Court went very well today. Shelly cried tears of joy while we listened to the judge tell us that we were approved and that the 30-day waiting period was waved. I just grinned big, like I tend to do when things are going very well. :OD

After that, we headed to the children's birth place, which is about a 3 hour drive, one way. We waited around for quite a while, and Shelly enjoyed a "talk" with our favorite taxi driver. Eventually, we went in and signed some papers and came out with the children's new birth certificates! Woohoo!

We just got back from that trip (it's 9:30 now), and are trying to set up a flight back home Tuesday or Wednesday next week. However, we aren't sure what flights are available, and it may not be until Thursday. (This could be a very tough week!)

This Friday, we plan to take the children to the official doctor's apointment that is needed before we can leave. Then on Monday, we will go to the U.S. Embassy and get the visas, etc (which we can't pick up until 3:00pm). Once that is complete, the leftovers can be handled by mail if it isn't already settled. So, the sooner we can get home, the better. (Hopefully, we can get a good flight arranged. Please pray that it is sooner rather than later!)

The only bad thing about today is that we weren't able to see the children at all. We will have to wait until tomorrow to tell them the good news. (But we did tell them yesterday about the plans for today.)

I don't know when we will be able to blog next, because we are definitely not going to be back here tomorrow night. Please pray hard until we are home! Having the children 24 hours a day in a place that is strange to all of us is going to be difficult in many ways.

Love,
John, Shelly, Adam, Liana, and Aleksa