We were registered in court on March 26th, so the SAA (orphanage) filed a petition to transfer custody of S**** to Brandon and I. We now know the Judge has our paperwork and is reviewing our file, which a massive stack of every document ever attached to Brandon or myself and our girls. She ( yes, we have a female judge #girlboss) will then accept us as S**** parents or schedule an other date. We have been told in our district it is mostly one court date then you are done. So, on April 11th in India we would appreciate your prayers for us to pass court. Then, I will be able to show you his sweet face and post his name. This is called "Verbals" in adoption slang. Which means the judge agreed in court, but has not typed and signed the documents yet.
I. AM. SO. EXCITED.
So, then what?
Well, like all parts of this our next steps are laced with red tape and waiting. After court we will need our SAA and agency in the states to receive the written report from the judge with the official seal on it. Translated into adoption slang "Writtens". This is a big deal, because then the ball can start rolling for us to get our boy in our arms.
Next, Certificate of Conformity of Intercountry Adoption (Article 23) with CARA. This is a document that CARA will issue back to the orphanage stating that the adoption court case conforms to all of the adoption regulations set forth by the CARA guidelines.
Then, the orphanage can file for the child’s Birth Certificate/Birth Affidavit. Which will be a birth certificate with our names and his new full name on it.
Which will allow the SAA to file for the child’s passport. This can take a while because the SAA must drive the child to the nearest passport office in person. In a place were people are already stretched thin this can be a trail in it's self. However, we have heard and seen the prompt responses of our SAA and the director so we have faith he will work quickly for us. The documents will be sent to our agency here.
THEN, at long last we will get the call to book our flights to meet your son that we have loved for almost a year from half the world away.
Yikes, it feels like we are so close yet so far. However one of the many things I have learned in this process is that you celebrate the small steps, because progress is progress. We continue to ask for your prayers that we are able to be with our son on his birthday at the end of May. It's pushing it but not impossible. God is sovereign and reigns over all things.
We love and adore our tribe that has love us and our son through this process.
Prayer requests:
Court date on 4-11 that we pass and receive writtens quickly that are correctly spelled.
Fast approvals and documents for S****
Us to be with our son on his 4th birthday.
