Creedence

 huge exhale. deep sigh of the most beautiful kind of relief.  

Creedence Jeffrey Paul is one crucial step closer to officially being a "VanderSlagt".  and so now we can show his sweet face in its entirety.  and we can say his name here.  because all is in order and moving toward a state of permanency.

to "forever". 

even though it's soooo slow, and still many months away, we are celebrating this next step and are excited that Cree is that much closer to officially matching what our hearts have already known for a good long while.  that somewhere along the line he shifted from being a sweet baby boy to being our sweet son.  

in time i will dive deeper into all that went into this huge and weighty decision.  into the many ways God moved.  it's just so like God~ which is exactly where our trust rests for our family's future.  and for Cree.  determined to trust only in Him. 

for Cree, love will have the last word in this story of his.  we are so happy to be characters in it.  there will be huge plot twists as in any life story, no doubt, but hopefully we are a constant of safety, warmth and love as he walks the journey set before him.  the privilege is ours, no matter what.

for today, just let me leave one more sweet photo...

❤❤❤