The Final Countdown to Court

Major events of the day: Countdown to Court 7 of 7 (Tomorrow’s the Big Day!), Meeting with our Attorney, Final Preps, and Snow Flurries

Morning weather report: 27, feels like 20. Projected high: 41 with light rain in the afternoon.
Meanwhile back in Memphis: Overnight low of 52, heading to 60. (Cooling off back there too!)

After staying up late writing about last night’s adventure, we both slept in until almost 8 am. Our internal clocks have definitely adjusted to local time. We’ll set the alarm for tomorrow!

It’s cold outside campers! This morning there was a wintry bite in the air. Not only is it colder, but it’s damp and breezy. Masha tells us that “normal” weather for this time of year has finally arrived. We really felt it when heading over to the Iceberg to pick up a loaf of bread and to print a couple more pictures for our court photo album.

Just before rounding the construction barricade around the new building next to the Iceberg we noticed several construction-type individuals milling about with a confused look on their faces. We shuffled by, turned the corner, and walked up to the door. Nothing. There was a handwritten sign taped inside the glass which must have explained the unexpected closure. All we understood was the “Closed.” There were no lights on inside the building. Perhaps the workers cut the power cable? They sure looked guilty…

We had to wait to print pictures, but at least the adjacent open market offered everything we needed: Bread from the “Hole in the Wall,” and “Kazakh Belly Bombs” for lunch. The past few days we have noticed the prices on produce creeping up. It won’t be long before supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables dwindle. We sure have seen a lot of people carrying 50 lb sacks of onions around!

After dropping groceries and having some quick lunch, Bill headed out again, remembering another photo development place a little past the Iceberg. The crowd of workers had dispersed and power had been restored. Amazing what difference a half hour makes. After dropping off the SD chip with the photo folks, there was a little time for wandering through the shops upstairs. More treasures discovered! We also plan to visit the Birch Store in the next few days to pick up some of the little nesting dolls. Suzanne and Hilton found the perfect gift size, so we too need to gather a few.

During our in and out treks we had opportunity to observe workers “paving” the parking area of the new building next to our apartment. Now we understand why roads are so rough! The paving crew consisted of a dump truck holding hot asphalt and a “shoveler” tossing it approximately where it would go, on top of gravel that was spread around a day or so ago (on top of the dirt, mud, dust, etc). There were 3 or 4 workers on the ground shoveling the asphalt around and smoothing it with their shovels. Then there was the mini-steamroller operator who was going back, forth, sideways, etc., compacting the pavement. He didn’t seem to be following a particular path, so the new pavement isn’t very level. At least it’s hard so it won’t turn into mud! No photos of the evolution though. The predicted light rain had arrived with flurries. It sure would have made a funny fast forward or time lapse recording! Still pictures just couldn’t capture the full humor.

Our attorney, Svetlana, wanted to meet with us all together to discuss what to expect tomorrow. All we could do was wait, shuffle through pictures and add a few to our album, and wait some more while time crawled. Hilton and Suzanne wrote down a Kazakh proverb they heard a few days ago which perfectly applied, “Waiting and Chasing are the two worst things.” We’ve experienced both extremes on this trek.

When we arrived at the RBS, no one was waiting at the gate. It was definitely too cold to stand around outside. The courtyard was also empty except for a car from one of the local TV stations. We could also see students inside, still in their school uniforms… As soon as we entered the main doors, we understood what was going on. Thursday is Republic Day and the local station sent out a crew to cover a school play/presentation as well as to interview staff and students. The newscaster was wrapping up a report as our kids found us, still in their uniforms. Boys wear black pants, long-sleeved white shirts, and a sports coat. Girls wear a black dress with a lace-apron like trim on the front and little white bows in their hair. Perhaps we’ll have LB and LG model their outfits since several folks at St Francis School have asked about the differences in school uniforms… We also saw another “out of place” vehicle: a Cadillac Escalade. Almost makes you want to hum the “One of these things is not like the others” song from Sesame Street…

Having several friends who went to the Naval Academy, Bill is familiar with something the incoming freshman class goes through called “Uniform Drills.” Our two would have made the cadet commander proud, disappearing upstairs and returning in record time. Except that LG had to go back and put on a pair of shoes instead of the rubber sandals she came down wearing (similar to Crocs), and LB needed a jacket. Away they went again, reappearing even faster than their previous record times.

During our brief wait during wardrobe drills, the RBS Director came over to wish us good luck tomorrow. The Assistant Director (Miss “Cincinnati”) then came over, wished us good luck, and again made Cathe another job offer (she really has taken a liking to Cathe). Actions speak louder than words and this is the basis of Cathe’s and the Assistant Directors friendship. But we’ll have to decline. Although we haven’t seen anything yet, the weather is already cold enough to remind us that we prefer living in warmer places. After Cathe turned down the job offer, she asked if Bill can stay, “Because he’s so handsome.” Masha was having a hard time not giggling as she translated back and forth and was further surprised when Cathe caught the joke and made a witty remark in return. We all had a good laugh.

Another “side effect” of the late school program was that the kids had not eaten lunch yet. Lunch is normally served from 2-3 pm, so there was a whole school full of hungry kids. Glad we weren’t sticking around for that! Bill got to be the good Daddy and sliced some bread for Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches. He even cut them into smaller geometric shapes. LG liked hers the most, peeling the halves apart to eat the peanut butter first before re-assembling and consuming all the evidence. Cathe pulled out a couple of apples, poured some white milk and Lunch was served!

Svetlana has impeccable timing and arrived just as the lunch plates were being put away. The first part of her review was to once again ask the kids if they understand what is going on. “Да.” Do they like their new names and do they know them? “Да.” Do they want to be adopted? “Да.” Do they want to go to America? “Да.” Do they want us to be their parents? “ДА, ДА, ДА!” No hesitation, no nervousness. When we asked if they were more nervous or excited, they both responded, “Excited!”

They got off easy and were soon returned to playing computer games and listening to music on the laptop. Svetlana had homework for us: Think about several key questions that the Judge will probably ask and consider our responses. Shouldn’t be too hard since we’ve thought them over and over for many months: Why do you want to adopt? Why do you want to adopt from Kazakhstan? What does your family think about you adopting? Why do you think you can give these children a better life than they have (it’s not all about the material things)? We were also briefed to be ready for any sort of question based on income, job stability, marriage stability, anything in our dossier, and anything else the Judge or Prosecutor want to ask. We don’t plan to prepare note cards and hope we don’t get stage fright.

So much for getting a good night’s sleep before court! The excitement of finally getting to this point coupled with the last second worries about questions and answers will make it hard to sleep tonight! Hopefully the kids are getting a good night’s sleep as well.

Footnote: We saw the newscast on today’s program at the orphanage 8-D, but didn’t see our Pookies 8-(. At least we did see our favorite teacher, Ludmilla, during the clip. We also recognized a few children we have met during our visits to the orphanage.