First Day with the Boys and Court Date

Our first meeting with the boys was wonderful! They both remembered us and were now both calling us, “mamma and dada”. After 6 long months this was the sweetest sound our ears ever did hear! The orphanage Dr. said that Stasi knows Sasha is his brother, and when they see each other (still in different playgroups but they do see each other) he will tell the other children, “That’s my brother!” almost telling them to get away! We had our own private play time OUTSIDE! This was news to us, we thought they didn’t go outside, but they each get an hour a day and that is usually when they see each other. We took them to 1 of the 3 playgrounds by ourselves and had 2 hours together outside. Sasha threw a fit when I set him down, so I pretty much held him the whole time. We took out the Ergo carrier at the last minute due to weight, and now I am wishing we had kept it in the luggage and just dealt with the heavy luggage fee. My arms are going to break off before we arrive home. Sasha cried and cried when I had to hand him back to his caregiver which just broke my heart. But this is a good sign as he is now attached to us. Stasi, just like last time, wanted his dada to play with him the whole time. Andy was sweating bullets after running around and chasing him for 2 hours. Unfortunately Stasi has not gained a single pound or grown an inch in 6 months. Not Good. We’ll be vigorously working on this when we get home. Sasha has gained about 2 pounds and has grown an inch. We are less concerned about his growth which seems much better. Both, however, are still in the same size clothes as they were in January.


There are two other American couples here who had their court date last week, so we’ve spent some time with them at meals and riding to the orphanage giving us great pointers of what to say, like, “Yes, your honor, absolutely!” and what not to say like, “I think so.” Last night was our final night to quiz each other. We had a meeting with our translator and then went off to dinner to refine a few of the questions she told us to work on. It took a German Restaurant in the middle of Siberia to finally make us feel full. We each ate a complete dinner and it felt great to have our bellies filled up. We woke up at 6:00 to do one last final review for a few hours, and then went off to court. The judge was very serious, but didn’t really question any of Andy’s answers. She just moved onto the next. When it was all over, our translator said Andy did one of the best jobs she had ever seen. We can only give thanks to God for this, knowing His hand was upon Andy as he spoke. When it was my turn to stand up I had to answer a few questions about my health, and if I was ready to be a mom and ready for the challenges of 2 boys. Through my sniffles and tears and shared of my times with my boys, how we bonded, gave praises to the orphanage for going through the books with the boys and for helping them understand that they are brothers. I finished my plea by stating that I wear their names around my neck to keep them close to me until I could return here today. The judge cracked a smile out of the corner of her mouth. A few minutes later Andy and I stood up, and she awarded us custody of our two boys! Thank you Jesus! We feel a huge weight off of us and can now just truly enjoy each day with our children. We do get to go see them today, Tuesday. We were told we would not see them the day of court, but we were the only hearing for our driver so they can take us back to the orphanage at 2:30 which is in just a few hours. We thank all of you for your consistent prayers over us and over this day, the day we all finally became a family!