Our Day in Court!

We are thankful to have a court date today! We had to change our train tickets, extend our hotel in Kirov & cancel our hotel in Moscow, but we should still be able to make our return flight home. It turns out there was a local official, from the town the orphanage is in, who wanted to meet with us. No one scheduled this or told our translator & since a visit is not required, the paperwork proceeded without his signature. The judge called the official yesterday, told him to sign the document & send the social worker to Kirov with it. So, we try this again. We get all dressed up, arrive at the courthouse, show our passports & wait on the fifth floor outside the courtroom. If someone told me 5 years ago, when I began praying for another child, that I would be here, I'm not sure if I would have believed them.

As we are waiting, we spot the social worker walking by. Looks like we are good to go! They call us in. There is a court reporter, the prosecutor, the social worker & another woman we haven't met before. The judge does most of the talking. Through our court translator, the judge asks why we want to adopt more children if we have 3 already. He asks why we want to adopt from Russia & if Corbin's job is stable. He wants to know where our 3 kids are now & if we have enough seats in our car. He probes about adoption issues, special needs issues, cultural issues & language issues. He wants to know how we have prepared for this adoption & how much adoption education we've had. He inquires about how we discipline our kids & especially how we feel about physical discipline. He asks about our church, schools, socialization & if I'm willing to drive 5 kids to different schools every day. Lastly, he asks if we have met the children & if we like them. The prosecutor has only a few key questions for us. Then the social worker gives her report. She sites some observations from our visit with the kids. She mentions the fact the I traced their hands & feet, that Corbin played trucks with O, that I played girl stuff with L, that we bought them puppets, photos & a Skype-like video from our kids, along with gifts for L & O for her birthday which we will miss in a few weeks.

He reads their files. He asks if we have any questions. He asks if we would like to have anything reread again. He briefly retires to his chambers. He returns & grants us the adoption of L & O! He says congratulations & wishes me a happy early birthday. Our court translator escorts us out of the courtroom while he speaks with the social worker.

We were not allowed to take any photos in the courthouse. I would have liked a photo of him with us for the adoption book. As he leaves the courtroom, he stops for a moment in the hallway to shake our hands & congratulate us again.

We get back to the hotel, pack our bags & leave for the train. The next time we return to Kirov, we will be picking up our children's paperwork!