We arrived in Yerevan in the wee hours of Monday morning and were promptly taken to our apartment where we got a few hours of sleep and a breakfast. I then went to sign for and pick up a document that we would need for court. Around lunch time, the four of us along with our facilitator piled into a car and made the two hour drive to Gyumri where Ella has lived since shortly after she was born. We had just enough time for a very quick stop to see Ella and let her know we had come back for her. It was a great reunion.
We had to be in court at 3:00 pm. The proceedings lasted about 40 minutes with the judge asking Craig and me each some questions, the social services representative speaking on Ella's behalf and recommending her adoption, and the judge then reading all of our dossier items as well as Ella's documents into the record before announcing that we had passed court and that the official ruling would be made public the next day at noon. After court, we were just exhausted (the 8 hour time difference was not helping), so we decided to go back to Yerevan, grab a quick dinner and get some sleep which we did.
October 7, 2014
Craig and Rex stayed in Yerevan this day as we could tell that Rex needed some time to recalibrate. The boys spent hours walking and playing at local parks as well as napping, but also did some grocery shopping and laundry for us. Meanwhile, Emilia, our facilitator and I headed back to Gyumri. I had to be in court at noon to hear the decision which made us officially a family of five. Then we went to apply for Ella's new birth certificate as well as adoption certificate, followed by a lunch and then a one hour visit with Ella at the orphanage. I tried to prepare her for the major change awaiting her the next day when she would be leaving, but I guess she just couldn't quite wrap her mind around the momentous experience to come. Then Emilia and I as well as our facilitator returned to Yerevan where Craig and Rex were waiting for us with dinner ready. I tried to get a little more organized that evening in the apartment, but the kids were in need of a lot of attention, so we made that a priority.
No comments:
Post a Comment