Virgil
The Court Hearing
by , 07-01-2010 at 12:03 PM (2887 Views)
Someone up there is looking out for us.
We had our court date today. Let me tell you, that some of these are not easy.
None of that happened. We actually started early. We were scheduled for 10:30. We got there at ten, ushered in, and shown to a four floor office of the judges by a quarter after. They told us the court room was being used and so we would have the hearing in the judge’s chambers. Mind you, our translator showed up late, and so we did not even know what was being said as it proceeded. The judge was an upper middle aged woman, a women representing the Department of Education, our driver representing our in town coordinating facility, and a physician from the Baby house.
I prepared the night before with all sorts of answers to potential question. My wife even wrote out a concluding speech about what this all meant to us. We didn’t need any of that. The whole session lasted less than a half hour. Was this because our dossier was so thorough? We don’t know.
My wife and I were both dressed in dark suits, and we both had a combination American flag/Kazakhstan flag pins on our lapels. I thought that would be a nice touch. I never got feedback but afterwards our translator said he liked them.
Our translator did finally show up at almost ten thirty. Most of the questions were routine: our names, our income, whether we knew of the child’s medical history.
Why did we choose Kazakhstan to adopt? I answered it round about on how people had had good experiences here, how babies are well cared for here, and how as I learned about Kazakhstan I found it to be a fascinating place. I thought I answered it ok, but my wife later said she cringed with my answer.
We had to supply fifteen pictures from our bonding period, and when the judge saw the pictures I knew we had this in the bag. She smiled for the first time in the hearing when she looked at the pictures and turned to me and said the baby has a resemblance to you. Hahahaha. The rest was routine and really quick. I think it was over when she saw the pictures. At the end everyone congratulated us, including the judge. But she said it would not be official until the prosecutor had a chance to review the case, and we should have an answer by Wednesday.
So I would say we are proud parents of Matthew Jacob, though it’s not official yet. Good Lord, why am I so blessed.
We saw Matthew afterwards for the last time until middle August. He’s nearly walking now!! I can’t believe we won’t see him for over a month. Poor thing was chewed upon by mosquitoes. He must have had over a dozen on him today. I can’t wait to bring him home.
Ok, we are out of Shymkent in the morning and will spending a few days in Almaty. I have no idea what kind of internet connection we will have at the hotel so don’t be surprised if I’m not on, and then on Monday, 2:00 AM we will be heading home for that 30 something hour expedition. It’s been incredible. I can’t wait to see home.
I’ll leave you with a family picture.
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