Ghana Day 15
Court day!!!! We are officially a family of 8.
Ok so now that Jason has left I am left here to blog L I am so sorry! But I will give this a shot.
I am so sorry to all who are reading this blog for taking so long to update. It has been a difficult couple of days trying to find the time to post. But I think we are back up and running again!!!
I wish I could say that today was the most amazing day that I have been looking forward to for the past, I can’t even tell you how many months. Parts of it were, don’t get me wrong. But it was a rough day for all from the very start.
It started out that when we arrived at the house and M was walking down the street with two of the older girls on her way to get her hair fixed because her curls had come out (they didn’t realize that we were being picked up by our AAI rep in about 10 minutes). Lucky for us we stopped them and brought her back with us. We had found out just before we were getting ready to leave that neither of the kids had had breakfast yet. BIG problem for these little ones and their schedules. So we wrangled up some food from Emily (a piece of bread and a cliff bar) and headed out. As we were all piling into the taxi A decided that it would be funny to tease us by not getting in the car. The closer I got to him the farther away he would move from me with a huge smile on his face!! TURKEY! This was not the time to be playing games, we were on a schedule and traffic into Accra is unreal because of the roadwork. I finally caught the little booger and into the car we go. He was not happy that he did not get to play his game for a little longer!
The traffic was terrible on the way due to the road construction, so what should have only taken 35 minutes at the most took over and hour. After about being in the car for about 20 minutes the kids began to cry that they were hungry. Yikes!!! I just closed my eyes and prayed over and over that they would be comforted, that they would be calmed. I pulled from my bag a few biscuits that I had packed just for this purpose. It seemed to hold them off for a bit.
We finally arrived at the courthouse and were greeted by our lawyer. A very kind man. It was so nice to finally be able to put a face with a name. We have heard about him over and over through out this process but had never officallly meeted. We are very grateful for his work on our case. We were brought into a big room with about 4 rows of benches on the left, in the middle, and on the right. In the front of this room there was a big table that was occupied by 'suits' working with their papers. We assumed they were the attorneys waiting for their cases to be called. In front of the men was a typical-looking bench you'd see on Judge Judy or something. We noticed, however the judge was not ruling from this bench. The judge had an office at the left front of the room which was accessed by a door just to the left of the main bench. A courtroom paige would come out and call for the next person to go before the judge and they would enter into the room. We were very anxious to have our turn. So began our wait!!!! Our VERY VERY VERY long wait!!!
I opened up my Mary Poppins bag of goodies that I had brought for the kids to keep them busy. Out came the coloring books first. I knew with in minutes that it was not a good idea to have M and A sitting next to each other. The battles began...first trading color crayons, then grabbing crayons, then the pouting. ( Just to clarify we are sitting VERY closely to each other with no elbow room and the room was completely packed with people and children, all there for different reasons.) So we put away the books and brought out the next item to see if that would help to pass time…it wasn’t long before the pouting changed to A on the floor rolling around in his best clothes, getting dirty from head to toe. I began to pray over and over for help from above that this fit would pass. We tried everything to bring him up off the floor, but the more we tried the more stubborn he became. Moments later he had kicked off his shoes and began to take off his pants…Jason began to plead with him to behave and to stand up. NOTHING!! He offered him biscuits, and gummies hoping to get him on his lap. NOTHING!! I just continued to pray. I felt as though people had started to stare, but I didn’t dare look around to see. I began to sweat. M was beside me digging through her bag of stuff and pulling out wet wipes and washing the window seal, washing her shoes. I was okay with it all because she was being quiet for the moment until she decided to start washing the ladies hair in front of us!!!! OH my I began to pray even harder!
About an hour and a half later Jason had firmly told A to get off of the floor and put his pants on or he would take him out side and he would not like it! A must have seen the look in Jason’s eyes because he slowly stood up and let Jason put his pants back on. Phew!!! Can I just say that I was shouting thanks that we got his pants on just in time. I had imagined in my head how this would all play out…. A on the floor undressed and his shoes a row ahead of ours, the judge calls for us and we are trying to put together our little soon to be family, M is pouting and not speaking, Jason trying to pick up A, who has become completely limp and boneless and pant less, and trying to make to the front of the room to see the Judge. However, our prayers were answered! The minute we were called we had finally collected ourselves and the kids seconds before.
I opened up my Mary Poppins bag of goodies that I had brought for the kids to keep them busy. Out came the coloring books first. I knew with in minutes that it was not a good idea to have M and A sitting next to each other. The battles began...first trading color crayons, then grabbing crayons, then the pouting. ( Just to clarify we are sitting VERY closely to each other with no elbow room and the room was completely packed with people and children, all there for different reasons.) So we put away the books and brought out the next item to see if that would help to pass time…it wasn’t long before the pouting changed to A on the floor rolling around in his best clothes, getting dirty from head to toe. I began to pray over and over for help from above that this fit would pass. We tried everything to bring him up off the floor, but the more we tried the more stubborn he became. Moments later he had kicked off his shoes and began to take off his pants…Jason began to plead with him to behave and to stand up. NOTHING!! He offered him biscuits, and gummies hoping to get him on his lap. NOTHING!! I just continued to pray. I felt as though people had started to stare, but I didn’t dare look around to see. I began to sweat. M was beside me digging through her bag of stuff and pulling out wet wipes and washing the window seal, washing her shoes. I was okay with it all because she was being quiet for the moment until she decided to start washing the ladies hair in front of us!!!! OH my I began to pray even harder!
About an hour and a half later Jason had firmly told A to get off of the floor and put his pants on or he would take him out side and he would not like it! A must have seen the look in Jason’s eyes because he slowly stood up and let Jason put his pants back on. Phew!!! Can I just say that I was shouting thanks that we got his pants on just in time. I had imagined in my head how this would all play out…. A on the floor undressed and his shoes a row ahead of ours, the judge calls for us and we are trying to put together our little soon to be family, M is pouting and not speaking, Jason trying to pick up A, who has become completely limp and boneless and pant less, and trying to make to the front of the room to see the Judge. However, our prayers were answered! The minute we were called we had finally collected ourselves and the kids seconds before.
Neither of us had been to court before so we really didn't know what to expect. We were ushered into the judge's office with our attorney and agency representative. The judge was sitting behind her desk with a big stack of papers and folders. The judge did not greet us but just kept her head down busily writing on the previous case's file. As we sat down on the long couch the judge grabbed our file, looked at if for a moment, glanced our way and said, "Oswald?" We confirmed her question and with a look and a grunt our attorney started in on the description and particulars of our case. He read the new names of the children, briefly explained their 'story', provided explinations to the documentation attached to the social welfare reports, and humbly asked that our request be granted.
The whole time the attorney presented our case the judge never looked up - she just continued writting quickly and listened. There were no questions asked of the attorney and we were never addressed once. After the attorney finished presenting the case the judge sat writing for a few minutes. We all sat there in silence waiting for what would happen next. Slowly the judge looked up at us for a brief few seconds and then back down at the paper. As she began to write she said, "Your request is granted....blah, blah, blah" (that was all we heard after the first sentance. I'm sure it was all important, but we were all elated after that first sentance).
As the new names of our children were named and our adoption was granted the kids began to squeal as silently as they could and did a small little dance in their chairs! It was so good to see their excitement when we were awarded a FULL DECREE!!! They were ours…. these two little messes are finally OURS! As stressed out and frazzled as I was I was filled with joy that our family was now complete. We have been so blessed. Next stop…getting our family all in one house!
As we walked out of the courtroom M and A did a little dance. M jumped into Jason's arms and squealed. I explained to the kids what this all meant for our family and how we'd waited so long for this day to come. Such a great thing had just happened.
Later that evening we went to the hotel to pack things up and get Jason ready to leave for the airport. As Jason and I got things squared up the kids decided they would take a bath. This kept them busy for sometime so Jason and I could talk about the week to come. I have to be honest I was scared to death to be left alone in another country without him at my side. I was tired and worn out from the day, both physically and emotionally. I was not ready to leave but I was wanting so badly to go home, if that makes any sense at all. Later we left the hotel and went to have dinner at the Ultimate for one last time with Jason. It was a nice dinner and the kids were amazing. They were winding down from a very crazy and eventful day! I can only imagine what was going on in their hearts and their little minds. This was a big day for them, both exciting and scary for them.
The kids have been expecting this day to come for many days. Almost every day A would ask his daddy, "Do you go back to America today?" Jason would follow up with, "No, five more days...or four more days, etc." But today was different. When A asked this morning he knew Daddy would be going home and they were a little anxious about the whole idea.
The kids have been expecting this day to come for many days. Almost every day A would ask his daddy, "Do you go back to America today?" Jason would follow up with, "No, five more days...or four more days, etc." But today was different. When A asked this morning he knew Daddy would be going home and they were a little anxious about the whole idea.
On our way back to the house, the kids had become very worried about when exactly daddy would be leaving and when he would could back for them. It was heart breaking to see that they wanted so badly to trust that he would come back, but given their past experience they were a little unsure. Daddy assured them over and over that we would be family forever no matter what and that we would all be back very soon!! He promised over and over and told them how much he loved each of them. Immediately they would come to me and make sure that I was not going yet, and that I would be staying. My heart ached!!! Ached is not even the right word. It hurts so badly to know that they will once again be left behind. They want so badly to come home with us and are trying so hard to understand this process. But they are only kids.
We celebrated F and R’s birthday and the court ruling for M and A becoming Oswald’s. Emily had went to market and purchased Fan Yogo’s for everyone and the kids sang and celebrated! What a perfect ending to a FUN day! Lol
Jason soon after sat with M and held her for some time until it was time to go. She was having a very hard time letting him out of her arms. A was upstairs playing in his room with some boys. Jason went up to say good bye and he smiled up at him and said 2 months with his 2 little finger held high. They hugged and then he carried on with his game. All the kids ran and hugged their “daddy” goodbye. Several of them cried as he was leaving because of the special bond they had with him. This was hard for all of those little ones who have really fallen in love with this daddy. They had all stolen a piece of his heart. As we walked to the taxi, A came running to his side and we all walked him to the car. Kissed and hugged and waved him goodbye. A finally decided that he was not okay with this and started to cry quietly in my arms. I reassured him that his daddy would be back and loved him.
WE loved him, we will only leave them this one time and then we will never leave him again. We are a family FOREVER!!!
On a much lighter note…..Monica and I got in the taxi and started for the hotel, to our surprise as we sat in the taxi our bottoms became VERY wet. I should have know something was up when I saw one of the older boys laying down a blanket in the back seat. It was not just a little wet is was sopping wet. I then rode the rest of the way home with my rear hovering over the seat. When we got out Monica’s rear end was dripping wet….we laughed so hard!! Thank you Nana for deciding to wash your back seat before picking us up J
More to come……
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