Thirty days ago we had a marathon court session in the county that all three of our girls are from. It was a total coincidence that the case for Sassy and Indie and the case for Tinkerbell were set on the same day.
It was quite a day people! For one, Tinkerbell's biological mom was allowed to visit her for a few days around the court date, and we actually transported her to court and generally entertained her for a couple of days. I have been so surprised to find that I like Tinkerbell's mom. Despite whatever her failings have been as a mother to Tink, I feel like she has her best interest at heart. The day of the court hearing, we also had the... um.... opportunity to meet her biological father. Unfortunately, my feeling for him is much less pleasant, and I feel that he's interests are primarily self serving. So, put all of these people in the courtroom and put them last on the docket.
THEN, add the fact that the little girls' case was in the first session, and the first thing that we heard that morning was that the case was not going to go as planned. They would probably go home that day!! Whoa. That's really all I can say. Rather that having the emotional reaction that I wanted to have, I focused on the practical problems that we faced. I mean, I needed to get the girls' laundry washed for the week, and we hadn't packed anything, and their toys were all mixed in with Jonathan and Juli's toys. My fantastic brother-and sister-in-law were watching the kids while we were over an hour a way from home, and there is no way that they could get all of that together. And there was a slight possibility that they would be gone before we ever got back to our hometown, since Tink's case was so late in the day. Would we even get to say goodbye? Of course, then I thought about Tink-- on the most stressful day in the world for her, I was going to have to make it worse by breaking this news to her before the judge heard the case so she would be prepared for the outcome.
It was such a mess, people. Tink's parents were arguing with each other, which had her crying anyway, then I had to talk to her about the little girls, and only made it much worse. We tried calling home so that Bailey could try to start making some preparations, and we couldn't get them on the phone. All this while court was in session. We were sitting on the back row, and my JP got my hands and pulled me to his side, and we prayed together on the back bench, praying only that this day would be resolved according to his Master plan.
Oh, and did I mention that the girl's mom was there, and we got to see and hear from her for the first time?
So, case number 1 was called. I expected to have to give some long disposition about the struggles the girls were having, and about the progress they have made. I only choked out one sentence in support of something that the girls' grandmother said. And it was over within a couple of minutes -- we'd review it again in six months.
I felt such massive relief! I praised my God in my head. They probably will go back home in April, but... we were given the gift of TIME. More time for the girls to heal, more time for the girls to bond with me so that they can transfer that bond to their aunt, time for them to get to know their family, and time for us to say goodbye. An amazingly precious, although somewhat bittersweet, gift from my Daddy in Heaven.
And we ran into the aunt and grandmother downstairs at the vending machine and had a really fantastic, long, talk about the girls and about God's will for their little lives. I feel very much that God wants them there, and that has given me a large measure of peace for them, and for the future of our family.
So, after lunch and recess, paperwork, squabbling and so forth, case 2 was called. We were all called into the judges' chambers to hear Tinkerbell's TPR case. Her parents had already agreed, whether for totally unselfish or selfish reasons, to voluntarily terminate their rights. It was the strangest court case I could have imagined, since my daughter was charming the judge with her mis-matched socks, and she had the whole room of suits laughing. JP turned to me and said, "She just lights up a room, doesn't she?" Yes, she really does. Soon I"ll get to show you.
There was a 30 day hold on the paperwork before we could actually file the adoption petition, and today marks the 30th day. We were assigned a lawyer, and finalization should be in late January or Early February. We have yet to actually file that petition, but it should be soon. We are so, incredibly excited by the prospect of finally adopting this "unadoptable" child. A work that only God can accomplish. This month marks one year since we were first called about her placement. It feels like she's been with us forever.
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