Daddy Daughter Tribute

So as many of you are aware, the three of us are currently spread out all over the world. Leigh is in Egypt with her parents (she didn't get to go Israel in June, so they decided to take her to Egypt). Rorey is in Dallas with Annie and Marianne. I (Andrew... yes, I'm commandeering the blog!), am still in North Carolina preparing for my trip to the UK on Thursday (the one that was rescheduled from our original trip in April that was postponed by a volcano in Iceland, which led to Rorey's adoption, and so on...). We will not all be together again until October 20, when I return from the UK. So in her absence, I've decided to post a small tribute.

Rorey: Who would have thought that something this small and innocent could change your life so quickly. Every day I find myself looking forward to coming home and seeing her. There is something about holding her that makes everything else stand still, that whatever frustrating or stressful things are happening dissolve, and you begin to realize what really matters in life. In the past four months I have gone from husband, to dad and husband. It's been a huge journey, but I would not have traded it for anything. These past few days it is clear how much I miss that kid, her laughs, giggles, smiles, cries, toots, and just about anything she does. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her and I:

My welcome home, have a diaper change pep talk. 

Probably one of my favorite pictures and will be for a long time. Leigh put Rorey in bed with me one morning, and this I guess is how we were both asleep. 

Rorey's attempt to eat my nose... I was curious if she was just fussy or hungry, so needed to give her something to chew on to see. 

Leigh thought this was a good idea, not sure if Rorey agreed. Regardless... we hang out a lot. 

For the record, Rorey is yawning... not crying in this picture. 

My department at ASU got all the staff headbands this year... I thought mine went best on Rorey... she quickly became the unofficial poster child of the department. 

We tend to have a lot of conversations like this. I do most the talking, surprise surprise. 

My mom, Rorey, and I just chilling on the futon. We might or might not have been watching TV at the time haha. If you didn't know, Rorey is fascinated by the sound and colors from the TV.

Rorey's "Old man, I'm asleep" face. I think this was the first time she ever fell asleep on me. 

Most recent picture of us. Right now, all I have to do is hold her and things just settle. The stress, exhaustion, or frustrations in my life, just disappear when I hold her. She's a pretty cool kid... and she's mine!

It's Official

So it's a month late, but it's official! On September 1, 2010, we flew back to Dallas to appear in court. We spent about 30 minutes waiting, and about 3 minutes in the courtroom before the judge. After all the pomp and circumstance, it was official. Rorey is officially our daughter, and her name is now officially Rorey Taylor Carruth (we got the official birth certificate a couple weeks ago... that was weird... in a good way). The best part was we got in there, and we both had to answer questions from the attorney, all the while, Rorey is blowing bubbles, making faces at the judge. We're pretty sure Rorey flirtatiousness got us the ruling in our favor.

Both Leigh's parents, Bob (G-Bob) and Jan (Lola), were there for moral support, to take pictures, and be official carriers of Rorey's continually growing diaper bag. We had a great attorney (David Cole, in case you ever need an adoption attorney in Texas) who took away a lot of the stress and helped us really enjoy the experience.

Later that week, Andrew's family came in from all over Texas and Japan and joined us. We always love having both of our families together, because for in-laws, we surprisingly get along really well with each other. On Saturday, we traveled to the Dallas, TX, LDS temple where the three of us were sealed for eternity. On Sunday, Rorey was blessed at the church in Dallas, by Andrew.

Saturday night we had a party with friends and family. We were so blessed to have so many people come out to celebrate with us this wonderful experience. One of our friends a few months back was talking to his mother about Rorey, and how blessed she is to be adopted into a family that loves her, and who are surrounded by more friends and family that love her too (pretty insightful thought from a 12 year old boy). We could not disagree. We are so blessed, there truly are not words to express that. We have continually been surprised by the generosity of friends and family of their time, resources, and happiness.

Rorey is our daughter, we are a growing family, and not a day goes by that we do not smile, knowing that there are some prayers that get answered, they may just take longer than others.

Rorey is ready for court... hopefully this is her only time in a court room!

Leigh and Rorey... not sure what they face Rorey is making is... who cares, it's cute!

In the courtroom, just after the judge ruled that Rorey was officially our daughter (notice the judge strategically placing herself in the shot... she was pretty happy for us!).

Rick, Andrew's dad, holding Rorey... yep, she's smiling now!

Andrew, Leigh, and Rorey outside the Dallas, TX, LDS Temple after being sealed. Yes we purposefully matched... we're THAT family!

Rorey singing to Leigh.

This is the continuation of a beautiful relationship! She's got him wrapped around her finger!

Rorey likes water, it seems to calm her when she's crying. Bob donated his fountain from the office... Rorey is still debating if it's good enough for her or not. :)