The end is just the beginning

The kids wanted to come to court with us yesterday, but we made other arrangements. And I am glad we did since it went longer than expected! They were well cared for by one of their caregivers, a wonderful and kind woman. 

We dressed up in our best clothes, because everyone told us that the amount of dressing up indicates your perception of the importance of this event. Then we were taken to the courthouse.

The judge was late, so court started off on a late foot. Present in the small family courtroom were the psychologist who came during home visits, the psychologist who heard the children on Monday, the head of the adoption center, legal guardian of the children, our adoption agent, our translator, the public prosecutor, two jurors, the judge, and us, of course.

Each person gave a different testimony, depending on their interaction with us and/or the children. We had been well prepared with practice questions, so when it was time for us to talk (one at a time), it was a piece of cake. I went first and got most of the questions, which Bryan appreciated, I think ;0). Believe it or not, we got the most questions from the prosecutor on the subject of our church. Since the kids have attended a Catholic church, the prosecutor wanted to know if our denomination was legally recognized, how it was different than the Catholic church, etc. 

Somehow we missed something that was missing in our home study so there was a tense moment when Bryan answered a question truthfully, but it was unknown to everyone else since it was not present in the paperwork. Everything turned out fine, though.

We requested a two week waiting period instead of three weeks. Then it was recess time.

The judge read the Court Decree when we returned and we corrected all spelling errors and stuff like that. When that was done, she stated that the children have new names, they are now our children, and she wished us many years of happiness together. I haven't cried much since we've been here, but I teared up when she said that. All the people we've been working with congratulated us as well, including the jurors who said kind things to us. It was the end of a long road...months of paperwork gathering, stress, expense, exhaustion. The adoption is over. They are ours.

But really, it's just the beginning.

We took the kids home and tried to communicate to them about the significance of May 14. When I said that the judge ruled they could be adopted and they were now Aberles, they shrugged and went back to playing. I am not sure they really understand everything, but they did ask when we get to leave for America! (more on that in a minute.) We celebrated with nice dinner at home and a special, delicious cake. It was quite anticlimactic as both kids were exhausted and hungry, so I am sure you can imagine how pleasant our celebration meal was!

Coming home...we did get the two week waiting period. Unfortunately for us, there is a holiday right after our waiting period is over which will extend our wait by a couple of days. We should be able to travel to Warsaw on June 3. Assuming all our Visa, embassy, and medical appointments go as planned, we might be able to come home - HOME! - on June 6. It will be cutting it close; maybe it makes more sense to wait until June 7 so we don't have to pay any ticket changing fees. I don't know! I will probably purchase our tickets today or tomorrow, though, and hope I made the right decision.