365 days ago...

We were a family of 3, Gloria and I were prepping for court, nervous, worried yet excited to be taking this next step in the adoption process. We visited with the kids the day before and told them that we would be asking the judge to make us their mom and dad. They seemed to understand and agreed that this would be ok. Court went so quick and I remember standing out in front of the courthouse in the bright sunlight in 40ish temperatures sweating profusely. We had done it! The judge had asked all the questions we had expected and prepared for and even joked about my birthday and our anniversary...What a relief to see that she was human and not some communist brut that was going to look at us and say "Americans NO!". We had stuggled emotionally for months trying to understand the process and it was pretty much over in an instant. Now here we are almost a year later...The kids are thriving physically and striving emotionally to understand all that has been coming at them. They are completely comfortable in their own home, rooms and beds. We have had no sleeping or eating problems in more that 6 months. School is a challenge that they are both taking to...letters, math, science we see them learning more each day and do all we can to help them to learn and adjust. We love them more and more each day! Thank god for putting us in the same place at the same time in a small town in the Russian far east.