On Friday, we pulled the kids out of bed at the crack of dawn.
We drove two hours south.
We stood before a judge, raised our right hands, and swore to
"take responsibility for these children as though they were born to us."
We legally changed the kids' names and received the certified documents to prove it.
Phew! Except for post-adoption reports, our paperwork and legal work is finally complete.
This judge was so cool. E-man was a bit apprehensive at first when invited to sit with the judge, but he warmed up to him and now proudly reminds us, "judge gave me candy." It was surprisingly emotional for me. Perhaps it was not being present for the court hearing in Ethiopia (an agency lawyer represented us), and not hearing a thing at the Embassy appointment (because our baby doll was screaming her little lungs out), and now - standing here in this formal setting - before a judge - with my family looking on - I found myself tearing up, overwhelmed by the Lord's goodness to bring us to this point. I was glad the judge directed his questions to my husband, because I just knew I would burst into tears if he addressed me.
The whole thing lasted about ten minutes, but what a monumental ten minutes!
The children have been legally ours since May 17 and in our care since July 5, so this hearing is a necessary formality providing us with the documents we need to apply for U.S. citizenship. (Currently, the kids are on Ethiopian passports with immigrant visas.) From this point on, their names are legally changed as well.
We drove two hours south.
We stood before a judge, raised our right hands, and swore to
"take responsibility for these children as though they were born to us."
We legally changed the kids' names and received the certified documents to prove it.
Phew! Except for post-adoption reports, our paperwork and legal work is finally complete.
This judge was so cool. E-man was a bit apprehensive at first when invited to sit with the judge, but he warmed up to him and now proudly reminds us, "judge gave me candy." It was surprisingly emotional for me. Perhaps it was not being present for the court hearing in Ethiopia (an agency lawyer represented us), and not hearing a thing at the Embassy appointment (because our baby doll was screaming her little lungs out), and now - standing here in this formal setting - before a judge - with my family looking on - I found myself tearing up, overwhelmed by the Lord's goodness to bring us to this point. I was glad the judge directed his questions to my husband, because I just knew I would burst into tears if he addressed me.
The whole thing lasted about ten minutes, but what a monumental ten minutes!
The children have been legally ours since May 17 and in our care since July 5, so this hearing is a necessary formality providing us with the documents we need to apply for U.S. citizenship. (Currently, the kids are on Ethiopian passports with immigrant visas.) From this point on, their names are legally changed as well.
It was fun to share this day with the "B" family who adopted two older children from the same orphanage. Congratulations to them!
It was fabulous, also, to have Mark and Liane (YWAM director and homestudy social worker) there too, snapping pictures like crazy. I'll probably do a follow up to this post when I get those pics. :)
Thank you to all who have joined us on this journey to PRAY OUR BABIES HOME.
We feel so privileged that God would choose us to parent these two little people.
They bring us more joy than we can express.
We are rich!
congratulations! I just posted about our re-adoption hearing too. :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings and congratulations to you all! What a very special day!
ReplyDeleteCandace
www.rescuedviagrace.com