4/24/07 - Made it through court - Thank the Lord!

Finally had our day in court. Supposed to convene at 2:00 PM. We have learned to expect the unexpected. We started at 3 PM. After 4:20 the judge and 2 person jury stepped out to consult and said they would reconvene at 5:00. At 5:20 we reconvened and we were read all 6 pages line for line of the judgement granting the adoption. We were done at 5:50. Everyone present, the orphanage lawyer, the village inspector, the teacher/rep from the orphanage, the grandfather and us were grilled and we had to answer many questions. Again the personal photo album came into play and was handed to the judge which spoke much for us, our home, community, family and friends. We now officially have a new daughter and couldn't be happier. Ira's grandfather was in tears when the decree was read. One of the jurors also wept. Ira was very dignified and stood up very well throughout the entire procedure. She answered all questions maturely and with confidence. We were pleased and proud. We committed to not ever letting her forget her grandfather. She will be required to write and call him often. We all went out for a celebration dinner with Ira's grandfather before we had to get him to his train in Kharkiv. He had never been to such a place and was overwhelmed and ate heartily. After leaving him off we went back to our flat, Ira bathed and started to watch a Harry Potter DVD when Sergey left and came back with a bouquet of flowers, chocolates and Champagne to celebrate this very special occasion. He is very thoughtful and always has a smile and always has a very upbeat, positive attitude. He's great to have around when you are having a tough day. He has confidence that all will work out and get done. And somehow it does!!! We have been blessed having his guidance and efforts result in continuing to move the process along. Sign up to be patient, don't plan too far ahead, take ONLY one step at a time and then, and only then, think about and move on to the next step. You can go a little crazy otherwise...

Sharon should be on her final leg to Richmond as we type this. Tomorrow, Debbie is off to Kyiv via express train leaving at 7:00 AM. She has an appointment in the afternoon at the Embassy. Sergey, Ira & I will be off on a 4.5 hour car ride to Donetsk for the next 9 days. It ought to be interesting and a new experience for Ira and I in more ways than one. I had it explained to her that she would have to be my guide since she would have to speak for the both of us. She smile and nodded a yes...

We don't have the luxury of pictures right now, but will try again as soon as possible.