Thursday, February 12, 2009

We Are A Family Of Six!

We are now a family of six! We are so joyful and so thankful! We are also so exhausted!

Thank you all for all your prayers! It was a very long day! We left the apartment just before 11 a.m. and we returned just before 11 p.m.

The court itself was quite a distance from the apartment and there were stops to make on the way. It took some planning to get all of us there. Most of the cars here are the size of a Civic or smaller. There were the four of us to be driven, our facilitator, each of the boys, and each of the boys' inspectors. All of those coming were doing so from five separate locations, the farthest being about and hour and forty-five minutes from the court house.

On the way to court we stopped for lunch and had a very pleasant surprise! As we were eating, Slava's driver called to say Slava was hungry, he had been taken out of school before lunch. So, the driver dropped him off with us to eat! He was dressed in a suit with a button up shirt. He looked absolutely adorable! He couldn't understand why we were all so taken by him in his suit. It turns out he wears this suit to school everyday! We had a good time at lunch and he rode to court with us.

Once we arrived we waited in the halls for a bit. Jen arrived with his inspector and the director of his orphanage. Jen had a huge smile on his face when he came through the door and he was so happy to see Slava. This was the first time they had seen or talked with each other since the hosting trip last summer.

The court proceeding was set to begin at 3:00 but didn't actually get going until 3:40. There were three parts to the proceeding: a pre-court hearing in which our petition was read aloud and all the parties present were identified; next was the court session itself in which the jury joined, everyone was re-identified, we were told our rights, our petitions were re-read, all the articles of law pertaining to our petitions were read, we were asked a few simple questions like what we were asking the court to do, why we wanted to adopt these children, how many times they had been in our home, why we were asking for the waiting period to be waived, etc. Then the boys, individually, were invited into the courtroom and asked to state his name, birth date, was asked if they knew us, and they asked who we were. Jen's reply to "Do you know those people?" was, "Yes." His reply to, "Who are they?" was a nervous but hopeful "They are my mom and dad, I think." It was very sweet. Then Slava hurried in and just about knocked the podium over because he tried to step up on the layered, pedestal base. Everyone laughed. He spoke loudly with a huge smile and stated that he knew us "Very well" and that were "Tony ... and Susan ..., my parents." The judge then asked if anyone was against our petition to adoption or had anything they wanted to say. Then the judge, her secretary, and the jury left to make their decision. The wait was at least an hour.

When the judge returned she re-read everything, then stated that our petition to adopt was approved and that our petition to waive the waiting period as it pertained to paperwork was also approved, then she read the decree stating such. Everyone then left the court room and the boys and the others left the courthouse. We waited down stairs as our facilitator and the judge finalized the decree. We didn't leave the courthouse just before 8:00 p.m. The drive back was very slow because we were on a rural road with no street lights, it was wet and foggy, and visibility was probably less than a quarter mile at best.

So, all that and you never got the answers you wanted, right? Like are the boys with you now? When are you coming home? How come there is not a picture of the six of you posted? Here are your answers ... We will be allowed to take custody of the boys on the 24th after we stop by the court house and pick up a document that says the 10 waiting period has been satisfied. We don't know yet when we are coming home. We are still doing documents, making decisions, and then we will make our travel arrangements. We did take a picture of the six of us after court, but Tony left with the facilitator at 6:30 this morning to begin collecting all the necessary documents to proceed (the official court decree, birth certificates, social security papers, passports, etc.) and he took the camera.

We will keep you posted!

13 comments:

  1. We are sooo Happy for ALL six Baudonnets!!!!
    Over three and a half years of prayers everyday answered. You may not realize, I asked for this during every meal's blessing, too. Just ask the girls. Ever since Slava's first summer here.
    Slava (Seth) and Jen (Jack) ARE our grandchildren now!!! Tony has boys! Susan has four of her own!
    These two will have tall orders to become as fine as their sisters are; in school, sports, etc.
    We are very proud of what you guys have done and positive you will succeed as a family of six.
    Love and ptayers always, Gpa

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  2. God is soooo good! Celebrate...celebrate...there's a party going on over here too!
    But....the 24th? It seems that is 10 days?

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  3. WOOOOOHOOOO!!!! Congratulations Baudonnnet Family! We were so excited to hear that court had gone well and that you already have the court decree in hand (that is huge and almost NEVER happens - God is GOOD!) We are praying for rest for you in the midst of getting all the documents taken care of.

    TODAY'S ENCOURAGING WORD - 2/12/2009

    This is real love-not that we loved God,
    but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

    --1 John 4:10, NLT

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  4. You know I love R&B music! We all are planning your arrival and times of play! Personally we all could imagine your court just like we were there, just like our 3 times at court. Remember being there for Rachel's court? The kids laughed at both boys reactions to being inside the court room!
    We love you all soo much. Talked to BOTH of your parents yesterday and we're laughing at stories about the boys and being grandparents of 4 kids and how different boys are compared to girls! :)
    Celebrate for sure!
    Thanks for keeping us up to date! Hugs and love

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  5. This is the post we were all waiting for! You've been blessed with such a great family. Thanks to Him for letting it happen. You are going to have a long, happy life with these kids, we just know it. God bring you home safely!!!

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  6. Isn't God GREAT! Looking forward to seeing all of you.

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  7. YOU CRACK ME UP!!!! I'm having my own personal dance party in the kitchen right now!!!! excuse me while I busta move.....Ok , I'm back. HALLELUJAH!!!! GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME. ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD. Prayer for you all today is that you finish the race well. Hang in there. The end is in sight. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

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  8. We are so happy for you all and the boys. It's so hard to get all the words out to people @ wk without crying with joy and exitement!!! Can't wait till everyone is home and things start to settle down for you all. Let us know if theres ANYTHING we can do to help.

    Love and Prayers,
    The Santos Family

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  9. How amazing the journey has been for you all...and us as we have seen what God has done for you and with you! We are all so thrilled over here and can't wait to see the picture of all of you! My kids are wondering who chose the "new" names? We are all so thrilled and thankful! Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? As Chris always says,"Fourth quarter baby, fourth quarter!"
    We love you!
    Edwards Fam

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  10. Hallelujah, Hallelujah...that's the Hallelujah Chorus... We have an Open House to plan...
    So happy... Love ya, #10.

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  11. Congratulations!!!! I can't wait to see all that God will do in the Baudonnet family of 6. God is indeed good. =)
    Luann, Sung and Rachel

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  12. God is so amazing! After all of the waiting He has certainly blessed the Baudonnet Six! As I was reading this post I was crying and remembering all of the stories over the last few years. Congratulations and I can't wait for you all to get home!

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  13. Only 8 more days! fabulous! What a wonderful day the Lord has made. Let us rejoyce!!!!!! I am so happy for you all. Many Blessings Romilda

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