Glorious

Done
Done
DONE
Our court appointment went very well. God blessed us greatly. Firstly and not to be overlooked the buttons were dressed sweetly with nary a stress, and four hairdos with no angst. Fifteen minutes to departure and I still was undressed and unstyled but THEY looked great!

We got to the building with a full half hour to spare and got on street parking right in front of the building.......unheard of, sincerely. There was even time still left on the meter.

As we passed through the metal detectors the guards were more interested in making comments and admiring the girls then checking the bags and noticing that people in our party were setting off the machines. We have been here before and this was not the regular atmosphere. I felt we were breathing rarefied air today.

All through the building our little band did attract quite a bit of attention. The kids didn't seem as bothered by it as usual as their minds were preoccupied with the coming events. Our lawyer met us in the upstairs lobby and went over the details of the day and buzzed between us and the other families he was representing. We were one of 5 adoptions slated on the judges docket.

We went third. The courtroom was spacious and empty as it was closed to the public. Marvelous M took off his lunch hour and showed up right in time to be our photog guy. We sat across a wide table from the judge, the same one the B's and the K's had had, which was helpful in showing the girls his picture beforehand. The proceedings started and I felt like I was at an auction. Both the judge and the lawyer spoke sooooooo quickly that I had to listen with all my strength to follow along. There were several errors and I jumped in to stop them so that the errors could be corrected. Towards the end I realized that maybe I should have raised my hand or given some nod to the legal hierarchy when I wanted to interrupt but I really was barely holding my own in trying to get it corrected before they had gone to the next page.

The kids did really well. The littlest ones stood between us as we were seated. Second button stood beside her Baba and read a book and wondered as we stood up when it would begin, she had missed the whole thing because she was waiting for some "action" and not just the words. Top Button sat behind us and watched but did not really understand much.

The only time that was troubling was towards the end of the proceeding and the judge asked the lawyer if he knew whether the first parents would show up today. For the record the judge stated the date and time and took a moment to stare at the closed door to the courtroom. Sweetpea turned to look at the door with a jolt and a face of horror as if she fully expected them to walk through at that moment. I pulled her close and knew what she could not tell me right then. The judge continued on and with each passing minute her tense body began to relax.

It ended just as anti-climatically as it had begun and poor Sweetpea also wanted action. She wanted more than just words from this judge. She wanted him to "do" something, to signify what had happened esoterically on paper to satisfy the demands of the legal system. She wanted him to "cut the line" between her and the first family. He, of course, did not understand what she was talking about or why she would want such a thing.

We all stood up and posed for pictures. Which I will post later. Right now sleep is overtaking me. The judge asked that we send him a copy of the picture as he has a large scrapbook he keeps of all the families he has worked with, that speaks highly of him.

We exited the courtroom as they called the next family and we gathered in the hallway and the 6 of us did the happy dance. It was silly and it was great -- and the lawyer acted like he had no clue. Oh well, one must celebrate the big things in life and break out in dance. Six danced.

Then we walked hand in hand out of the building into the glorious sunshine and drank in the goodness of God!

We go back for the final hearing in January.

Until then we continue with visits from the social worker and reports to the court.