ADOPTION COMPLETE!

UPDATED PICTURES & TEXT BELOW (Wed Mar 21)

TODAY - MARCH 20 - 2007, Kadi Lael was officially pronounced a VAUGHN! Hallelujah and Praise the Lord!!

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The day took a long time to unfold (not to mention the car battery dying on us just as we were headed to court!!) Things never seem to go "smooth" in this process, but today (smooth or not), we are rejoicing that the official pronouncement has been made! Of course we believe it was made in heaven a long time ago, but it's sure fun to hear it said on earth! We had to wait around for a long time, but I was called in about 10:00a with our attorney and the President of the Tribunal in Lokossa (where the regional court meets, about 30 minutes from our home). They mumbled some French between themselves as they drafted the document attesting to today's ruling....then the attorney looked up at me with a big grin and said, "Felicitations!" (congrats in French) I knew then it was done. The President of the Tribunal (pictured above) was such a gracious man, thanking me for our compassion and our patience (I must have hid my lack of it pretty well! ha!) He blessed me with the following words: "May the God of Heaven, for whom you work, continue to bless you with all that is necessary - unto abundance - to give the best home to Kadi Lael." I was touched by this man's words and his willingness to share them with me.

We are truly blessed!

These are some of the snapshots from today...alot of WAITING...and you can see the "waiting room" was outside, at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the court room. Everyone did so well...we were there from 8:30a until 2:30p!
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TOP: Ega, Lael's birth father (yellow shirt) and Papa and Timo; Tori babysits Lael as she naps on the floor (Tori had begged me to bring her jacket "in case it rained"...I finally relented (I didn't think it was going to rain) because we used it as a mat for our little girl to sleep on; Tori kept Lael entertained and Timo kept Nana laughing with his funny antics

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MIDDLE: Tori is a sweet big sister...loves to love on Lael; about 4 hours into the waiting game, I asked the kids to make a funny face that would show how tired they were....Tori said, "I'm going CRA-ZEEEEE!" and Timo said, "oh, I'm so sleeeeeeepppppeeeee"

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BOTTOM: Kadi Lael is such a beautiful girl...

and officially a VAUGHN as of today!

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While the ruling was pronounced today in the hearing, we will return in one month to obtain the formal adoption declaration. With this document, we will be able to proceed down the road of immigrating Lael into the U.S. We are continuing, in the meantime, to do as many other things on the adoption checklist as is possible. Continue to pray with us for all things to be done in a timely fashion and done without error! And pray for us that we may continue to bear witness to the patience of our God...Lord help us in our times of impatience!

UPDATE ON WEDNESDAY!!
I misunderstood a little yesterday. I thought we had to wait on a month for this document, but when I went today to pick up the written version of the ruling, I discovered that THIS is indeed the adoption declaration...signed, stamped and photocopied a bazillion times! (5 to be exact) Anyway, there is a month of waiting, according to the Law, for any appeals. But that is unlikely to happen, so in one month, we get an addendum to today's document that says there were no appeals. Anyway, the kids were super excited to have a paper in hand (actually, we were ALL thrilled!!). I thought it was a cute picture of TT&L...J was already snoring went I got back. It seems all the more real today to have this document in hand! Praise God! AND THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR ENCOURAGING COMMENTS!!!!!