Get out the big guns of prayer...court tomorrow!

so it gets a little hard coming up with 4 hours of entertainment for an active 4 1/2  year old!

If bribed with grapes or oranges he will sit for about 20 minutes and work on numbers or songs to teach language...

His preferred mode of transportation!  Strollers are for babies mama!  He will be using one on the trip home though!

Sticks and dirt!  I'm a boy!  Who needs toys?!

Who needs assistive devices and orthotics when I've got playground equipment??

In U the families have a term called the groundhog day phase. (you know that Bill Murray movie when he wakes up and does the same thing over and over and over....)  Here, that is when your business is temporarally done and you wait and wait for your court date assignment, and then wait some more for court to actually arrive.  You visit your child...usually twice a day depending on the region...and you sort of have trouble remembering what day it is... and because of the limitations of the setting... sometimes things seem to blur together.... did we do this or that yesterday or was it last week?? You search for food, take the long rides back and forth.  You try not to accidentally order liver (yes we did...and boy did my gag reflex kick in! just like when my parents tried to make me eat it when I was 10...hey I tried) Any how... today was our last groundhog's day for now!

Tomorrow we have one final visitation in the morning.  As is the norm for this trip...we are a little unsure on some details for tomorrow... we aren't sure yet if we are moving out of this apartment before the visitation and keeping the driver with us all day... or if we come back to the apartment one last time between visitation and court.  We were waiting for a phone call today to straighten this out... but it did not come.  Sooo we are packed and ready and have cleaned the place up just in case.  Whatever happens...the marathon starts tomorrow.  Court is happening at 14:00 ... so if anyone is awake at 7 am eastern  please pray at that time.  This judge will determine if we are "fit" to be Shea's adoptive parents.

As soon as court happens, we will rush off to the train station (and hopefully make it in time!) for a 5 something train.  Then we will ride across the country heading north to the capital for another 13 hours.  Tuesday will be our visit to the consulars office (US) to have Dan sign paperwork as he will not be returning on the second trip so that he can stay home and care for Simon and Danielle and get back to work and real life.  Then by 6:45 AM on wednesday we hope to be on our flight for HOME!!

Yes, I will miss my Toma and worry about him... but all of this means we are getting closer to having him home forever... and it will be such good medicine to my soul to see my babies at home!

On a closing note... After my lowest day this trip emotionally a bit ago...I embarked the next day to adjust my heart and my soul and try to be proactive about not letting the heaviness of it all get to me.  I was sitting out front of our building sitting on the stoop, and waiting for dan to return from some grocery shopping.  I was praying... thanking God for our many blessings while here.  Asking God to show me joy and to lift my spirits.  At that very moment a BIRD POOPED ON MY HEAD!!  I'm not kidding!...  All I could do is laugh and laugh.  Who knew God was such a comedian??  He released my soul to laughter all through a little bird doo!  The end!