We made the mistake of not explaining courtroom protocol before we took the kids to the hearing. What were we thinking?? They had NO CLUE that it was supposed to be very serious and they were embarrassed at being directly addressed by the judge. This combination made for a lot of giggling, acting goofy and twirling around in the swivel chairs. They acted like they had ants in their pants--still probably on a sugar high from all the candy Grandma gave them yesterday. ha. The fact that our hearing coincided with nap time didn't help either.
Thankfully, the judge was very gracious and was obviously enjoying the moment. She asked the kids if they knew what we were doing today...that it was very special. She told them that their names had been written down in China, but now they were going to be written down in a book in the United States. I immediately thought of how God writes our names in His Book of Life when we are adopted into His family.
The judge went one by one with each child, reading the legal words that made everything final, and after each child, we all clapped and cheered. SaraGrace started clapping for herself at the beginning of her turn with the judge. haha (I know...you're all shocked!)
At the end, the judge had a bag of goodies prepared and presented it to each child. It was quite touching. We were utterly shocked to be told that the local bank had given each of them a certificate for $100 to start a bank account! Wow... The bag also contained soft, spongy gavels. Within 2.5 seconds, the kids were konking each other on the head with them. So predictable.
The bailiff handed us a video at the end--they had taped the entire thing for us! It was a truly amazing afternoon--they were definitely happy about doing adoptions. The judge also told Ryan and Taylor that she was one of eight children and that they would come to love having so many siblings someday. It seems like we have had so many doctors, dentists, and others in our lives who are part of large families. It's very encouraging to hear them say how much they love it!
Daddy and Jordan waiting in the hall for our turn in the courtroom
Jake has a rare moment of stillness....
