DYLAN

How do I even begin, well it was 4:50am this morning and knew we had to get up and on the road. While Belton is only one and a half hours, we didn't know what to anticipate in traffic and we certainly didn't want to walk into court late.
    So, got moving, ate a light breakfast with only one cup of coffee and hit the road by about 6:15am.  Stopped in Liberty Hill for gas, and a quick call to Carin to ensure they were on the road as well. We arrive at the Sheriff's Dept. a little after 8:00am, find a parking spot, and decide to go on into the building to the 4th floor, designated as the CPS Cluster Area ... lots of people already present and waiting for one of the courts ... one designated as Child Support.  Soon to arrive are Carin, Rusty and Dylan, looking so very, very handsome with hair fixed, jeans and a light blue plaid western shirt.  With them is Christy, their CPS Caseworker, then their Attorney, and then Brandi, who is Dylan's CPS Caseworker (that sounds so impersonal).
    It was amazing the number of individuals in the waiting area, until a Deputy announces those individuals for Child Support Cases may enter their designated courtroom ... no joke, nearly 95% of the people went into the opposite court.  Carin and Rusty's attorney suggested that we go into our designated court, quite empty in comparison.  After a few moments the Judge enters, hmmm, no one announced "all rise" ... too much Law & Order I guess!  He was very informal, and stated for the Ponder Family to approach the bench, caseworkers, lawyers, and even grandparents.  We all gathered around and those testifying were given an oath, no Bible either.  The attorney took the lead asking questions of Carin and Rusty, about their willingness to adopt and did they understand their responsibilities, then Brandi (Dylan's caseworker) was asked to make a statement, and then the judge stated that he believed this adoption should go forward.  Oh Dylan also had an attorney representing him, however, the two had never met and he (the attorney) quite friendly tried to make eye contact with the suddenly very shy Dylan, it didn't work.   The judge presented the gavel to Dylan, but he was too shy to take, so Carin took the gavel and with one hit the adoption was considered a done deal.  The judge took a moment to compliment and thank Carin and Rusty for their journey to Dylan, even stating that not many happy things happen in his courtroom, and adoption hearings are an event he personally enjoys, as he was speaking tears were rolling down his face ... as with all of us, it was as if there was no one else in the room ... a very emotional moment.
    With that accomplished we all entered into a jury room with lots of stuffed animals on the table, Dylan was able to take two, and then pictures (wish I could figure out how to upload with my camera, sorry that's a challenge, but I'm certain Carin will post pictures).  We had planned to have a celebration at IHOP, Carin had told Dylan that Grammie and PaPa had a gift for him ... well guess who he wanted to ride with ... certainly not Mom and Dad.  And of course we just had to pass a McDonald's, and from the backseat we heard this ... BUT I wanna go to McDonald's.  With some Divine intervention we were able to convince Dylan that Mommy and Daddy would be waiting for us at IHOP and maybe next time ... WHEW!  We had fun talking, and eating, but then it was time to hit the road!  OH, Dylan's adoption gift was a SUPER SOAKER, and yes Carin approved ... it will probably be refreshing during the summer months! and there will probably be more blogging on it as the Texas heat increases!
    So, it's been nine months since Dylan arrived in all of our lives, and while all this time has not been easy, and there are many rough roads ahead, he has enriched all of our lives, and we have grown in love with him.  Carin believes after today that he finally is "getting it" and understands he is with his "forever family", he will never again be taken from his home, he will never again have to search through a trash can to find food, he will never again be neglected or harmed by anyone.  How truly blessed we are to have Dylan as our grandson, and we hope one day he will understand how much we love him.
    Before I close let me share with you, Texas has 27,000 children in foster care, and as we were leaving Belton, a billboard caught my attention, ABUSE, 6,600 children experience it daily.  How incredibly sad, and the children in Dylan's age group are less and less likely to be adopted, we must keep them in our prayers as well as the caseworkers, attorneys and judges and pray these children find a Mommy and Daddy to protect, care and love them as we love Dylan.  Now a new chapter begins, so my friends, until next time ...