Together we Make a Family!: Adoption Day!

Presenting....

MAKENNA RUTH DINKINS

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What a special day it was! March 28, 2007 will go down in history for the Dinkins' family. We waited 19 months for this special day and it is a day we will never forget.

Makenna was born on August 24, 2005 in Denver Colorado.

She came home from the Hospital with me on August 26, 2005. She was 6lbs 5oz at birth and 19 inches long. I was scared to death the day I brough her home. I had this little baby that I wanted so bad to love yet I was afraid to, becuase I didn't know how long I'd be able to keep her. Thank goodness for friends and family and the positiveness they all displayed to help me through the fear and the tears. I can honestly say that I cried more in the first 19 months of little Makenna's life than I have in my adult life (until that point).

I held my breath until August 30, 2006 (12 months and 6 days from the day she was born) when a Denver county judge terminated parental rights for abandonment on both the birth mom and birth dad. I held together my composure until I left the court house and was sitting in my car. I called both my parents and my brother. I was so happy. It was looking like Makenna was offically going to be mine. It was just a matter of time. Although, until the papers are signed by the judge, nothing is final.

As of January of 2007 I still hadn't heard on when an adoption would happen. As you can imagine, I was very frusturated at this point. Finally on March 12, I got the phone call I had been waiting for. March 28th was the big day! YAY!

I had to go shopping and find the perfect dress, the perfect shoes and of course the perfect hair bow. The anticipation of the BIG day was making me crazy. I couldn't sleep or concentrate at work and I had to wait 2 full weeks.

Finally the day arrived. My Great Aunt Ruthie flew in from NJ to be with us on the special day. It was great to have her here and share with us the "new arrival" to the Dinkins' family. Afterall, Makenna is named after her and my dad's mom. Two people who I adore greatly. Nothing could be more perfect for us. There were about 20 family and friends who joined us at the court house to share in the special day. There was just one problem...There was no judge. Apparently the judge didn't have our case assigned to her and by the time the case worker was able to track her down we were about 30 minutes behind schedule. Parking meters were ticking and people were getting antsy waiting and wondering if the adoption was going to happen and if anything else could go wrong. I had been through so much getting to this day, if I had my way, this adoption was going to happen, no mater what. The judge was awesome. She apologized and took all our guests in the court room. I couldn't believe this was finally happening. The emotions were starting to well up inside me and I wasn't sure I could make it through without crying. I didn't! As soon as the judge asked me why I wanted to adopt Makenna I lost it. 19 months of emotions came out at one time. Thank goodness I was able to answer her question otherwise we might still be sitting there. The best part was when the judge asked Makenna if she knew what ADOPTION was. She answered 'yes'. There wasn't a dry eye in the court room at that point. You might be surprised, the entire adoption hearing took only about 10 minutes. I was thinking it would be longer than that. The adoption decree stating I was her mother and that her name change was offical was the only piece of paper I needed. I could FINALLY breathe!

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Makenna waiting in the
hallway before getting changed into
her adoption dress.