Day 31 - Court Day!!! - Tuesday Oct. 18

Wow! It is finally here! No one has called to cancel. We still needed to exchange some cash, because we knew we would have some big taxi fares to pay. We got ready and went down to the bank to change the money. As we walked outside, we were amazed that the snow was falling! It wasn't sticking yet, but it had been pretty cold the past few days, so we were pretty sure it could get white. Ksenia was scheduled to pick us up at 11:30. So we tried to be as quick as possible getting there and back.
As 11:30 drew near, we were more and more excited. But 11:40 and still no word from Ksenia. I called to see when to expect her, she said that they were waiting for the inspector to come down and they would be right over. Yarik had left his new outfit at our place and wanted to change. So I told Ksenia to send him in as soon as they arrived as I already had it laid out. We had an outfit for Sergei ready to take for him to change for court. As we waited, the power went out in the hotel. So no power, snow falling, late departure. Darren was getting pretty worried, he figured we would need to reschedule. I knew we still had time and it would be fine. He was only thinking about another fare change and the extra money and time it would cost us. Around noon, Yarik rushed in and changed his outfit. Within a few minutes we were out loading up in the car and on our way to the court.
Our driver tried to get the heat going and the defrost working, but the car only made scary sounds and she apologized. It was really cold!! The snow was falling steady and the roads were pretty wet. We sped along behind Ksenia who was driving with the inspector and social worker for Yarik and our translator. Yarik rode with us. It was about 90 minutes of really cold wet driving. But we finally arrived. Sergei was not there yet. He and Nina were being brought by taxi Sergei, as apparently Nina had no way to get there. (Even though we heard she had 3 cars.) Anyway, we were still about 20 minutes from our court time. I took Sergei to the restroom to change into the new clothes I had brought for him. Of course, it turned out to be kind of a waste, as there was also no heat in the court building, and we all had to pretty much stay bundled up. He did look very handsome in his dress shirt, though and was happy to change into nicer clothes. Ksenia came to check on us, as taxi Sergei was concerned that he might say no, as he thought Sergei seemed to have a scared look in his eyes on the way there. Sergei assured us that he was still going to say yes! I gave him hugs and we returned to the group.

Our new sons, Yarik Caleb and Sergei Michael

While I was with Sergei, the translator was briefing Darren on what to expect once we were inside. We were to stand when we addressed the judge and answered the questions. Once inside the court room, we were able to sit with both of our boys in the same bench along with our translator. Behind us were Ksenia, the social worker for Sergei, Sergei's director, Nina, the social worker for Yarik and his school psychologist. In the courtroom was a prosecutor on our right, and the judge and two witnesses in front of us. It was fairly formal proceedings. The judge addressed the boys and asked them questions. She sounded pretty harsh, but they both stated that they wanted to be adopted. They were also asked about how they knew us and what they did in our home, what they planned to do for school and for a trade. Sergei went first and was very sure of himself. He gave thorough answers with a strong voice. He told about the fun things he did while he was with us and his plans to work as a builder. I was so proud of his courage. I was praying for him especially when he was talking, as I thought he would be more nervous. When Yarik's turn came, he was very shy. He did not want to give wordy answers and they had to force it out of him. I knew he was nervous about the day, but I did not realize how much. I shot up a prayer for him as well.

The snow flakes falling in the hotel courtyard

Their questions for us were basic ones, like why we wanted to adopt, what our family was like, what our financial income and expenses were, what our children thought about the adoption. What our professions were. I guess they were satisfied with our answers. They asked if anyone had objections, and everyone said no. So the judge called a recess and we waited.
Yarik's school psychologist was very interested in asking us more questions. She had not been part of adoption proceedings, and I am not sure if she had met many Americans. She grilled us more than the judge, but in a friendly way. She seemed very happy with our answers, and genuinely happy for Yarik. I had shown our translator the album I had made for Yarik and she shared it with the psychologist. They were both impressed with how happy our family was in the photos and that one of Sergei's friends was also adopted into a family near us. In another part of the room, the procecuter was arguing with Ksenia about how Americans could want to adopt and how we could afford extra kids with a mortgage and why the kids would want to give up their pension. She tried to help him understand, but the differences in our societies are extreme. For example interest rates on mortgage credit are around 18% compared to our 3% loan. No wonder the guy could not understand. Of course, he was single and had no kids, so not being a dad, gives him a different perspective as well.
Soon the judge returned and gave her decision to approve the adoption. We were so happy! The boys were so relieved. It was a special moment for us and the hugs were so sweet. Those who were supportive of us came and shook our hands and congratulated us. We weren't really sure what to expect next. The judge left and we thought we would get a chance to take a photo with her, but she was unavailable. Nina was ready to go and wanted Sergei. I said we wanted photos first. We got several shots of the 4 of us. And then gave big hugs to our new son, Sergei before they took him from the room. We followed a few minutes later and found Sergei still waiting for Nina in the foyer. We got some more hugs and I promised to come as soon as I could to see him again. Ksenia had asked Nina if we could have Sergei come with us while the school was on break the next week, but she said no. She said that she did not believe adoptions were good and he didn't need to be with us yet. I was crushed. I knew it was a possibility that she would say no, but it made the sweetness of the day a little less. I tried to push it out of my mind and be thankful that both of the boys were now our sons. We loaded back into the car with no heat. This time Yarik's social worker rode with us. At least this time I was between Darren and Yarik and stayed a little warmer!! My toes were still feeling like ice cubes. Our driver was supposed to take us straight back to Sumy and Ksenia would come after us. Unfortunately, she was unsure of the way and we ended up on a little detour, which ended up putting us right behind Ksenia anyway. Ksenia had a detour to drop the judge off at her home, as they were personal friends of her family. So we took the long way home! Anyway, we finally made it back to Sumy and Darren called Ellie first. We talked to her and then called Bekka at Olivia's and finally TJ at Angie's. I also called my mom to let her know. Then Yarik wanted to tell his friends. We found 2 of them online on facebook and their dad worked with Darren to do a facebook video chat. The three were so happy to talk and share their stories. They had left Yarik's orphanage this past summer to come with a family in Iowa. They chatted until it was time for them to go to school for an art class. We made plans to call again on Monday.

We were all so happy. We made sandwiches and ate some salad we had purchased at the supermarket the day before. Not much of a fancy celebration dinner, but it just didn't seem right to go out without Sergei. And we were still freezing from the cold of the day, so we snuggled in blankets on the couch and drank hot drinks. Yarik still had to go to school the next day, so we tried to get to bed at a pretty decent time. Darren would be leaving the next day for Kiev and I found out that I would have to change rooms, and maybe even hotels the next morning, so Darren and I tried to get things organized for the next day. Ksenia said she would be there to pick us up at 8:30am to go to the notary, so we knew morning would come fast.