No Blogging Today -- I Have a New Grandson

I got up early today to report to the Superior Court in Santa Cruz today, to witness the final act of adoption of my new grandson, Stomper (left pic) Chomper.  Stomper is Korean, almost two years old.  He looks as Korean as a gallon of kimchee but has a disarming smile with a dimple in his cheek.  A couple of years back my son and his wife adopted his older sister, Vittles Chomper.  Vittles (right pic) and I get along very well; she is a delight to me. Okay, I admit it, I love her dearly.  My wife says we are drawn to each other.

The hearing was presided over by a young and pretty lady judge.  She was very accommodating to our group, which included the parents, both sets of grandparents, brothers and sisters, two uncles, lots of cousins and friends from church.  We were told to roam the courtroom at will during the proceedings and take all the pictures we wanted.  After the hearing, the judge brought out a big plastic tub of stuffed animals to distribute to the children present.  My natural grandson was  allowed, at his own request, to sit in the judge's chair behind the judge's desk, with the giant seal of the State of California behind him.  We took several photos of him there.

Finally, the parents, grandparents, grandchildren, cousins (and everyone else) were told to stand in the jury box for pictures (see bottom pic).  I looked out over the courtroom and saw something incredible:  both the judge (in her black robe) and the bailiff (in his khaki uniform with badge and walkie-talkie) were pointing our own cameras at us and snapping away.  California does have its charms.

Note:  the judge took the above photo.