Court Date

It feels so good to have news to share! We have a court date! Hallelujah!

So, what does that mean? We will now have the opportunity to go before a judge, in our children’s birth country, to request that their adoption be finalized. This is the big next step that we’ve been waiting for…

… and it came at a totally unexpected time. It was our understanding that courts would be closed and no cases would be even scheduled til mid-late September at the earliest. So I have total confidence that our hearing over the “recess” period is God’s work!

This doesn’t mean the kids are coming home right away… we’ll still need to return to the US for additional paperwork (oh, the paperwork!) before making our third, and final, trip.

But this is by far the most movement that we have seen since we first met these kids 14 months ago. Another family was there visiting the orphanage this month and has sent numerous photos and videos that have just warmed our hearts. We’ve seen more of them and their sweet little personalities in the last 3-4 weeks than ever before. They remember us… they now know bits of English… they look healthy… but most importantly, they understand that we are coming soon.   

So we’re gearing up for travel. I have bags packed with clothes, shoes, cheeseballs, ring pops, and other random requests from our son. Chad is in research mode, ordering indestructible soccer balls (check them out! One World Play Project) and other goodies. We are SO ready!

Chad and I will be there, together, for about a week. We’re anticipating that I will stay longer, as needed, to ensure that the paperwork necessary for next steps is, at a minimum, moving in the right direction. However, my BOLD prayer is that the paperwork will all be COMPLETED while I’m there!