At last
Nearly ten years with no word of where she was or how she was. A month of waiting for the courtdate to arrive. 48 hours of driving and traveling. 24 hours of waiting in the hotel room. 4 hours waiting in the courtroom. And after all the years and all the tears, here she is. There are no words to express what it meant to see her, to hug her, to hear her voice, to see how she has grown. And there is no way to measure how proud we are of her, how beautiful she is, and how much it means to know that we never have to be out of contact again. After court yesterday morning we got to spend several hours with her in the park. What a perfect backdrop the park was for these photos.
To sum up what was determined in court... she will stay where she is now so she can complete her education and move on into the field she wants to in college. We have to take care of some paperwork and have a home inspection done, and then she can come spend her breaks with us. We are going to spend as much time with her as we can for the rest of the week, and then stay in touch afterwards. Jack comes back in June for the next courtdate.
Let me start the photos with this one... the first picture we have ever been able to take with all of our children.
This photo is significant to me. The last time we got to take family photos it was just Jessica, Matt, and Chet (you can see the portrait in the album below). They sure have grown a lot since then!
Jessica picked up Beth and Beth just laid her head on her shoulder and cuddled with her every time she held her. So sweet.
We always want the people we love to be happy. It meant so much to me to see how happy Jack was yesterday. Jack and Jessica crack me up with their identical half-smiles!
Our favorite photo of Matt and Jessica when they were little was the one where Jessica grabbed Matt's face and turned it to the camera when he wasn't cooperating. She had the funniest little smirk on her face, and Matt was throwing a fit. They posed for this one for me, and I love it just as much! (The original is in the album below.)
Aren't the three of them just so gorgeous?
Sometimes life is just so good.
4 comments:
WOW!!! They all look so much alike. Jack I am owe so glad that finally you and Jessica are finally whole again. I remember when it was all of us together living in mom and dads small house and Jessica was just a baby. Those were the good times. I was her favorite Auntie Caucky remember that? I am very happy for you and Jessica. I know that things have happened between you and dad in the past and that is kinda why our ties were broke. But I never stopped loving you and wishing you were still in my life. My BIG BROTHER! I am over joyed to have you back in my life with so much more all my nephews and nieces. You have a beautiful and complete family.
I Love You Big Brother,
Marcie
It was great to look at all of those old pictures. I remember Jessica's red room too. I remember when they first moved into that house and I moved in to help Jack with Jess. We all lived together for almost a year I think before Jack met you. It was so much fun making that room for her she was so excited. One of my most favorite memories of Jessica is when she was about 4 and I was pregnant with my daughter Savannah. Jessica was so worried about me because she noticed the dreaded stretch marks that we all get and she really thought that I needed medicine for them. I can't believe how much all of the kids look alike. Boy is that a recessive gene or what! I am so glad that Jack and Jessica are together again. I look forward to the day we can all meet up. I can't wait to meet the rest of the tribe. Jessica has become such a beautiful young girl. I am so proud of her for holding her own. I am very glad that we have all been able to reconnect after such a needless separation. I really missed having a brother. Although I doubt he missed me much since I tended to get him into trouble occassionaly. You'll have to ask him about it I'm sure he'll remember. Jack you should be proud of yourself for the father and man that you have become and rejoice in finding your lost daughter and sisters.
I love you very mush and look forward to seeing you sometime soon. (Tell Chet I have lots of Dogs for him to come and see).
I'm glad things are going well Jennifer. I have been thinking about you all. :) The photos are so beautiful, and the album...I could cry, very touching. Love you!
I am so happy that everyone has been able to come together once again and just to think that it all started with a simple phone call. :)
Jessica Lee Wellborn
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