1 Samuel 1:27

So we went to court...for the second time now. All of our documents had been translated and given to the judge and she had indicated to our coordinator earlier that she was pleased with them all. We had to wait in the court for a while...the prosecutor we had last time couldn't be found...so they had a different one fill in. Apparentlly it is just a formality. The judge mentioned she had seen all the new documents and they satisfied her and then gave us the opportunity again to add anything and ask for waiving the 10 days. We did and then she left the room to "consider" her final decisions. She came back no more than 45 seconds later with her typed up final decree. She announced that we were now the new parents of this child, but that we had to wait the 10 days to recieve the official paperwork. We're pretty confident she had already made all her decisions before the court ever started. We are very excited about our new little girl, but bummed that we have to wait. And also, we are not allowed to gain custody of her until that 10 days is up...but we will get to go visit her still in the orphanage. Perhaps something special will happen that God is still orchestrating.

Now that we are officially her parents, we can now share pictures with you. We were not allowed to until this point because she was an orphan. So here she is with her new name...Aeniah Natalya (Natasha is what everyone calls her).

We get to go visit her again this afternoon and tell her that she will be leaving with us soon. Hopefully, this will give her time to process what will be happening. Now we ask for prayer that she will understand and be happy with it all. It will be tough for her and for us since this orphanage and its staff is all she has ever known. Pray for us as we have to try and communicate with her during this difficult time.

Praise the Lord for he has blessed our family with another wonderful child!

N & B

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."