We know that the pain from her past didn’t end last week and
that there are still difficult days ahead.
But we also have hope – hope for
healing and a redemptive story. And because of that, we’ve given her a new
middle name. It is ordered and it is final. As of June 7, she is
Londynn Hope Patterson
Our adoption process went smoothly for the most part, but
towards the end we realized that we were on track to finalize at some point in
the summer. Four kids, vacations, conferences, camps, and a wedding equal a
busy summer for the Patterson household, and for that reason, we asked everyone
to pray that all of the things would fall into place so that we could finalize
before Father’s Day weekend. This Sunday is day one of a busy 4-week period for
us and we really didn’t want the adoption hearing to fall in the middle of
that. We wanted it to feel like a special occasion and not just be another thing we did
in the midst of our busy.
And the timing was perfect. It happened right after school got
out, before things got busy, before Londynn had a chance to struggle with
dysregulated behavior because of the summer schedule, on Josh’s birthday, when
everyone could be there. We had our hearing 13 days after we signed adoption
agreements (which is lightning fast!).Those closest to us knew that I was
really anxious about the timing for a variety of reasons, and I am so thankful for the way it worked out.
Some of our family was there as well as one family of
friends. My friend Sabrina was also there to take pictures. We intentionally kept
it “small” so as not to overwhelm her, but after you added our guests up with
caseworkers, attorneys, and the guardian ad litem, it ended up being a packed
courtroom. The attorney asked Josh some questions and then asked me some
questions, and then the judged called all of our kids to the front and handed
out lollipops! He gave them enough to pass out to their friends and cousins as
well. That was one of the sweetest parts of the day.
A lot of people have asked me how she has responded since that
day, and honestly, it’s been pretty normal around here. We woke up the next
morning, ate cereal, and went to the pool like we do every other day of the
summer. The kids captured roly polies and put them in a bucket, then sat outside and watched them before they ever changed out of their pjs. Normal.
I was pretty intentional to celebrate it in a way that was special but
didn’t make it feel like the most important day of her life. What five-year old
can handle the weight of that? And since she is old enough to remember her
biological family, we knew that it had the potential to also be a very sad day.
Her disposition has been very sweet since then, and our transition into
summertime has been worlds different than what we had a year ago. She isn’t
talking a lot about it, but she gets it. She knows what this means.
She has written me a note similar to the one below, almost every
morning for the last week. This picture is of me and Josh. Sometimes the note is
for both of us, sometimes it’s just for me. But she always says “you take care
of me.” I see the magnitude of that, and I am honored to be able to take care of
her as my daughter, forever.
"You take care of me and you love us and love you our whole family."
I could bombard you with pictures but for now I'll leave you with some of my favorites from the day. I will never be able to express how special it was for our very dear friends Ben and Sabrina Fields with FieldsFilms and Sabrina Fields Photography to capture the joy that we feel. Sabrina was the first good friend I made in college, and 18 years later, she is as special to me as she has ever been. We have lived a LOT of life together. I am so thankful she was there and that I have sweet memories from that day to look back on forever.
It was special for Londynn to have her best buddy Molly there to celebrate the big day.
My kids and my sisters' kids (minus one) - I love how much they love each other!
It was Adri's idea to give Londynn this necklace to wear for her adoption.
The littlest girls in the family (and please notice the lollipop from the judge!)
I love this candid picture of our close friends because of the husbands laughing, big girls chatting, and my girlfriend hugging Londynn as soon as the hearing was over. The "real life" moments like this are why I am so grateful that Sabrina was there!
Lisa is one of those friends who has seen the worst of me and stuck with me anyway. Our big girls are great buds and our little girls are great buds and those friendships, our neighborhood, the school across town, and the dance studio we are part of kind of forced a lot of together time and left me with a heart friend for life. She has been a huge blessing during a hard and lonely season, and I am so honored that she gave up a summer day to celebrate with me. She knows better than anyone what a picture of redemption this day was because she has seen every high and low along the way. I love this lady!
They act like goofballs but, because of my brother-in-law, Josh understands what it is to have a sibling. Evan has encouraged and prayed us through this whole process. I'm glad he was there to celebrate Londynn and also rag Josh a little on his birthday.
Even with the quick turnaround for the court date, most of my family was able to be there. Our hearts are full.
And if you haven't seen it yet, check out this video that Ben put together for us!
And the timing was perfect. It happened right after school got
out, before things got busy, before Londynn had a chance to struggle with
dysregulated behavior because of the summer schedule, on Josh’s birthday, when
everyone could be there. We had our hearing 13 days after we signed adoption
agreements (which is lightning fast!).Those closest to us knew that I was
really anxious about the timing for a variety of reasons, and I am so thankful for the way it worked out. 
Some of our family was there as well as one family of
friends. My friend Sabrina was also there to take pictures. We intentionally kept
it “small” so as not to overwhelm her, but after you added our guests up with
caseworkers, attorneys, and the guardian ad litem, it ended up being a packed
courtroom. The attorney asked Josh some questions and then asked me some
questions, and then the judged called all of our kids to the front and handed
out lollipops! He gave them enough to pass out to their friends and cousins as
well. That was one of the sweetest parts of the day. 
I love this candid picture of our close friends because of the husbands laughing, big girls chatting, and my girlfriend hugging Londynn as soon as the hearing was over. The "real life" moments like this are why I am so grateful that Sabrina was there! 
Lisa is one of those friends who has seen the worst of me and stuck with me anyway. Our big girls are great buds and our little girls are great buds and those friendships, our neighborhood, the school across town, and the dance studio we are part of kind of forced a lot of together time and left me with a heart friend for life. She has been a huge blessing during a hard and lonely season, and I am so honored that she gave up a summer day to celebrate with me. She knows better than anyone what a picture of redemption this day was because she has seen every high and low along the way. I love this lady! 
