Pre court jitters and COURT DATE SET!!

Hello!!! It's a gorgeous Tuesday in Kostanai and the Serra's are happy indeed. Pre-court went very well (although I was nervous) and our court date is set!! It's 3 weeks from today!!!

Sept 17th, at 9:30 am!!

We got all dressed up and went to visit sweet Leeza Grace. She was happy to see us, and we were sure happy to see her! She did a good job with lunch and didn't spill any on Mom's pre-court "duds". She was very vocal today. As each day goes by, we see more and more changes in our lil Leeza. Sean says, "she was very chatty" today.
However, she was a bit miffed that our visitation was cut an hour short. We had to take her back at 1:30 (instead of 2:30) as we had a court date at 2. Daddy had to say by cuz he won't be back for three weeks. At least she won't go into total sadness since Sean is staying, but I know she will wonder where her fun Daddy is!!
We are still working on Joe's return to Kostanai, but Eldo (at Golden Rule Travel) isn't at work yet, but we are thinking Joe can catch the Friday direct flight to Kostanai from Frankfurt and arrive back here on Saturday, September 13th. He and Sean will plan on leaving the 18th.

I was a little nervous today about pre-court. It took me awhile to fall asleep, and I didn't have much of an appetite for breakfast this morning. I knew it would be ok, because I feel incredibly guided by faith in this journey, so while in my heart of hearts I KNEW it would be fine, I was still a bit anxious.
We met the judge in her office, with just ourselves, Dr. Irina, and Tatiana. She was VERY nice!!! The questions were not difficult, and it's so very obvious that they have the BEST interest of the children at heart. She asked why we chose to adopt from Kakakhstan, why we chose to adopt, and what our plans were for taking care of Leeza. She asked about our families reaction to our adoption plans, and asked Sean a few questions, too. She asked him if he helped us choose Leeza as the child for us, and what his reaction was to having a lil sister. He answered the questions really well,and Dr. Irina said "Malla Dietz" (which means good boy). Dr. Irina spoke and said that she really liked our family, that we are very nice and Sean is very well behaved (Ha ha, he has her fooled). Dr.Irina liked Sean right away, from the very first day that she met him, she said he was a strong boy with strong eyes and that he would very successful. Dr. Irina said that Leeza responds very well to us and is always very excited and jumps up and down in her playplen when we walk in the room.

The judge explained about Leeza's birth parents, and showed us a picture of her birth mother, and will give us a copy. I don't feel right divulging that information, as it is Leeza's private information, but I will say that my eyes filled with tears. I am so sorry for what Leeza has lost, and for the rough start she had from conception to birth, but I can guarantee that this lil girl will be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO loved and so cherished by our family and our friends that I hope we can take her hurt away. I know that kids are incredible resilient, but it just breaks my heart to think about it. I am so glad that Leeza's mom did the right thing to give her a chance at a happy and fulfilling life.
The judge said that by looking at our dossier pictures, we looked like a fun family full of life, and that there were a lot of children in our family. We said yes, there are, and she will be VERY loved. She asked if I was aware of the issues that we could have, and I said, yes, we will get Leeza any kind of help she needs, just like we would with our biological child, and we have many resources available to us.
She asked us if we were staying until court, and we told her that Sean and I were staying, but Joe was leaving. She asked if Sean was missing school. We told her that his teachers and his school were very supportive of Sean's journey to Kazakhstan, and that he is going to get his work that he is missing, and he is going to do his research paper on Kakakhstan. The judge looked at me and asked I was staying the whole time and I answered yes, and she said "you cannot bear to leave Leeza even for one day?" EXACTLY!
I really did feel that she saw how much we love lil Leeza Grace.
She thanked us for choosing Kazakhstan and adopting from Kazakhstan. It was very heartfelt and sincere. I feel so unbeliavably honored and blessed to be adopting a child from this wonderful country. I really love it here. Kostanai is a great city. Everyone is friendly, and Tatiana and Eugene have taken such excellent care of us.
Despite all the problems with the agency we chose, I would NOT CHANGE ONE SINGLE THING!! All the tears, worry, sleepless nights, and crying jags the last 15 months were just part of the process. I can't really discount any of it because of the incredible miracle that led us here, now. I am soooooooooo happy and grateful and overjoyed, I really cannot even put it into words.

So, a lil over 3 weeks down, 3 weeks to go until court, then another 3 weeks or so before we leave for Almaty. I know it will go by quickly!!
I will miss Joe for sure, but it will give Sean and I chance to rely on each other.
My heart is full.