Latvia day 2 - Orphan Court

Are you ready for day 2?  Actually, it was much easier than I was anticipating.  Our alarm went off at 7:45 am this morning.  We wanted to get up, eat breakfast (which were yummy pastries from a bakery not far from our apartment), get showered and dressed, and meet our lawyer in front of the orphan court at 9:30 am.  The court was just around the corner from our apartment.  Best laid plans, right? 

I was wide awake from 1 am - 3 am. I mean wide awake... I guess it was jet lag.  I finally got up at 3 and took a melatonin.  I guess I fell back asleep, because I remember waking up when the alarm went off.  Jon said he woke up at 3 am (when I got out of bed) and couldn't fall back to sleep until around 5:30 am.  So, we were pretty tired when we did have to get out of bed.  We came out to the kitchen to have breakfast, I made coffee for myself and poured juice for Jon, then sat down to eat but couldn't.  Jon ate, but my stomach was in knots and as soon as I took a bite I thought I was going to throw up.  So, I just drank my coffee.  I was so nervous about court!  I pictured walking into this large courtroom with a judge and dark wood walls, and the whole thing kinda freaked me out. 

We got dressed (in our grown-up clothes... I was in a dress and Jon had on nice pants, a shirt and tie) and left our building.  We got to the court a few minutes early and waited outside for our lawyer.  She was not actually there as our lawyer today, but as our translator.  I guess there are no lawyers allowed in this session.  She prepped us a little about what we were going to be asked and reassured us in the process.

When we were called into the "courtroom," it turned out to be an office with a long conference table and three ladies seated on the other side.  I am not sure if they were judges or just a panel that decides these things.  They read us our rights and asked a series of questions.  There were a lot of questions about why we would want these girls with the medical issues that they have.  My heart just wanted to break.  Jon was great; he answered at one point that we don't get to choose what medical conditions our own biological children face and we don't think it is an option for these girls either.  The three ladies were very straight-faced and showed no emotion.  It was almost impossible to read them.  After questioning us for about half an hour we were asked to wait outside while they made their decision.  We were told (by our lawyer) that this usually took about 5 - 7 minutes.  Well, after about 3 minutes they called us back in and read their verdict.  They were granting us custody starting immediately for the girls to stay with us in Latvia (this is called the care and bonding time) and we are to report back to court in a few weeks for the next decision.  That will determine if the girls have bonded with us and we are able to take them back to the States with us. 

I had tears in my eyes when I thanked the panel and the one that I thought was the hardest actually smiled at me.  I know they were on our side in this, that they want to see kids adopted, but it was sooo intimidating!!!!!  The other family that is here adopting had their court hearing after ours and then we met up with them and our lawyer to drive to the orphanage.

When we got there we were told the girls were out in the forest picking blueberries.  We signed more papers (during which the girls returned) and then went up to the girls' room to help them change.  Once again, they were excited to see us.  We were given some photo albums of the girls over the past few years, and a gift that they had made for us.  Some of the other children just stood in front of us staring with kind of a blank expression.  I tried to touch as many as I could, just to let them feel something... I don't know.  It just broke my heart to leave them all there.

We drove back to our apartment and showed the girls around.  We had lunch, then the girls wanted to take a bath.  After that we had the girls "nap" (there was no actually napping going on - they played in their room, kept coming out to see if time was up, and needing to use the toilet).  After an hour I let them come out.  We colored and read books, and had a snack.

After a while, we decided to go for a walk.  This made me a bit nervous because when we hosted the girls Viktorija usually ran ahead of us and didn't really like to hold hands.  The problem is that they don't know about cars and red lights and looking both ways before crossing the street.  They don't realize that some people can be dangerous and you can't just go up to anyone and have them pick you up.  This is all stuff we need to teach them.  So, walking out into a busy city was a little nerve-wracking.  But once again, God showed us that He is in charge.  Vika did great.  I actually think she knew she was out of her element and felt a bit overwhelmed.  She stayed right with us the whole time!  We found a playground and let them play for a bit and then started the walk back.

We got back just in time for me to make dinner before the girls lost it in hunger! We had pasta and chicken and salad.  They were both pretty picky eaters at our house, and I was a bit prepared for them to complain about something.  But they didn't!  They both ate and asked for more!  Vika even had salad!  Milana did eat a bowl of tomatoes, but no lettuce (she seriously has an aversion to green food; the orphanage even told us she won't eat grapes!).  After dinner they got into pj's and we watched "Tangled."  They ate some yogurt while watching the movie.  Then they brushed their teeth and went to bed!

There were a few issues at bedtime.  They got up a few times for different things, and then Vika came out and said Mila was crying.  I went in and knelt by her bed.  She just kept repeating the same phrase over and over.  I have no idea what it was, or what she wanted.  I just rubbed her back and touched her face and hair until she fell asleep.  By the time she was asleep, Vika had also fallen asleep.

So, that was our day... lots of hugs, kisses, charades, giggles.  There were no tantrums, no "I don't like that," no bad attitudes.  A few times of boundary-pushing, but nothing major.  When we were walking back to the apartment this evening before dinner Vika was chanting, "America!"  It was pretty funny.  All in all a much better day than I was anticipating. God is good like that... 

Jon and I on our way to orphan court.