Happy Half Birthday
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Our Beautiful Baby Girl!
to
Our Beautiful Baby Girl!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Adoption
Many months ago, Rachel and I began the adoption process for Lucy. Despite the fact that we're legally married in Massachusetts and despite the fact that I am listed on Lucy's birth certificate as her second parent (i.e. non-biological), I STILL have to adopt her. Thank goodness for our lawyer from Northampton (I won't mention her name here), but she is highly familiar with the process and fluent in the same-sex parenting necessities.
According to the Massachusetts court system,
second parent adoption or “co-parent adoption” refers to the ability of unmarried couples to petition jointly for the adoption of their child(ren). For many gay and lesbian couples, this means that the non-biological parent of the couple’s child(ren) may now enjoy the same legal rights and responsibilities as the biological parent. In most adoptions, the biological parents must agree to terminate their parental rights in order for the adoption to go forward. In second parent adoptions, however, both the biological and non-biological parent are granted equal legal status.
Not only did Rachel and I file an astronomical amount of paperwork, but Steven was also involved in signing paperwork. On one hand, he had to acknowledge his parental rights and on the other, he had to terminate his parental rights. This process has not been easy for any of us, as we are very close with Steven and Jeremy... AND... we fully aknowledge that they, too, have formed a bond with Lucy. Thus, Rachel and I make a point of having the two of them involved in Lucy's life as often as possible. We frequently spend time meeting Steven's family (he has a HUGE family), we met Jeremy's son-in-law from London last evening, and we try to go to the "Front Porch Cafe" every Saturday morning- just to name a few... Jeremy and Steven have been wonderful throughout this entire process and we, honestly, couldn't have been blessed with two of the most generous and wonderfully giving individuals in our life, but especially to partake in Lucy's life, as well. Thank you!
Okay, now that I have been side tracked with the wonderful men in our life. I'd like to acknowledge that Lucy is going to be 6 months old on Wednesday. GOSH time flies! She is getting bigger by the day and is truly ready to crawl at any moment. Despite her daily milestones and wonderful accomplishments, she has NO idea that this legal business is going on in the peripherally. BUT, her adoption date was originally schedule for November 9th, 2009 @ 8:30am and based upon court documents that we received in the mail today, the entire proceedings would last a total of fifteen minutes. YIKES- we went through all that paperwork and emotional turmoil for fifteen lousy minutes in front of a judge? Hmmm.... just seems wrong. But anyways, to make a LONG story short, we were told the other day, that the Franklin County Court House was rescheduling hearings on November 9th to another day. So, once again, we sit in limbo, waiting for an adoption date....
According to the Massachusetts court system,
second parent adoption or “co-parent adoption” refers to the ability of unmarried couples to petition jointly for the adoption of their child(ren). For many gay and lesbian couples, this means that the non-biological parent of the couple’s child(ren) may now enjoy the same legal rights and responsibilities as the biological parent. In most adoptions, the biological parents must agree to terminate their parental rights in order for the adoption to go forward. In second parent adoptions, however, both the biological and non-biological parent are granted equal legal status.
Not only did Rachel and I file an astronomical amount of paperwork, but Steven was also involved in signing paperwork. On one hand, he had to acknowledge his parental rights and on the other, he had to terminate his parental rights. This process has not been easy for any of us, as we are very close with Steven and Jeremy... AND... we fully aknowledge that they, too, have formed a bond with Lucy. Thus, Rachel and I make a point of having the two of them involved in Lucy's life as often as possible. We frequently spend time meeting Steven's family (he has a HUGE family), we met Jeremy's son-in-law from London last evening, and we try to go to the "Front Porch Cafe" every Saturday morning- just to name a few... Jeremy and Steven have been wonderful throughout this entire process and we, honestly, couldn't have been blessed with two of the most generous and wonderfully giving individuals in our life, but especially to partake in Lucy's life, as well. Thank you!
Okay, now that I have been side tracked with the wonderful men in our life. I'd like to acknowledge that Lucy is going to be 6 months old on Wednesday. GOSH time flies! She is getting bigger by the day and is truly ready to crawl at any moment. Despite her daily milestones and wonderful accomplishments, she has NO idea that this legal business is going on in the peripherally. BUT, her adoption date was originally schedule for November 9th, 2009 @ 8:30am and based upon court documents that we received in the mail today, the entire proceedings would last a total of fifteen minutes. YIKES- we went through all that paperwork and emotional turmoil for fifteen lousy minutes in front of a judge? Hmmm.... just seems wrong. But anyways, to make a LONG story short, we were told the other day, that the Franklin County Court House was rescheduling hearings on November 9th to another day. So, once again, we sit in limbo, waiting for an adoption date....
Lucy Elizabeth September 2009- Labor Day Weekend
(PLEASE stay tuned for additional information & newer photos)
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