Introducing...

As of 10 am, we are officially parents again! Thanks be to God, we went to court and recieved a favorable verdict, and are now the legal parents of Maximillian Dmitri Kluck!

The court procedure went amazingly well. We arrived at the court (after driving around the city for a while, looking for a place to make copies -- do they not have kinkos here?) to stand in a dim waiting area with 30+ people, all ostensibly waiting for various court meetings. We waited, standing, trying to stay out of the way, trying to keep Tristan calm and quiet, for 30 min until we were abruptly escorted into a small room, what looked like the judge's office -- nothing like the official courtroom scene from Tristan's adoption! (Slava, our interpreter, had told us it was "just an informality") In the judge's room, we each stood and recited our name, date of birth, and where we work. We then answered a few brief questions about why we wanted to adopt and if we could provide for this child. Slava told the judge that Tristan had been adopted from Ukraine, and the judge called Tris over to her desk, where she kindly asked him some questions, had him show her our little picture album from home, and touseled his hair. For the first time in his young life, he was awed into silence, and answered her questions "do your parents treat you well?" and "do you wish for this child to be your brother?" simply with "da." (I was thinking it would have been nice for him to elaborate on all the reasons we are great parents.... oh well, next time!) This done, the judge said we were the legal parents, and can have custody of Maxim in 10 days. My eyes pricked with sudden tears; it is scary to get emotional amidst all the uncertainty but this was so quick, so simple, and seems so definite, I was filled with relief and gratitude.

So in 10 days -- I'm assuming it's just 10 days, not 10 business days -- we will pick Maxim up and bring him away from the orphanage to live with us. This will be another little celebration along the way, as will getting him into the US and to our home. We are thinking of ways to enjoy our last 10 days as 3, before the craziness of a 4th arrives!

The countdown to our homecoming also begins: now, we have to get Maxim's passport (which we applied for today) and then his visa (which we will begin to work on after the 10 days.) It is still uncertain exactly when exactly all this will be done, but it is beginning to look like it might be sooner than we had originally anticipated.

We would appreciate your continued prayers: for continued health and safety, profitable ways to pass the time, efficient completion of paperwork, and for a smooth transition when we do bring Maxim into our custody -- as much as we are looking forward to this day, it will present new challenges for all of us. Thank you for your intercession for us!
Kristin