping! WHAT A DAY OF CELEBRATION!!!!!! In foster care, time is NEVER on your side, and to WAIT and WAIT for this very document that declares BY LAW, she is Chavalah Lyn, and daughter of Ben & Joanna Baltzly, there's just nothing like it! I know, I know, you're probably saying, YOU SHOULD BE USED TO THIS BY NOW. Can I just put the record straight! YOU CAN'T EVER GET USED TO WAITING FOR YOUR CHILD! It's like waiting 17 or 18 months to "deliver" your unborn child. Our "delivery room" is the court room, and until then, you are only a care taker.

Took the fresh birth certificate straight to the SS office in Casa Grande to change it to a new number also! Many of you might remember what happened with Ezra. Once the adoption is final until the old number changes to the new, our information, the day of the adoption is all accessible through the SS office. So if someone (in our case, the birth mother) decides she wants to OUT OF THE BLUE go and look up her childs name for information, OUR information, as of November 17 is readily available. YIKES! That's what happened last year with Ezra. She showed up at the SS office looking for Ezra's whereabouts. It just so happened (because we serve an AWESOME GOD) that we had changed his SSN either hours or days from her looking him up and his number (the old one she had) was unable to be retrieved because it had literally JUST changed to his new one. Had I gone in even ONE DAY later to file for a new one than I did, she could've EASILY have had ALL of our info! So, this is a significant day! Filing for her "new identity." Can't wait to have the card in hand to know that it too has been taken care of! About another 4 weeks they say! :)

Thanks again for your prayers about this!

I'll probably post one more time before our trip that we leave on this weekend. Just wanted to post this HIGHLIGHT!