Celebrating Gotcha Day on April 13

"Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth… whom I created for my glory" Isaiah 43:6-7
It is with great joy that we announce that on April 13 we officially became the parents of our precious new daughter Julia Elizabeth Collier. We are grateful for all of the prayers that have been lifted up on our families' behalf over the course of the last 15 months during this adventurous journey. We could not have completed this adoption without the love and support of our family in Christ. We are grateful and feel blessed beyond imagination. We have no doubt that God handpicked this beautiful girl to be our daughter; He has given us the privilege and honor of raising her up as a child of God! What joy.

So Monday we had a court at 10 am. Unlike last time, we had no real "prep" for court. Our interpreter said we had done this before, so we would do fine. We waited in the holding room for a little while and then the judge called us in. She was a large woman in a burgundy robe. There she had Ethan stand and asked him a lot of questions such as "If you had a biological child, will you still love your adopted child?" and "Do you have a stable marriage" and "How does your extended family feel about this adoption". Then she had me stand and asked a lot of the same questions. Then the prosecutor who represented us gave her recommendation that we be allowed to adopt this child. The doctor stood and gave her health history and the social worker also gave her history. Then the judge sent us out of the court room and wait for about a half an hour, then we came back in and asked us if she could read the shortened version of the decision, and the answer was yes. We then gave her the gift, which Ethan handed to her and then he gave her a big ole kiss on the cheek. One funny thing that happened during court is that our lawyer was texting the entire time and the judge kept yawning and answering her phone. So, at that point I was not too concerned about the decision. After court the head doctor at the baby house invited us into her office to celebrate the adoption. We had champagne and chocolates. Then, she told us she was going to let us take Julia home. We were shocked. Our interpreter said she has never had this happen, all other cases, the family has to wait out the 15 day wait period that Kazakhstan law has in place after the court date until the decision is final. We are not sure why she allowed us to take Julia, but we were thrilled. We had to move into a suite and shuffle some things around to be ready for a baby. Julia is now doing great in our "new home". She loves to watch Caleb and slept the first night a full 12 hours. She only fusses when she is sleepy, other than that she is a happy, content baby. Granted, two babies in a hotel suite is a little tight, but we are making it work. Oh, and I have had a GI illness on Monday and Tuesday, so I was very thankful to wake up this morning and feel some better. I told Ethan last night that I hoped I was not going to die in Kazakhstan…a little drama from my side. Thankfully I am still alive.

I did get news today that my trip home which has been scheduled for May 9, might be delayed until May 16 due to some holidays that slow down the process of getting Julia's passport from Kazakhstan. This is hard for me to think that I still have 4 ½ weeks left in country, as I have already been here 5 weeks. So, I do ask for prayers that the passport will come quicker and I can depart for home as scheduled. But, we knew when we requested to stay the entire trip that this was a possibility, as far as the trip being extended. But, it is worth it to have Julia with us know, as opposed to leaving her for over a month.

P.S. Caleb is doing great being a big brother. He really has taken to Julia and is giving her lots of kisses and hugs. He is crawling again and has taken to a pink pacifier, but we think that will pass!