Court Day

It's 5 am and I'm updating from the airport in Kiev. We flying home this morning, just me and Mark, after having court yesterday.

Nadia and Ruslan's parents made a complaint, but since they lost custody years ago it had no impact. Their sister called Nadia the night before court and asked if she and Ruslan wanted her to comolain too, but when they assured her they want to be adopted, she told them she wants to stay in touch and kind of said she's happy for them -glad at least that they have great opportunities.

The court was a little scary at first. There was the judge,a secretary who recorded everything, two members of a jury, two teachers from the school, the local child services representative and a prosecutor representing the parents because they had complained.Luda was helping us and translated for us. Each of the kids had to stand up and say they wanted to be adopted by us and why. Ruslan was beaming with joy as he said he loved us and knew we loved him. Nadia was a little more nervous but did fine. The court was mostly concerned about Nadia because of her age so we had to explain how we plan to help Nadia get through school. I guess time and attention is the answer.I told them that I plan to start with homeschooling and that I expect she will finish high school by the time she is 20 and then, depending on how she has done, she could go to trade school or possibly college. I was glad that they had Nadia herself express that she understands and accepts the challenges and opportunities that lie before her.

I think the little photo book of our house and family warmed their hearts and it turned out well. After granting us custody, which takes place in ten days, the judge invited us, Luda and the jury to her chambers for coffee and chocolate.

One of the jurors is an English teacher and it turned out that we met her star pupil, Sophie, last summer in Kovel. Sophie is the daughter of the priest who was so kind to us. How amazing is that?

After court we went out for lunch with the kids, the two teachers from the orphanage who accompanied us to court, Luda and Leo. It was Ruslan's first time to eat in a restaurant and he made the most of it. I enjoyed watching him savor every bite of an enormous dish of ice cream after his meal.

After lunch we dropped the kids off at the orphanage and drove back to Kiev. The roads were mostly clear but sometimes they were coated with thick snowy ice. It's very cold here. I was glad I changed out if my court clothes and into jeans with long underwear under my sweater (yes I changed in the van on the street).


Oops, our plane was just delayed because of ice. It's -7 degrees outside. Hope we make it it to Frankfurt on time for the connecting flight.

I'm ready to get home. Adopting is a great thing but I feel overwrought and emotionally and physically exhausted. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

Ps Andrew has been having lots of fun while we've been gone. Glad he adjusts so easily to everything.