Proud Mother of Dylan and Victoria!

Leaving hotel, ready for court.

I survived court and am now the proud mom of two beautiful children (Dylan 15 and Victoria 3), well almost. The court ruled in my favor for adoption, but the actual court decision is not final for 10 days. Court lasted about an hour. It was a closed court session, meaning the only people present were Lana (interpreter and agency rep.), social worker, court reporter, prosecutor, Judge and me. Interestingly, the prosecutor did most of the questioning. Lana commented that this was unusual and interesting too. She also made a point to tell me how well I did in court. She felt I was completely prepared and did a great job at answering all the questions. She told me last night to talk a lot and elaborate on my answers, instead of just answering yes/no. That is just what I did! The social worker even commented on how well she thought I presented myself. Basically, it went something like this; lots of questions from Judge and prosecutor, social worker spoke of the history of Victoria’s family (learning more every day), and the Judge reviewed docs and identified them as she went through them. Social worker gave a favorable recommendation. Prosecutor gave a favorable recommendation. Judge asked us to leave the room while she makes a decision. We exited, came back in, then were told the Judge agrees with recommendation of adoption and court was done! Court was a breeze, there really was nothing to be concerned about and I felt fairly comfortable.

Victoria is not allowed to stay with us during the 10 day wait. This was disappointing, but I knew that would be the case due to another family adopting from the same orphanage and receiving that news the day before. We were brought back to the hotel after court and told we would be picked up at 3:00 pm to visit Victoria. We went with the other family that was also not able to have their child with them during the 10 day wait. They have adopted a little boy the same age as Victoria. He is in the same group as she is. We had a very fun time today with both children. The children were comfortable with each other and we had times where we enjoyed our own individual child, but also played as a group. The children really loved all of the attention. Babies were sleeping in the other room and we were told we had to quiet down. That was hard! We really had so much fun! The little boy was kissing on my daughter and she is also a little flirt! The play was so wild that the other mom and I had broke out in a sweat and decided we were exhausted by the time the two hour visit was over! It was another great visit! We will visit again on Monday, as the orphanage does not allow anyone on the weekends!

“Remember today, for it is the beginning of always. Today marks the start of a brave new future filled with all your dreams can hold. Think truly to the future and make those dreams come true."