Been there...done that.

Until today, I could not say the above about attending Ukraine adoption court. Now I can! Yep, I received a call from Tanya last night while waiting for the train that court was scheduled for today (Monday) at 1PM.

After arriving in Kherson this morning at about 6AM, I grabbed a couple of hours of sleep at the Bible House where I'm staying once again. Then Tanya and Oksana (regional inspector) picked me up and we headed to court.

The three of us met up with Roman at the court building. Due to swine flu worries, all the schools and internots are "closed". For schools, this means that no one is going to school for the next 2 to 3 weeks. For the internots, this means that the kids may not leave the premises. So Roman was at court representing Natasha and Pasha.

Court only lasted about 20 minutes or so. The judge asked me a few questions (where do you live, what do you and your wife do for a living, what is your home like, do you have additional children, etc.). Then Oksana and Roman both did their part and the judge read a bunch of documents. There were two additional ladies in the courtroom and Tanya told me they were "public assessors", I think that just means that they were there to observe and be witnesses to the process. I did notice, however, at the end that the judge asked both of them if they had any questions for me or concerns about the adoption. They both smiled at me and indicated they had no objections (I think that means I made a good impression).

So, that's it! We are now in the 10 day waiting period. We will receive the official court decree next week Thursday (11/12) at which time the adoption becomes "really official". Thereafter, we will apply for new birth certificates and passports, a process which can take 7-10 days. Once we have birth certificates and passports, the three of us will head back up to Kiev where we will get medical exams and immigration Visas. The plan is to head home on the 25th...and I'm really hoping we can do that to enjoy Thanksgiving in Colorado!

After court, I walked to the internot and was able to see Natasha and Pasha. They were happy to see me and both gave me big hugs. I tried to communicate that we had had court today and that everything had gone smoothly. I then tried to explain the timeline by drawing pictures and explaining what the rest of the process would look like. Between my pictures and their understanding some basic English, I'm pretty sure they know what's going on. When I drew a picture of an airplane with an arrow to "USA", they definitely understood that! :)

Well, that's it for now. I'll visit with them and other kids at the internot each afternoon and for a while on Saturday and Sunday, but won't be able to take them anywhere. It's a bit of a bummer, but we'll make the best of it.

Thanks for all your prayers. Please pray that next week the process to get the birth certificates and passports will go smoothly and quickly. Also, with all the worries about swine flu, please pray that we all stay healthy for the next 3 weeks especially.

Later,

Bruce