Our re-adoption hearing took place a few days ago. In the case of international adoptions, this is more a formality than anything (not that it isn't a special event). After the hearing, Mia is now recognized by the State of California as Mia Gloria. In some ways, the hearing does reflect the change taking place in our household. There's a sense of cohesiveness more and more each and every day.

Before we learned of Mia, we already had the name as a favorite. We never talked much about a middle name, and I'm glad we didn't. Gloria was the name given to Mia by her mom and I think the combination of the two is amazing. In case you're not familiar with Spanish, Mia translates to "my" or "mine" and the meaning of the name Gloria is "glory to God".

From the time we decided to add to our family through adoption, we received praise for "rescuing" a child. At first, I wasn't uncomfortable with that mindset, but that changed quickly. Now that Mia is home, I realize we were never the ones made brave through this process. Although our choice to adopt wasn't the catalyst for her loss, it still hurts to be praised when I feel a deep sadness for all Mia's lost: her mom, dad, family, culture and foster family. And that's why her name is a perfect fit for all the glory and praise for her life belongs to God.