It’s Max’s Gotcha Day!

Today is the day we celebrate the official entrance of Max into our family. This day last year we gathered with family and friends to sit in a Warren County, OH, court room before a judge to finalize Max’s adoption. While we met him just two days after his birth and had him in our custody shortly after that, it was finally official and legal on April 22, 2014.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since that transpired. Much has happened since that day and, as with everyone who reads this post, life has moved on.

The picture at the top of the page is Max on his Gotcha Day. Today he is walking, repeating a lot of words (some easier to understand than others) and constantly wanting to go outside. One of his most repeated words at this stage in his life is “Go!”

We are grateful for Max and look forward to how he will continue to grow, continue to change our family and influence those around him.

Our Story of Adoption & How You Can Help

In the past few months I’ve posted about our Gotcha Day and how adoption has impacted our family. Max, who is almost 19 months old, will soon be joined by a little brother.

We have connected with a birth mom who is due June 22. We are making plans to travel to be present for the birth and to get to know the family. We have started the process to adopt again and have enlisted a great team here in Ohio and a great team in Maryland to assist us. Adopting Max happened very quickly and we pulled together various resources to pay for his adoption. Financially we need some help and we are using a non-profit fund-raising platform called Adopt Together to help us raise the necessary funds.

If you are someone (or you know someone) who has a heart for adoption, please visit our page. It tells a little bit more of our story about adoption and gives people an opportunity to help with the expenses. While this adoption won’t cost as much as Max’s adoption, we are seeking financial support.

To visit our Adopt Together page, click on the image below.  On our page, you will be able to read about our plans for adoption and how you can help if you feel led to do so.

Will My Wife Read My Blog Today?

I’ve has this blog active now for a couple of years. I have over 600 posts and try to post on a semi-regular basis. I have some followers, but don’t usually blow up with a ton of visitors. I think I keep it going because I enjoy posting.

My wife has admitted (on more than one occasion) that she doesn’t read my blog. In a conversation with her, I’ll reference something interesting I ran across that I put on here and she usually says she hasn’t read it.

Last week I posted about our son’s Gotcha Day. It was a very exciting day for our family and she not only read my post, she shared it on Facebook. In fact, here’s what she posted:

It seemed her posting increased traffic on my blog for the next day or two.

So, now I’m curious, will she read it today? Hmmmmm….guess we will find out.

Gotcha! 04/22/14

Yesterday – April 22, 2014 – was a pretty big day for our family. It will be known as Max’s Gotcha Day. Gotcha Day is the day we celebrate Max’s official entrance into our family. We know several adoptive families that celebrate their children’s Gotcha Day.

Max was born September 27 and was placed in our home October 1, but yesterday was the day the judge finalized his adoption. While we can’t imagine our family without him, yesterday was the day he legally became a Brackemyre.

It was great to celebrate the day with his four siblings, three of his grandparents, an uncle and several friends who were able to sit in the courtroom. We also had a friend who is a photographer attend to capture some pictures of the day. The photo of Max and his brothers and sister on this page was taken by her. Only a few of the other pictures have a been posted, but more are to come. You can check them out (along with other photos by the photographer) on her Facebook page – Susan Marie Photography

When Max was just weeks old, Cheryl and I gave a quick recap of how Max became part of our family. It was originally used in the worship services at CrossView Christian Church and then was shown at the Wilmington Church of Christ. It just gives the backdrop to how we got to meet and pursue the adoption of Max.

We are so grateful to have Max as part of our family and look forward to helping him grow to be a man of God.