Continuing the Journey

Carson's Big Day...and Molly's First Care Package!

In his defense, he didn't get his nap today. We had a busy day and there just wasn't time! As he was getting dressed for the the readoption hearing, he kept begging for a nap. (Any other day, I have to beg HIM to nap...)

This is what we were getting on the way to the courthouse...
...he wouldn't talk to us, wouldn't smile, and REALLY looked like he was going to drift off to sleep. Sadly, the trip to the courthouse was only 15 minutes...no time for napping!

We arrived at the courthouse and, after a short wait, headed into the small courtroom. I don't know why, but I was a nervous wreck! I mean, I was a court reporter for years...courtrooms shouldn't freak me out. And this hearing was just a formality...Carson's adoption was final in China. Still...I was nervous and Carson was WIGGING OUT! When we were seated at the table in the courtroom, he couldn't sit still. He nearly broke into tears because Grandma and Grandpa sat behind us in the row of chairs...Grandma quickly moved to sit next to Carson, which helped. In this picture...
...we were waiting for the Judge to come in the room. Notice how blurry Carson is? He was so fidgety!! (No, Shannon, it was NOT your fault! Thanks for taking pictures for us!)

In this one, gotta admit the boy looks like he's up to something...
Literal minutes before Judge Rogers entered the room, our friends Chris and Shannon (who were kind enough to attend the hearing and even took their girls out of school early to come along!) told us they had attended one of these before and the Judge would ask us questions. WHAT??!! I hadn't prepared for that. Nervous just moved straight into panic. AACCKKK!!

After we were sworn in, Grandma did the best she could to keep Carson distracted so he would stop his incessant chattering. She even took off her watch and let him play with it. I'm pretty sure she would have dumped her purse out on the table if required. Grandma, you're the BEST!
As Judge Rogers talked and asked us questions (which were really no big deal -- but thanks for freaking me out, Chris!), Carson decided he wanted to talk right along with him. How funny that Shannon got a picture of me reminding him to be quiet!
The Judge decided he wanted to let Carson speak. Now remember, Carson was a bit sleep-deprived and wiggy. He started to ramble on...I heard "Molly" and "I give you a spanking" and lots of things I couldn't figure out. It was so funny, we were all cracking up! Judge Rogers was chuckling and asked Carson something on the order of, "Are you always this shy?" Carson laughed...then winked at the Judge. Judge Rogers threw his head back and howled with laughter! It was perfectly timed...and also a classic Carson move. Turn on the charm, Little Man, and you'll win 'em over every time!

At one point, Judge Rogers asked Meggie if she was OK with finalizing this adoption. Gulp! I looked at her -- a bit worried -- and she smiled sweetly and answered the questions just fine. Girl, you had your chance!! (Just kidding...remember, this was just a formality...)

To conclude the hearing, Judge Rogers wanted Carson to come up and bang his gavel. He had three of them, actually, and here he is showing Carson the biggest of the three...
...I LOVE Carson's face in that picture! Hysterical!

Then Meggie got to come up and take her turn. Judge Rogers said she could order anything she wanted. She ordered, "More allowance" and banged the gavel. We laughed...she doesn't get an allowance, so that shouldn't be too difficult to handle! Giving her ANYTHING would be giving her MORE! (Girl, you should have thought that one through...I would have ordered us to buy you a car!)
Carson wasn't a fan of sharing the gavel duties with his big sister! Taylor wouldn't come up and take her turn, but Rachel was eventually convinced. My camera was acting up (it was on the wrong setting...didn't think to check that) which is why some of these pictures are blurry. I didn't hear what she ordered...hope it was something good!
After we were all finished, we got a family picture with Judge Rogers.
Judge Rogers asked Carson if he wanted to see a picture of his son. Carson was so excited...we quickly figured out it was just because he wanted to get behind the bench and get his hands on that gavel again! We all peeked at the picture on Judge Rogers' computer screen and saw that his son is in the military -- he's a Naval Aviator -- and we spent a few minutes talking about that.
After we paid our Court costs and headed outside, we got a nice family picture with Grandma and Grandpa...
...and one with Chris, Shannon, Taylor, and Rachel.
We really appreciated that they all took time to come to this hearing for us, especially since it was at 3PM on a work day...not especially convenient for most of us!

Grandma and Grandpa took Carson over to their car to give him a little surprise...
...red, white and blue balloons!! He was so excited...then proceeded to run around the courthouse lawn with the balloons flying in the wind behind him.We were chatting about dinner plans and the Teenager decided to start the minivan to get the air conditioner going. OK, seeing her in the driver's seat of a car is just too weird!
Chris and Shannon and their girls joined us for Carson's favorite dinner...China food!!
After pigging out on lo mein noodles, Carson decided HE wanted to take some pictures. Since he was a bit new to using the camera, he did better using it while it rested on the table. Therefore, we all had to "get down" (as he kept repeating) so he wouldn't chop off our heads.
I helped him lean the camera back for this one...
...and I took this picture of me with my Little Man!
Because I adore Chris and Shannon, I erased all the pictures he took of you guys! Boy, that kid can capture a bad angle like nobody's business!!

When we got home, I got down to business. We had purchased many things to put in a care package for Molly...and it was time to pack it all up and get it to the Post Office.

Here is what we got for Molly, including a photo album for her that has pictures of us in it...
...and the things we bought for Molly's foster parents, the orphanage director, the nannies, and for Molly to share with her friends.
Our adoption agency provided us Chinese translations of words and phrases so that we could label the gifts and the photos in the album. Before packing all that stuff in the box, Carson wanted to kiss the stuffed poodle we bought for Molly for "good luck."And, yes, folks, it fit in the box! It was a tight squeeze, but it fit. YEAH!!
At least this care package didn't drive me to distraction like Carson's first care package did! There is a bit of pressure with these things...this is how Molly will find out she's being adopted so we want the gifts to be special. But honestly, the "stuff" doesn't matter. What matters is that our Little Lady will know in a week or so that she has a family who already loves her and who can't wait to meet her and bring her home...and her foster family can begin to prepare her for that.

Gotta go to bed...it's been a busy day!!