Friday, August 19, 2011

Court Day

Hello Everyone! It's Saturday morning at the VMI. We had court yesterday morning at 10am. We were up around 5am, spending some time praying and preparing for the day. Irina picked us up at 7:45am. That was wise. We sailed right into Vlad from our hotel. We beat the traffic and got a good parking space. We waited in the car for a while because the courthouse doesn't open until 9am. Once inside we all sat down and waited. Finally, just before 10am, they motioned us into the court room. It was pretty much like it was three years ago. They have you state your name and place of birth. They read through the petition. Then come the questions. I (Joel) volunteered to go first. That took about ten minutes. Then it was Clarion's turn. After that the social worker makes her statements. Then it's the prosecutor's turn. We were back out in the hall by about 10:40am. A coupe minutes later we were invited in for the judge's decision. The verdict was in our favor. We've been approved for the adoption of our little one. Thanks be to God!

After court, Irina had a few errands to run, so we waited inside the courthouse. About a half hour later Irina returned. She took us to the US Consulate so that Clarion could sign a Power of Attorney. After that we went back to the courthouse. Our agency's other family had court immediately after us. Byb the time we returned from the consulate, their court hearing was complete. We switched cars and rode back to the hotel with Lana and Olga, the social worker.

The rest of the day wasn't so great. I ended up getting sick. I think I got way too dehydrated yesterday morning. You'd think I would've learned by now to take bottle of water with me everywhere I go. Nope! We were both so hungry and so thirsty when we got back to the hotel, we gorged at the restaurant. Then my demise began. Back at the room I took a two hour nap. I woke up with a slight fever. I took some Ibuprofen. We watched a movie. I went back to bed about 9:30pm. I spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom during the night. Fun fun!

That brings us to this morning. I'm feeling better. I'll probably just take it easy today and lounge around the hotel. Irina is picking up Clarion at 7:45am to take her to the airport. Yes, my wife is heading home this morning. I'll be roughing it alone until my mom gets here on the 28th.

Thank you all for your prayers! Everything has gone really well, with the exception of this little bug I seems to have picked up. I think I'll be ok. Please pray for safe travel for Clarion and a relaxing week for me. I'll probably visit our boy two or three times during the ten day waiting period. I'm hoping he'll continue to warm up to me before we step onto that plane to Moscow on September 1st. That's all for now! Paka paka!

Joel

11 comments:

  1. Hoping you feel better soon! If it gets too bad (like the flu) I lived on TheraFlu while I was sick on our third trip, worked wonders! CONGRATS on passing court!!!

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  2. Congratulations on passing court!! I hope your visits go well and that your travels go smoothly.

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  3. CONGRATS!! I love it that it's OFFICIAL now!

    Praying for safe travels for Clarion and good health for Joel.

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  4. Congrats... You are in my prayers. God bless

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  5. Congratulations!! Now the real fun begins. Hope you enjoy your time in Vladivostok until the little one comes. I'll e-mail you about meeting with Fr. Myron if you're interested.

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  6. Congratulations! Hope you feel better soon and enjoy the rest of your time there!

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  7. Congrats! I am so very excited for you! Please tell Irina and Lana that the Toeppes said Hi! Get better soon!

    Myra

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  8. Congrats on court!! Whew-hoo!! But not so much on the getting sick part. Praying for a full and quick recovery and for traveling mercy for Clarion as she returns home!!

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  9. Congratulations! Being there by yourself isn't that bad, I did it and the bond we created was amazing.

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  10. yay, congratulations. Hope your bug goes away and you can enjoy your new son.

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  11. Please tell Irina I said hello, and ask her if you can take pictures of my little girl in the baby home. I am praying for your safe journey bringing your son home! You will be safe in His arms. Monica

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