GOTCHA!

(Note from Alison: Hi everyone, I've been checking my e-mail every hour on the hour waiting for this post!!)

It’s 9:15 pm in Kokshetau and we just put a peacefully sleeping baby boy in his crib for the night. That’s right … Owen Edward Mechem is out of the children’s hospital and officially our son!

Our court date was earlier this afternoon, and since Rada told Bob that his horoscope today said his charms would win over any situation, we felt pretty confident. Honestly we were a bit nervous, but we knew Owen was meant to be our son and had faith.

We dressed up, went to the courthouse and waited until called into the judge’s office. Serious faces all around. We sat with Rada in office chairs lined up along the back wall and the judge, prosecutor and secretary sat at the judge’s desk. After we answered a few basic questions about understanding our rights, Bob stood and did a great job with his speech and follow up questions from the prosecutor and judge (although Scott and Susan, we did have to evoke your names as being the reason we “chose” Kokshetau; at which point the judge actually nodded and smiled!). Then I stood and gave a brief speech. Dr. Victoria and Zhania, the representative from the Ministry of Education (they oversee adoptions), spoke next; the judge and prosecutor looked through our photo album from home and pictures of our visits with Owen; and asked a few more questions.

All of us left the office to let the judge make her decision; and after a very long wait (but probably less than 5 minutes in actual time!) we went back in and listened as the judge read something in Russian that Rada basically translated as “YES”!

Tears followed (mine, and Rada welled up a bit too), pictures were taken, then back to the apartment to change and gather all our gifts for the caretakers and various other folks, as well as our donations to the hospital. Oleg drove us for the last time to the hospital and Dr. Victoria brought Owen into her office, where we shared bowls of tea and the cake we had brought with her, Zhania and Rada.

Finally we got to bundle up the boy and head for the apartment at about 6:00 pm. Owen has been great all night – he took his bottle well, played with some new toys, laughed and seemed happy to be with us, and then fell asleep in my arms.

It’s been a truly wonderful day. I don’t think it’s really even sunk in yet that finally, after years of wishing and waiting and working for this, we’ve finally been granted our dream. But it sure feels good right now to have our son sleeping in the next room.

So we hold our breath for the next 15 days (official waiting period) that neither his birthmother or bio father (nor their families) files a claim for adoption. After the time is up we’ll get his official birth certificate listing his name as Owen and us as his parents. And after that we’ll get his passport and head back to Almaty for a few days and lots of official appointments before we fly home! But all that is a few weeks away and right now we are just enjoying the experience of having Owen with us all the time.

And dear Kris – thanks for the official Mom bracelet – I wear it with joy and pride!