We've been told that the official "judgment day" for Christina's adoption case is April 10. I think that means that's the day the Latvian court will officially stamp the adoption decree as final and confirm that the waiting period is over. WOOHOO!! After that, our attorney needs a couple of weeks to prepare our paperwork for the American Embassies in Riga and Warsaw. The Riga Embassy must complete the preliminary "orphan investigation" and verify that Christina meets their requirements to be classified as an orphan. Then, they will forward their report electronically to the Warsaw Embassy. Christina will also have to undergo a physical exam by an Embassy-approved doctor in Riga. Our attorney is handling this for us and will have the medical report ready for me as part of the paperwork prep.
So, while we're waiting, I've been working on planning my travel to Riga and my travel with Christina the rest of the way to Warsaw and back home. Looks like I'll be traveling the first part of May to bring her home. Robert and I called Christina last week and finally got to talk to her. This was the first time we'd talked to her since I got back from Latvia. Each time we'd call, they'd tell us she and Olegs were "out" with their friends.
When we got her on the phone, we asked how school was going and she said she was out for nine days for Easter break. Since this was last Friday, it seemed a little early to me so I just said, "Easter?" She cracked us up when she replied, "Yes, you know....egg and rabbit?" We had to explain that "yes" we know what Easter is but that it seemed early. We then went on to tell her that I will be returning to Latvia at the beginning of May to pick her up. There was dead silence on the other end of the line. We asked her if she's happy and she quietly said "yes" but then in her whiny voice said that she'll miss all of her friends in Latvia. It's really starting to sink in for her that this is really happening. In a little over a month from now she'll be living with her new family in America. We just tried to reassure her that she will still be able to keep in touch with her friends through email and letters, maybe even the occassional phone call. Plus, she'll make new friends once she's here.
We called the children's home yesterday and were told that Christina was out shopping. This was about 8pm their time and our little girl was out on the town. How nice. She'd better get it out of her system now, because those days are coming to an end!! That's one big challenge we have to face. The children at the children's home are pretty much allowed to go wherever they want as long as they come back at a certain hour. They are given a lot of freedom and don't have many rules they have to follow. She's in for a big surprise when she gets here. Thankfully, since we hosted her twice, she knows that she won't be allowed to do many of the things she did in Latvia. She sort of knows what to expect.
We found out that Olegs got to go spend time with some of his relatives during this school break. We're always happy when they take interest in him and want to spend time with him. We just pray that when he's with them it's a good and loving environment for him. It' always hard to understand why he continues to live in a children's home if he has family around. We just have to leave it in the Lord's hands.
Please say a special prayer for Olegs. We found out that he's gotten into some trouble. I won't share the details here, but he really needs the guidance of a family to keep him on the right path. He's such a great kid with a loving heart. We want so much to provide him with a loving family. We're continuing to wait for the decision of the court to determine whether he can be cleared for adoption. We've been told that the claim has been submitted and the next step is for the court to assign a date for the hearing. If he does become free for adoption, it will still take many months before we can be assigned our first adoption court date for him. It's hard to even imagine traveling again right now. We'll have our hands full for awhile helping Christina get adjusted.
We're just continuing to take things one step at a time and trusting the Lord to guide our path.
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