Joy: Part 2

Another great day! We could not have asked for today to go any better. The city is bustling with excitement with the presidents coming to town and there are police officers on many street corners. Despite all that, we had pre-court – we’ll tell you how it went after our report on the rest of the day. :)

Our reps worked it out (at our request) so that we could see both of our boys this morning since we would not be able to visit this afternoon. We went to see Patrick first for 45 minutes. When he saw us arrive, his face lit up and he came running across the room. We were just as excited to see him! We tried giving him some baby food fruit stuff (approved by the doctor) but he wasn’t very interested. Instead, he made a mess all over Mommy, himself, the bib, the jar, and the towel. Ugh! He was way more into the spoon and even gagged himself with it but he didn’t like the soft spoon end of it. He ate a couple of bites but in general, food doesn’t seem like much of a motivator for him (though you can’t tell by his size!). He had to have a chest massage again today which did not make us very happy. It especially made him mad! He let Daddy hold him again today and even reached for him. We feel so blessed to have this little guy part of our lives! He is so wonderful!

We’ve only seen Calvin once in the morning so this was kind of new. He seemed a little confused that we were there but happy. He cuddled with me for awhile and then got down to play. We gave him his snack when our coordinator needed all of our attention to talk about the pre-court appearance. He quietly ate – unlike Patrick, food is a huge motivator for him and we are counting on it for the plane ride back! He absolutely loved riding on this plastic car today. He fell off twice and had a huge smile as he clamored to get back on. Daddy was a good sport and drove him all over the room (Calvin was clutching his plastic keys the whole time). Mommy was little slow for him but he tolerated her driving, too. He was overall very content and played well! There were lots of people in the room but it didn’t seem to bother him. Again, we can’t believe how blessed we are. He is amazing!

Tomorrow, the city is basically shutting down, so we will not be able to visit our boys – we are very disappointed and hope they aren’t too upset with us (they are too little to understand why but not too little to know we aren’t there). We also may not be able to see them on Wednesday because………………………………………………………..
WE HAVE FINAL COURT ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2006 @ 11 A.M.
We are absolutely thrilled! We had been praying that Wed. would be the day. We couldn’t believe it! We didn’t know how it would work with everything going on this week but God knew! So you can pray for us as we anticipate this exciting day! Our hearts are full of thankfulness and joy tonight.

Pre-court really wasn’t bad. We were seated for the entire 5 minute process. :) The judge did not look at us - just asked us a few questions about why we were adopting, what we do professionally, who would care for the children, who the guardian is, and if we agree with the petition. We gave the judge photos of us with each boy and individual ones of the boys (front and profile). He also looked at our passports. He asked the social worker if we were allowed to adopt two and she gave him the paperwork for it! Very simple procedure but very meaningful for us!

Afterwards, we went shopping at the Atrium so we would be set for tomorrow. We bought some food but mostly purchased some toys to donate to the baby houses with the clothing and blankets many of you so graciously contributed. We also bought a couple of toys for the boys…who could resist! We got them each a truck; Calvin’s is a dump truck with shape sorter and Patrick’s is a truck that has shovels and things with it (he is really into shovels!). We hope they will like them and will share. :)

So that’s a report on our day. Praise God with us for His work and please continue to pray for final court and our remaining days here in Kazakhstan.

Even though we are sad not to see our boys tomorrow, we are looking forward to a day with nothing. We really hoped that this trip could be partly a vacation but it has not been at all. So tomorrow, we are going to cook, watch movies, read, and play music! We aren’t allowed to leave our apartment due to the festivities. Our reps will come though for us to sign some papers.

Pictures of the boys will be posted soon…after court!