Monday, September 25, 2006

Another Day

We both slept great last night which is such a blessing! Morning came too quickly!

It was little chilly this morning, so we thought we would keep Patrick inside for the first part of our visit and then take him out for the last ½ hour or so. Well, when we got there, I noticed he had a runny nose. He was sneezing and snotty so we just stayed inside. He didn’t mind at all. We had a great visit – no tears today! When I returned him to his caregiver, he wanted to stay with me. She finally just had to take him. :) We take clothes daily but that baby house hasn’t been returning very many and I was running low. I asked the best I could and she understood! She brought out all the clothes (probably 7-8 outfits) and we looked through them to see what needed washed. Some of it was fine but I took it anyway. I’m just limited in the number of things I have for both boys. So I left maybe 4 outfits there. Hopefully I will get some of it back when we are finished visiting.

Some of you have asked how court will work. Basically after the 14 days are completed (on Thursday, in case you forgot :), we are eligible to turn in paperwork to finalize the adoption. The judge will then assign a pre-court date. At the pre-court, we will be asked some questions and then a final court date will be set. The final court date is when we will officially be declared their parents, their names changed, etc. Andrew will have to talk about why we want to adopt them, why Kaz, about us, name change, petitions and whatever else. We will petition the court for immediate execution (waive 15 days) and if they agree, we will have custody of the boys. We will then fly to Almaty and spend 5-7 days waiting for paperwork to be completed (visas, birth certificates etc.), medicals, and embassy stuff. After all of that is done, we will come home!!! That’s still a few weeks away though.

We had a great visit with Calvin this evening. He has the snuffles also and was drooling up a storm. He loved playing with the stacking cups again as well as the new toy and all together – wow, what a great game! :) He was not as frustrated today – maybe we are just learning better techniques for helping him deal with it which makes it seem a lot better. Anyway, we had fun. He was walking along the chairs and crawling a lot. His little tongue was stuck out for most of the visit. We are trying to teach him to give us five but he doesn’t quite get it yet. :) He also did not want to go back to his caregivers today. What a happy day Mommy & Daddy have had!

Please pray for one of the families here. We can’t go into the details right now but we are just praying for all to work out for their adoption. We are also praising the Lord for the successful pre-court for another family who will have final court tomorrow. We hope to meet their little boys tomorrow night. Please keep us in your prayers; it is very sobering to know that nothing is final until court is completely finished. We love these boys so much.

7 comments:

steph said...

hi Alaina and Andrew!
I heard Mom got to talk to you...lucky. :)
Glad to hear things are progressing with both boys. I'll be praying for protection in the legal process.
love, Steph

Seth said...

So from Petition (Thurs.!?) to Final Court date is that a long period, or just a matter of days? We will keep reading and keep you guys in our prayers this week.

Jen said...

It is so exciting to hear of the progress in the boys, the love that is flourishing! :)
I am praying for yous this week as the pre-court approaches. Thanks for giving a run down of how that works.

Anonymous said...

We are really enjoying keeping up with what is happening with you guys. I've explained it all to Claire and we've even had to play "adoption". Of course, in her play she was adopting girls. We will definately keep you in our prayers this week.
Mark, Shelly, Claire, & Brock

Anonymous said...

Hi, Alaina & Andrew!

This is the first time I've (Margaret) read about your adoption process on your blog - read the first and last so far. We are really excited for you! We'll be praying for you as you continue to love those boys and go through all the hoops!

Love to you,
Margaret & James

Grandma Judd said...

Receiving your journal entry is a highlight of my day. Taking those precious little boys from the daily life they are accustomed to and adding your love and caring is such a wonderful blessing. God is constantly with you. To me, it signifies "excellent parenting" with love and caring for a happy family.
Thank you for the itinerary for the future requirements for the adoption. I am praying for the other family that needs prayer. May God be with you in the Pre-Court procedure and all along the way to finalization and coming home. What a joy that will be.
Just sending many hugs and love for all four of you.
Lovingly,
Grandma Judd

Barbara said...

Hello Andrew and Alaina!

We rejoice with you that things are progressing well. Look forward to more good news tomorrow. Praying for you and the boys. Don't count on them sharing the trucks!!
Love, Barbara, Terry, Jessica and Laura