It's official!!!

A family of three no more…we are now a family of four!

It’s official! We had court today and we are emotionally exhausted and relieved beyond comprehension. It’s not like I thought that they wouldn’t accept our petition to adopt…it’s just such a huge relief to have it all official. Luba’s sister came at 11:00am to be our interpreter for court. Luba needed to stay in Kyiv but we were in good hands. Court was scheduled for 2 pm and the judge arrived at 2:30. The court house is located in an old dilapidated building that looked nothing like an official court house. The courtroom was a room with 4 rows of benches, two tables on the side and one table at the front with a big chair for the judge. The people involved were 2 jurors, the prosecutor, the judge, the inspector for the region (we met her the first day) and the orphanage representative. The judge and prosecutor asked us several questions about our lives and about Emma. The inspector and orphanage rep also spoke on our behalf and said some very nice things. The orphanage rep said that Emma is doing great since our arrival and she stated that she asked Emma if she liked having her name changed. She said that Emma stated “Oh yes! I like to have funny new American name”. We thought this was funny. After about 30 minutes, the judge retired to another room to deliberate with the jurors and to make her final decision. During this time, Lucas took the opportunity to flirt with every woman in the room, showing off the photo album we brought for Emma with pictures of our home, her school and soon to be teachers, our family and friends. They were all taken with him and the prosecutor was especially impressed with him. I think he went a long way in showing them that we aren’t complete misfits as parents and that we could be trusted with another of their precious children. After 5 minutes, the judge returned with her decision and as she read the findings “the court accepts your petition to adopt Emma”…I started sobbing! I couldn’t help it. It was such an emotional moment…something I have been waiting a long time for. Chris squeezed my hand and together we took in the moment we became parents for the second time. It is beyond words to describe the feelings. After the judge left the room, everyone came over and congratulated us and told us they were so happy for us all. Even the prosecutor, who seemed quite stoic during the proceedings was gushing with happiness for us. She was especially taken with Lucas and his schmoozing her was beyond her ability to resist. So, it is over…and now we wait for 10 days.


After court we went to the orphanage to hug our daughter (that sounds so good…our daughter). On the way Lucas stated “those people were really nice…they let me have my sister”. When Emma arrived he took her hands, looked her in the eye and said “now you are a part of our family”. She didn’t understand but he did and it is a memory we will remember forever.


During our visit, Carol (the lovely British woman that Jenny put us in touch with…Thank you Jenny!!) arrived to meet us and we were thrilled to make her acquaintance. We played for a little while then she took us to a lovely café for coffee and tiramasu. Her husband John arrived later and we had a wonderful visit and we made plans to meet tomorrow. They are going to take us to lunch and show us around a bit. They have lived here for 2 years so they know the lay of the land and we are so thankful to have met them. Life is good in Nikopol today!!!

Well, I’d better send this before this internet connection has another temper tantrum. I’ve already had to rewrite this twice so hopefully it will post this time.

We miss you all desperately

Love from Ukraine,
L,C,L & E