Happy Adoption Day

Last year on August 25 (6 months after Hogan's arrival at our house), Hogan's adoption became final. That was the day that we went to court and his name officially became Hogan Lon Manning and Troy and I were legally named the parents of him. We decided that yearly we would celebrate this day, this happy adoption day. It's a day to be thankful for our family, to tell the story of Hogan's birth and how he came to us, and to remember his birthmother who gave us such an incredible and priceless gift. It took a lot of pieces fitting together just right for Hogan to come to us and we feel like the luckiest parents in the world!

This past weekend we did all of Hogan's favorite things in honor of his adoption. He woke up and found a brand new set of blocks ready for him to stack and demolish. We visited to the park to feed the ducks (who ignored us), slide, climb, and swing. When we returned from the park his Oma and Opa were at our house busy putting together his brand new shopping cart. Then Tia and Tarlo came bearing GOOD NEWS and gifts for Hogan. Next, we had a lovely lunch of hotdogs, chips, and fruit and we finished the day by going to the train museum in Dallas. It was a fun day and Hogan is still talking about it. He woke up from his nap yesterday and told Troy all about the loud choo choo trains and the two puppies he saw at the museum.