Thursday, February 8, 2007

We Have a Daughter


On February 6th, we entered Court No. 2 in Taraz, Kazahstan (which is pictured at left). Two hours later, we left with a daughter! Kyra is now an official member of the Schwartz family. Prior to court, we were told not to worry because the judge has never denied an adoption request. However, court hearings in any language can be intimidating. Because of the added stress and anxiety of a foreign court, we came up with really creative things to worry about: What if we get in a car accident and don't make it to court? (We didn't); What if the judge doesn't show up? (He was 90 minutes late); What if Kyra's birth mother does show up? (Unlikely since Kyra was abandoned on the streets of Taraz more than a year ago). The appropriate people--the judge, prosecutor, orphanage director, Guardian Council member, coordinator and translator--showed up and we spent about 30 minutes in the courtroom. The judge began by asking Michael to make a speech. Then the orphanage director and Guardian Council member made speeches on our behalf. Next, it was the prosecutor's turn. She had a few questions, but no objections. The judge asked us a few more questions and then went into a long speech in Kazakh. The only words we understood were "Kyra Catherine Schwartz," but as soon as we heard them, we knew he'd ruled in our favor. Now, there's a mandatory 15-day appeal period. On February 22, our coordinator will get the final court decree and Kyra's new birth certificate, which lists us as her parents. It should take another week to get her passport, so we're planning on her arrival around the end of the month.

We have spent three years trying to adopt a little girl, and we can't believe it's actually happened. She may not have come into the family the same way our "homemade" son did, but her arrival is no less miraculous. So many things have to come together to make an international adoption a success. We filled out a small truckload worth of documents, we were fingerprinted at least a dozen times, we were interviewed by social workers and psychiatrists, we paid thousands of dollars in fees...and that's all before we even left the U.S.! There were times when we really wondered if we'd survive this experience. It is a long, and definitely trying, process. We're happy to report it's been worth every second and every cent.

3 comments:

Kim and Jeff said...

Congratulations! I hope that this month just flies by for you as you prepare your home for your daughter to come home!
Kim Werkmeister

Julie Ball said...

Congratulations to all!

Brad & Pet said...

We are so happy for your family! I'm sorry we missed you guys the second time around at Gazovik, but I know you're glad to home, getting things ready for your precious little daughter! Wow, I thought we had to wait a long time for the judge, but he was only 30 minutes late for our court! (Of course, it seemed like an eternity, with us being so nervous!)