Brooke's Re-Adoption is Done!!!!!!!

It has been soooo cold that the cats won't even go out. The dogs don't want to go out for potty breaks. Brooke's official re-adoption court hearing was scheduled for 9am Monday morning and I had invited Grandpa Howard, Grandma Sally and Debbi (aka Aunt Bubby) to witness the event. (The court only allows you to bring a couple people.) But by Sunday, I was having second thoughts about making anyone get out in the nasty cold. So, I let the grandparents off the hook and told Debbi she didn't have to come, either. But she was still game, and bravely fought thru the cold and icy roads in her fancy pants Mercedes to witness Brooke's last legal battle.

We left home in plenty of time and headed to court. The roads weren't bad at all, so we made good time. (Except for the terrified van driver who drove 30 mph on the perfectly dry road and slowed down everyone behind him.) We made good time - up until we got to the courthouse and found the parking deck closed because the ramps were iced. Everyone was in a hurry trying to find parking since everyone had an appointment with a scary judge, people were mad, and there were no parking spaces left anywhere near the courthouse. After getting hemmed into an actual graveyard( a whole different story), we finally found parking a couple blocks over and down from the Justice Center and we grateful for that! As we bundled the girls out of the car, we were worried about getting them inside before they froze. But then an angel appeared in the form of a little (tiny!!) old lady driving a Senior Citizens' bus. She was driving around, picking people up and bussing them to the courthouse. Saved!!!! We ended up being a few minutes late, but the judge hadn't entered chambers yet, so we were were ok. Debbi was there on time, of course, just to make us look bad. She even got a parking space directly out the back door of the courthouse!!! (She should have bought a lottery ticket today!)

There were 3 families doing adoptions today. I think they were all "foreign re-adoptions" like Brooke's. They took in one family at a time and we were all done by 10am. Here are Olivia and Brooke entertaining themselves as we waited our turn.
We were the second family to go in. We had to swear we had told the truth in all the paperwork (petition) submitted for the re-adoption, and we had to promise to take good care of Brooke. The judge glanced at the original Chinese adoption docs and declared us "all done". It took about 3 minutes. Debbi was "allowed" to approach the bench once our hearing was done to take our picture. The judge is Jackson Harris. (He's not too popular right now because he allowed a billboard to be erected along the main street in town. People are all worked up over the "eye sore".)

Where is a picture of Debbi, you ask? Oh yeah - I forgot to take one!!!! Sheez! The woman goes to all the trouble to be there and I don't even take her picture with Brooke. But she was there and she looked great. Take my word for it.

After the hearings for everyone were complete, we were escorted down to the Clerk's office where we received certified copies of the signed Decree of Foreign Re-Adoption. (Now we can get Brooke an American-issued birth certificate, which will make things a lot easier for her and us.) As I waited for the copies to be made, Mark talked with one of the other families and found that they live in our subdivision! They were doing 4 re-adoptions today - for 2 of their kids adopted from Russia a few years ago, and their 2 new children from Ethiopia, ages 3 and 5. They have 8 kids in all!!!! So, as we left, we said we'd see each other at the pool this summer. What a small world. And - they both grew up in Indiana, like Mark! But they went to Notre Dame. Phooey! Go Purdue - Go Boilers! We ran an errand and were hungry, so we went to Longhorns and had a nice lunch to celebrate. (The walls are naked because they are totally redecorating. It felt really weird.)

We headed for home. It was nap time for Brooke and bedtime for Mark since he had to head to work tonight. We've discovered Chinese children's songs on YouTube and Brooke loves to listen to them. Ni Wa Wa is her favorite. She got to hear a couple songs and it was off to bed.

We should be done with all the legal stuff for Brooke's adoption now. We have a 6 month and 12 month update to do with the agency, but that should be easy and the agency does most of that work. It's nice to have court done. Our county has a reputation for being difficult to work with. I was glad it went as smoothly as it did. (The other family had a terrible time and had to hire a lawyer.)

One odd thing - We haven't talked much to Brooke about being "adopted". She's simply part of the family and it's a little early to start trying to communicate with her about it. (We're just working on being Chinese right now.) I was surprised the other night when I reminded Olivia, in front of Brooke, that Monday morning we'd be going to court for Brooke's re-adoption. Brooke immediately got all worked up, saying "Adoption! Adoption! No! No!" and some other words I couldn't catch. I was really taken aback and quickly said, "Don't worry - it's just paperwork - you're staying with us. You're not going anywhere!" She must have understood me because she said "OK" and calmed down, all happy again. It happened again last night as I was putting them to bed, though she didn't get as upset as before. I don't know why she would recognize that word, or why it would upset her. It makes you wonder what she was told in China. And in English?? And it also makes me realize she understands a lot more of what I say than I thought... that's good and bad... :)

Back to school and the old routine tomorrow. The girls start China Tree school on Saturday - that should be fun!