Russian Judge Grants Parental Rights
Mike and Michelle officially became Mama and Papa to Eliana Inna and Bohdan Sergei today around 12:30 p.m. local time. In front of an audience of 10 people, gathered in a small courtroom, the female Russian judge announced that she approved of our request to adopt Bo and Ellie. And, then she went that extra step and agreed to waive the 10 day waiting period occasionally required of adoptive parents.
This was a morning full of emotion. We started the day stressed out and waiting for word on when our coordinators would meet us to arrange our visit with Eliana. We also were apprehensive since we had yet to be prepped for what would happen in court.
Everthing started falling into place after a call around 8:15 a.m. We drove to Ellie's orphanage around 9:15 and we were able to visit with her until 10 a.m. Ellie has grown and she now has five teeth. She was as sweet as could be and she wanted to be held the whole time. We went to place her on a mat to watch her crawl and she had no interest in all that. She stuck out her lower lip, let it quiver a few times and then let out a good cry.
This was our first time to hear her cry, and it was good (in a stange way). She has a good set of lungs on her. But, once we picked her back up and bounced around a bit, all was well again. We had to wear masks again because of the orphanage's concern of any visitors bringing in their germs. So, Ellie has yet to really see our faces. We kissed her goodbye and told her we'd be back soon this time.
Court was a stressful, yet thrilling experience. The judge asked us lots of questions and our interpreter did a fine job keeping up. We were prepped a bit on what to say and we passed the test. Our orphanage directors and local inspectors (social workers) were in the courtroom with us along with a prosector and a notetaker. Everyone was very pleasant and after about 45-50 minutes and a few breaks for the judge to take a phone call and then deliberate on our case, we received the thumbs up.
What a great feeling. Excitement, love, relief, awe, etc., all at once. We left the courts and went back to the hotel. We stopped for lunch at a local pizza place and ended up dining with a couple from Baltimore adopting two children. They are on their first trip.
More to come later. The best part will be new pictures of Eliana Inna. I was hoping to post those now, but that will have to wait until a get my backpack (and camera) back from our driver.
Ellie will see you soon.
This was a morning full of emotion. We started the day stressed out and waiting for word on when our coordinators would meet us to arrange our visit with Eliana. We also were apprehensive since we had yet to be prepped for what would happen in court.
Everthing started falling into place after a call around 8:15 a.m. We drove to Ellie's orphanage around 9:15 and we were able to visit with her until 10 a.m. Ellie has grown and she now has five teeth. She was as sweet as could be and she wanted to be held the whole time. We went to place her on a mat to watch her crawl and she had no interest in all that. She stuck out her lower lip, let it quiver a few times and then let out a good cry.
This was our first time to hear her cry, and it was good (in a stange way). She has a good set of lungs on her. But, once we picked her back up and bounced around a bit, all was well again. We had to wear masks again because of the orphanage's concern of any visitors bringing in their germs. So, Ellie has yet to really see our faces. We kissed her goodbye and told her we'd be back soon this time.
Court was a stressful, yet thrilling experience. The judge asked us lots of questions and our interpreter did a fine job keeping up. We were prepped a bit on what to say and we passed the test. Our orphanage directors and local inspectors (social workers) were in the courtroom with us along with a prosector and a notetaker. Everyone was very pleasant and after about 45-50 minutes and a few breaks for the judge to take a phone call and then deliberate on our case, we received the thumbs up.
What a great feeling. Excitement, love, relief, awe, etc., all at once. We left the courts and went back to the hotel. We stopped for lunch at a local pizza place and ended up dining with a couple from Baltimore adopting two children. They are on their first trip.
More to come later. The best part will be new pictures of Eliana Inna. I was hoping to post those now, but that will have to wait until a get my backpack (and camera) back from our driver.
Ellie will see you soon.
posted by Marker Family Journal at 6:31 PM
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