Thanksgiving and Court

After a long, but good, first full day we were looking forward to spending more time with our little man.  We woke up Thanksgiving morning and got to get our hands on Haven.  He is just so precious and we are falling more and more in love with him each day.  He hadn’t been eating very well and is having trouble gaining weight.  They tried lactose free formula while we were there, but that still wasn’t helping him with his tummy issues.  The country director made the decision to take Haven back to the hospital.  He was concerned and could tell we were too.  The plan was to put a feeding tube in him to help him “bulk” up.  Chris and I were again very emotional and worried, but we just prayed over him and trusted God to care for him.  We spent the rest of that day praying for him while also visiting the world’s largest market in Africa.  We didn’t get out because there were millions of people, but we just drove through it.  We also got to go on a tour of the first emperor’s home.  It was beautiful!  Then we went to a much smaller market to pick up a few souvenirs.  That night we got to go eat at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant.  There was a wedding ceremony going on, so that was neat to see.  There were dancers who came to the audience and got Chris up on the stage dancing with them.  HILARIOUS!  Don’t worry, I have video and will have to get that up ASAP!  It was at the restaurant that we found out Haven was back at the transition home.  The doctor checked him out and said his sucking reflex was good and he was eating, even though it was very little.  They have seen such huge improvement in him over the past couple of weeks.  Our spirits were relieved to know he was home from the hospital and doing a little better.  We slept great that night!

Then Friday was COURT DAY!  We got to spend more time with Haven that morning.  Then we dressed up and went to court.  We were told we may have to wait hours.  We were also told to expect to hear that we passed court pending a few more papers.  Sometimes not all the paperwork is there on time, so you pass officially once everything is in place.  Our experience wasn’t like that.  We walked in and got to see one other couple go in front of us.  Then we were up!  The judge asked us some questions through a translator.  I was getting so emotional, but was trying to hard to hold it together.  I didn’t want the judge to think I was sad!  I was so happy and the questions were just moving my heart:  Have you told your daughter about your adoption?  How does she feel about it?  Are you happy with this child?  Oh, my heart was bursting with love and joy in thinking about Story and Haven and the fact that this was finally happening.  Then the judge said, “He is yours!”  Nothing can change that now.  We are now responsible for him.  He is officially our son!  (All the paperwork was there and it took all of 15 minutes.)  We praised God for his favor and provision!  We went to a coffee shop to celebrate and then went and had pizza that evening for dinner.   Still more to come!