It's official!!!

The Judge!

We are officially proud parents of two beautiful precious girls!
Anya Grace Kapp and Tatiana Faith Kapp!!!

Last night Mark and I tossed and turned and could not sleep! We woke up at 4:00am then 6:00am! We went from the bed to the couch then to the bed again! AAAHHH! To exthited to thleep!! Finally we just get up and get ready. The other two families and Zhenia were all meeting here at 11am at our flat to prepare for court. Mark ran out and got some pastries for all. The kids arrived around 12:30 so we ordered pizza for them. Anya seems a very reserved and Tanya was in a very good mood! (I will be glad when I can figure their moods out! Oh wait...they're girls! It will be impossible!! LOL!) It was time to go! We stopped at the notary office first then on to court. Zhenia told us court may take about 45 to an hour per couple. The Boycott's were first! Twenty minutes later and they are done. We are next! I was a nervous wreck. Mark was very attentive to me and held my hand and told me not to worry. We walk into a small room. We have a podium in front of us. Seated on the opposite side of us was the judge and two jury, both women. In front of the podium seated on our side was the court reporter. To our left was seated the Inspector and prosecutor. Behind us was seated the attorney for the orphanage and represented the girls. Anya and Tanya sat behind us on the opposite side of the room. It was a lot more people than what I expected.

First Mark spoke and stated his name, date of birth and our address and where he was born, then I was asked to do the same. Then the attorney spoke giving her info. Mark again stood at the podium and was asked how did you meet the girls, why does he want to adopt, how many children do we have and what he does for a living. Mark said he was a foster child and felt it was his turn to give back! Our children are grown and now we have opportunity to care for other children. He met them in December when we hosted them in our home in the winter. He loves them and thought they fit well with our family. All of this of course, is being translated for everyone! Loved the fact the girls got to here how we love them, 'officially'!

Next....Me! Same questions for me. I said I met them in October when I came to Ukraine. I first met Anya and was amazed how beautiful she was. Then I met Tanya. We had a wonderful walk in the park and got to spend time together! When I returned I told my husband about them and we both decided we would like to adopt them. We hosted them at Christmas and had such a good time. (I then began to get choked up! I promised Anya I would not cry and I hear her heavily sigh! I apologized and regained my composure!) I told them we showed the girls the culture in Texas and I fell in love with them. I think they are amazing girls and want them to be our daughters. I said our faith compells us to reach out. I told them we will treat them as we do Anthony and Chrissy. And we promise to love them forever!! Whew! That was it!

The prosecutor then stood and said she had no objections whatsoever and she feels we will be good parents for the girls. Then the girls were asked their names and dates of birth. They asked them if they were in agreement with being adopted by us and if they felt comfortable with us. Anya was first and was very serious and spoke very confidently. Then Tanya...you could tell she was nervous. She smiled the entire time and said yes to every question. The best 'da' I have ever heard in my life. And the smile.....oh the smile!

After all had spoken the judge and two jury left the room to deliberate and came back in after about 30 seconds and granted the adoption! I immediately went over to the girls and hugged them but they were still a bit nervous and a bit stand offish. We shook hands with all and the inspector wanted us to know not to worry about Tanya...she is in good hands and will be just fine!

That was it! We went back to the flat and changed clothes. We gave the girls necklaces that have a silver square that has a flower engraved on one side and the other side says "If daughters were flowers I'd still pick you!" They loved them! We love the girls that will wear them!
We then met with the other families for an afternoon of bowling and a celebration dinner at our favorite restaurant, Kazachok! Soooo good! Tanya was a very happy girl all day and talked quite a bit to me! Anya was quiet most of the day. I think she is a deep thinker and just taking it all in!

We took them back to the camp. :( Mark and I received big hugs from both the girls! It was awesome. Tanya says she cannot wait to see her brother! Tomorrow we plan to take them all on a picnic again since we had so much fun before! Fun in the sun and the river! Shhh! dont' tell anyone we play in the river! Tee hee! Oh! forgot to tell you....at dinner Anya got everyone at the table to play Big Booty! Lots of laughter!!!

Now we wait again!! It's mandatory that we wait 10 days before everything is final! This gives the opportunity for ALL those Ukrainians to make up their minds about adopting Anya and Tanya! (Sarcasam!) All the couples have decided to take a trip to Crimea. We are giving up our flat for four days but have a deposit to get it back when we return. The money saved not paying for the flat for four days covers the cost of our trip to Crimea! We are looking forward to seeing the coast of the black sea. We leave Sunday night on a sleeper train and we will return Thursday by train. It's going to fun and a mini adventure! We are really bummed about the girls not being able to go with us but the government will not let them in our custody until after the 10 day wait! GRRRR!

Tonight, after taking the kids back to camp and dropping off all the other families, Zhenia came up and talked with Mark and I. Zhenia is a genuinely nice and caring person. He says yes his job is to be a facilitator but he really cares about each family and more so about the kids he is helping. He says he knows that God is with him and feels God has placed him in this position. Our conversation was much more deep and I have nothing but good things to say about our facilitator. He works hard and works diligentely to get us through this process as quickly as possible. God has been so amazing.....blessing us and helping us with even the tinyest fo details! Prasie You Abba Father!!!!