Where has the time gone?
The last couple of months have been so hectic that they have flown by! We got out I-800 approval in June along with our NVC numbers. In the mean time we had to update our USCIS Biometrics fingerprints and submit a Supplement 3 to the I-800a (even though we were approved for the I800. The reason for this was that our children have a few other diagnoses that were on their referral medical than we were approved for, so we wanted to make sure that even though USICS had approved us despite these additional diagnoses, that we would be covered once we got in country. Actually, at this time I think we're still waiting on that approval... Why would I know know?
I'm IN COUNTRY NOW!
I told you it's been crazy!
At one point we were told that to get court scheduled for July would be practically impossible and that many people in country take vacation in August, so we should expect September travel. Then, one day we were told they were trying to schedule court for July 20th and we should plan on being in country that day. The biggest issue for us was that the judges were now requiring both parents to be present at court, we had originally planned on me coming alone. We had about 10 days notice to get care for Claudia set us as well as getting everything situated with work. That was actually a good amount of time all things considered. Jason was able to get care for Claudia all figured out for the week he would be gone in just a few days. We have several trusted friends and family that were willing to step up and help out not only for this week but also in the upcoming weeks while I am still away. Thank you all!
We flew out of the US on Saturday, July 18th and after about 35 hours landed in our children's country. Jason and my 7th wedding anniversary was on July 19th, we spent it mostly on a plane AND it was only 16 hours long since we changed time zones. Pretty cool huh? Anyway, we got into country Monday morning around 2am (6pm Sunday evening home time).
We did not have court on Monday but were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday court hearing. Our children reside in two different regions of the country, therefore we had to go to a separate court for each of them. Can I just tell you that the thought of going to court and pleading our case before a judge (let alone 2 judges) terrifies me!!?!!
So on Tuesday after going out for breakfast and meeting wit hour lawyer to go over what to expect in court, we drove the 2+ hours to Callie's region. The judge was a pleasant young man. We were his first American adoption case (he did have one other but the woman was of the counties' decent.) The judge asked us several questions before the hearing even started. He wanted to know how much we knew about the country, its history, how we would help our child maintain their heritage... It was not TOO bad. Once the other party got there (the person representing the best interest of the child) court officially started. We plead our case (Jason read our prepared statement) and the other party spoke on behalf of Callie. All went well and the adoption decree was signed within a half an hour after court (this is unheard of, it usually takes days.) "Callie" is now Milena (pronounced Mee-lay-nuh) and is officially ours! Then it was a mad dash to get the rest of the paperwork completed in her region so that we would not have to travel the 2 hours back to her region on another day. Some calls were made, people stayed in the office late and we got what we needed. It was around 6pm when we finally got to Milena's orphanage/home.
The residents rushed to the gate to let us in after we rang the bell. They knew why we were there. Everyone was very excited for Milena, yet sad to see her go! Milena was very well loved at her orphanage. The Sisters prepared a HUGE suitcase full of clothes and belongings for Milena (more than we could ever take home). This is unusual for orphanages, usually you have to bring a change of clothes for the child to leave in, they have to leave all else at the orphanage. Milena was blessed to be in such a wonderful place.
We got back to the apartment late on Tuesday night and crashed.
More later... Milena is waking, time to start our day! Pics to come later.
