Part 12 The Adventure

Well we are still in Zaporishia and yes still in the Apartment that Heidi Loves:-)

Yesterday afternoon we had to go to the village where Iliah was born. They were the office that received the children after his mom died of cancer when he was 7. Since they registered the children with the SDA(State Department of Adoption) we had to see them to get them to approve the adoption of just one child. or to as they put it Break the Family. We were suppose to go to the Inspector in Zaporishia and then to Iliahs home town around noon but due to other commitments Victor had running long we were not able to get started until 3pm. The drive to Iliahs home town was an hour and a half and we had to see the Inspector in Zaporishia first. By the time we left the inspector we had less than the time we needed so in a tiny car with no A/C. The ride was extremely difficult for Heidi.
The roads here are terrible. I have mentioned before that they are like an old wooden roller coaster but now take that same roller coaster and make it go 130 Km per hour or 72 mph and swerve in and out of traffic like a Nascar race. It was rough and dangerous. Heidi cried most of the way she was so scared heck I was scared. Also due to the massive amounts of movements, Heat and air pollution it was a perfect storm for Heidi to get nauseous. We told Victor that we can not do that again that even if it saved us a day we could not risk the safety of Heidi and the baby like that. He meant well he is trying to get us through this process as quickly as possible ad we appreciate that.
On the way home the driver went much slower and Victor and I agreed we had to have cars that were larger and with A/C even if it costs more.
Speaking of costing more I feel like we are hemorrhaging money everyday, like someone cut off my leg and all I can do is watch it bleed. Things are definitely more expensive then we anticipated and we anticipated them to be very expensive.
So the highlight of the day yesterday was when we got there and met the inspector of Iliahs home town. There ended up being three ladies we met with.
We brought with us a photo album of our time with Iliah over this past Christmas. The pictures are wonderful and really show the happiness and bond between Iliah and our family. Thank you to Laura Passanita who recommended we bring it because it has been a God send. Everyone we meet we show them the pictures and it has made the process faster and smoother. Victor said it is really helping because they can see how happy he is with our family.
When we showed the pictures to the three women they gushed over the photos, they remembered Iliah from when they first got him after his mom died and were so happy to see him so happy. They said that not many children get such an opportunity in this country to be so happy. That sent Heidi and Jackie over the edge with water works of joy. It was truly sweet how happy the three women were and after driving through the miles and miles of depressed poverty it hit a relevant nerve when they said he would get a chance that most children would not.

So here is the next step.
Today the Home town of Iliah will have a panel of 10 people deliberate on our desire to break the family. If they decide favorable then the paperwork will go to the Chief of that town to sign. He will sign today or tomorrow, when he does Victor will go back to the town to pick up the paperwork, bring it to the Inspector in Zaporishia and she will do her final conclusion(She has promise to do her conclusion in the same day to save us time)
Then her conclusion goes to the Chief so he can sign. Most things happen in Zaporishia because that is where Iliah's orphanage is.
After the Chief signs Victor can then take the papers to Keiv and submit them with the SDA. The ADA will only accept papers on Mon, Wed or Fri by 11am. CRAZY! So Victor is shooting for being able to submit or paperwork on Friday. That means another train ride for Victor, what a trooper.
After the SDA has the paperwork then the 1st court date is scheduled.

After the First court date the final court date is scheduled, there is usually about 10 days in between these dates. Both parents only have to be here for the first court date.
After the final court date there is a 10 day waiting period in which they give a chance for anyone to protest the adoption. After the 10 days we get a paper that says Iliah is ours!!! Then we take him get a new Birth Cert, Visa and Go HOME!