He's Ours

When Isaac and I boarded the plane to Uganda about a week after hearing about Zane we were cautiously excited. We were already in love and felt connected to this boy who we hadn't even met. At the same time we didn't know if we would be coming home with him or not, and we had no idea how long the process would take.

I remember Isaac and I reminding one another several times on the days before meeting him that we would love him 110% and we’d let God do the directing. We were just going to take it one day at a time. I remember thinking that no matter the outcome Zane was always going to be in our lives.

Well, after meeting him for the first time (which was one of the best days of my life) it put this crazy fight in us. I remember in the days following Isaac and I brainstorming the “what if” scenarios and saying stuff like, “we could just move here if ‘xyz’ didn’t work out”.

Gratefully, on February 16th the Uganda courts granted us temporary custody where Zane temporarily became “ours”.

Then, on May 3rd the Uganda courts granted us full guardianship where he became “ours”.

Then, on May 21st the US granted Zane a VISA which allowed us to bring “ours” home.

Then, on August 24th the state of Texas granted him officially “ours”!

Car ride to court

Waiting at the court house...

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...using dad's face as entertainment

To say the finalization court hearing was smooth and simple compared to what we went through in Uganda the entire Spring of 2012 is an understatement. It took about five minutes and then just like that we had papers with Zane’s new name on them. He officially became a Kohlbacher!

The judge gave Zane that little teddy bear 

Being adopted is thirsty work

That evening we celebrated at our house with some family and friends- We had such a great time!

Friends watching Zane's adoption video

Aunt Caitlin holding Zane during the video

What's next? We are waiting on Zane’s new birth certificate to arrive in the mail. Then, we will apply to get him a revised Social Security card and then Passport.

I’d like to close with this quote from Jen Hatmaker’s blog that summarizes this entire adoption process to me:

“You realize that when God said He sets the lonely in families, He meant it, and He doesn’t just transform the “lonely” but also the “families.” He changes us for one another. God can create a family across countries, beyond genetics, through impossible circumstances, and past reason."