This is a bit delayed, but court has been completed! We are officially her parents!

While in-country, our facilitator prepared us for court by letting us know the questions we would be asked and also making sure we understood that the hard work had already been done, court was merely a formality. The judge had already scoured our information and this proceeding was simply for her to hear our answers from our own mouths. I had heard rumors that this might be true, but honestly, I wasn’t ready to believe it until I experienced it myself.

Well, to my relief, the rumors were true. We had a great time in the hallway as we waited with the orphanage director, who is a very laid-back jovial kind of guy, the social worker and our facilitator. Even though the faces of the prosecutor and the judge were stoic, they also brought humor to the proceedings. The prosecutor had no added questions and the judge scrolled through pictures we’d brought while she listened to our answers. The judge asked my man to state our anniversary date–if he could remember. That lightened the mood. They also wanted to know what foods we liked and served in our home from her culture. When he shared our love for Borscht, Podliva and Kasha, they were delighted and it brought smiles all around.

From start to finish (including time for the judge to go into her chambers to “think about it”) our court proceedings were a total of 25 minutes! Can you believe that?