Wedneday, May 18

It was a great day.  We got up at 6 am to skype with Max who was one tired boy after traveling all day and not having slept a wink on the flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Chicago.  It was good to see him and know that he along with Leah and Doug had made it home safely.  Max's aunt, uncle and cousins (Paul's brother's family) picked him up at the airport and gave him a wonderful welcome with balloons and other gifts.  They then took him to Noodles for dinner and followed that up with a trip to Dairy Queen later in the evening (two of Max's favorites places to eat).  Thanks Russ and Shelly!

We left our apartment bright and early (for us anyway on this trip) at 7:45 am to meet up with another family, the Moore's who were escorting us on the Metro to meet up with our lawyer.  Our lawyer than took us to the Juvenile Services office where we had a quick interview (do you have any other other children, why do you want to adopt this child) and then we were off to the orphanage for our official visit where from a legal standpoint they note we have established contact with the child.

It was a happy reunion with Kirill who had big hugs for both Papa and Mama.  As part of the process, Kirill has to write a letter to the judge stating he wants to be adopted.  When Natasha, the social worker from the orphanage, told Kirill he needed to write a letter he said he already done it and he went and got his letter/picture.  It says Mama, Papa, Max in several places and there is a drawing of the three of us along with a house (see picture below).  We asked what the words said but he was very shy and only said Mama, Papa and Max.  The lawyer said it says something to the effect of I love and you are beautiful.  It was very heartwarming to see his strong affection for us and to know he does think about us even when we are not with him.  As sweet as his letter was, it was not what they needed to give to the judge so Kirill had to take a few minutes and write his letter to the judge which he took very seriously.  After that we got sometime to play with him while the lawyer and social worker finished up the rest of the paperwork.  There was a Papa and son football/soccer game, an UNO card game and snack time.  It is obvious Kirill has been working on his English.   It was fun to hear him speaking in English especially during the UNO game. 

It was a short visit as we needed to go with the lawyer and the Moore's to a notary office to sign papers that need to be filed to request permission from Juvenile Services and the SDA to adopt Kirill.  The papers should have been filed today with the Juvenile Services offices and they have 5 business days to give us a consent to adopt Kirill.  Upon their consent, another document is filed with the SDA and they have 5 business days to grant us permission to adopt Kirill.  At the conclusion of those 10 business days (and we expect it will take the full 10 days) we hopefully will receive a court date.  So for the next 2 weeks we are in a waiting period and just get to enjoy that time with Kirill.  If we understood correctly, Kirill's school year just ended as today was grading day for 1st graders.  The timing worked out well in that regards.  Whenever Kirill would ask when we were coming to get him I always told him it would be near the end of the school year (I got lucky as I had no idea the school year ended in May). 

After the process was finished up at the notary office this afternoon, we had the pleasure of riding the Metro back to our apartment with the Moore's who were bringing their newly adopted daughter/sister and son/brother back to their apartment for the first time.  They are now in the home stretch and we pray they are able to finish up their paperwork and exams quickly so they can get home where mom and another brother are anxiously awaiting their arrival.



Kirill sitting on Papa's lap holding the letter he had written prior to our arrival today.

 

A happy and relieved Kirill.  Many other families have came to the orphanage in the last few months and I am sure he has been wondering when his family was coming.