• 2/15/2008 10:00:00 PMMoscow Trip - Day 5Last night was a very long night for us.  When you are under stress, your body behaves differently.  It is different for everyone.  Sometimes you can't eat or can't stop eating.  Can't sleep or can't stay awake.  Can't go to the bathroom or can't stay out of the bathroom.  I had every one of these symptoms.  If you know me, you can probably guess which ones.

    We stayed awake until about 11:00 PM preparing our statements for court.  We had them pre-written from when we were at home but based on the visit from the court translator, we revised some things.  Peggy was hand-writing everything and I used the laptop.  Word processing on the computer is very easy.  Inserting ideas, moving thoughts around, deleting... The computer is great for that.  Peggy didn't like doing that because she and I put thoughts and ideas into our "own words".  I like to work from an outline and Peggy from a complete thought.  Needless to say, I typed up my outline and Peggy became very stressed thinking about rewriting all of her thoughts by hand and having to present them in court.

    We finally got to bed and tossed and turned.  I would just about fall asleep when a thought or idea of something I knew I had to say would pop into my head.  Then I would be wide awake.  One such example is the phrase, "No Patronymic".  During my explanation of why I want to adopt and what my intentions were, I had to explain that I would be changing Yuri's name and what I was going to change it to followed by "No Patronymic"

    We both tossed and turned all night.  When I was awake I would roll over and look at Peggy only to see her already looking at me.  "What time is it?", she would ask.  "12:30", I would answer.
    Then an eternity would pass.
    "What time is it?", she would ask.  "12:42", I would answer.

    I know I did get some sleep because she would periodically ram her elbow into my back and wake me up.  "Your snoring is going to wake everyone up!"

    I had my alarm set for 6:00 and we had to be outside, on the curb waiting by 8:30.  For most of the morning, I went from periods of calmness to times where I thought I was going to vomit.  I had to wear a sport jacket, dress pants, neck tie... the whole works.  Peggy had to wear a dress and shoes with heals.  We were both out of our clothing comfort zones.  For those of you who don't know, I'm hot.  Not the same kind of "hot" that my wife might say :-) but I get very warm quite easily.  I knew this was going to be a problem dressed in a heavy sport coat and was not looking forward to perspiring heavily while giving my testimony

    The court translator picked us up in a taxi and we went to court.  The court house is a great big building.  Since Cheboksary is a capitol city, this court house is on the Republic or Federal level.  Lots of things happen here.  We passed through the metal detectors and went up to the 4th or 5th floor and into the court room.

    In the court hearing were
    - Peggy and myself
    - Translator (Elaina)
    - Judge (a woman)
    - Orphanage Director (woman - Ludmala)
    - Orphanage Inspector "social worker" (woman - Valentina)
    - Prosecutor (woman)
    - Court Reporter (man)

    The hearing consisted of many different parts.  In short, there was:
    - an explanation of our rights by the judge
    - an explanation of our personal story and intentions by both Peggy and I
    - Questions from the judge, prosecutor, director
    - Summary
    - Verdict

    During the hearing, I was not nervous.  The translator was very nice to us the night before and prepared us well.  She has been through many such hearings and knows the procedure well.  She would tell us when to stand, sit, speak...

    The clincher of the hearing was when the prosecutor gave her summary.  It was her recommendation that the adoption be allowed and that our stated reasons for waiving the ten days were reasonable.  They were
    1. Yuri needs medical attention NOW
    2. Our other children are at home being cared for by others until we return
    3. The additional 10 days will cost thousands more and could put a strain on our budget

    This looked very good for us.  We broke for lunch and returned for the verdict at 1:15.  The judge read her summary of the hearing and gave her verdict.  Yes on the adoption, No on waiving the 10 days.  She believed that waiving the 10 days was not reasonable.  That was a big bummer.

    After the hearing, the judge quickly exited the court room.  I tried to read something out of this.  I suspected that she knew that we were not happy about the 10 days not being waived.  Perhaps she was under pressure from her superiors above to stop waiving this for adoptive families.  Staying an extra period of time is a serious concern for us as Yuri has to take a ton of medication and I do not know how much he has or how long it will last.  We may have to visit the drug store before we leave.  Hopefully they are not prescriptions or too costly.

    We went outside to leave and I noticed something that I had seen once before on a trip to Washington DC.  Right across the street from the court house (the Regional Republic Court House) were a hundred or so houses from the Old Village.  Very small and nicely decorated on the front and very shack-like else where.  Modern times with power on one side of the street - a trip back in time on the other side.

    We are very thankful for the help and guidance we have received so far.  Especially from Elaina the translator.  She is a very calm and cool cat.  She speaks like she has a little bit of a British accent.  At least when she is speaking to Peggy or I.  It is another story when she is speaking to the taxi driver.  Then she sounds a little like one of my old Army Drill Sergeants.  For that matter, that is how Marina is also.  Very sweet and kind, soft and gentle when speaking to us, but on the phone she "barks barks barks".  When women around here mean business - you know it.

    When we got back we got back to the flat, Luda told us we would have a little party to celebrate the adoption.  Luda has her own special party drink that she brews herself.  In America, we call it "moon-shine", "corn-squeezin's", or "white-lightening".  Hard alcohol is not something that I drink.  Peggy doesn't consume alcohol at all.  Before dinner (on an empty stomach), I made a toast.  As best I can recall, this was it:

    Today we thank the Lord for his goodness.  This has been not just a personal journey for ourselves but one for many other people were were involved along the way.  With God's help, we have climbed a mountain and He has provided for every step along the way.  So here is to the goodness of the Lord.

    Then we drank.  WOW - Was That  H O T !  I don't ever recall drinking rubbing alcohol before but I'll tell you what it does to you.  Immediately there is a chemical reaction in your head and every pore in your skin begins to sweat.  I swear the room temperature went up about 15 degrees.  We ate our meal and periodically Peggy would look over at me with slightly rolling eyes.  After dinner we sat there and talked for a while.  I was glad to not move while I waited for the toast to wear off.