[Facebook] OFFICIAL!

Last Thursday, I told you that unofficially, we were the legal guardians of Viola and Gideon. NOW, I can say that we are OFFICIALLY the legal guardians of Viola and Gideon!! Today, we went back to the judge's office to hear the official ruling. As most of you have probably seen via Facebook, it's official. We're now a family of four!! 

As usual, a trip to the judge's office was not without it's wait. After waiting around 2 hours, we got in to see the judge. We were the first to be ushered in, but soon there were several other muzungu [Lugandan word for "white person"] couples in the room with their possible future children, waiting to hear their verdicts. After a few minutes, he called our names and we stood up, holding Viola and Gideon. He looked at us and said,

"Ah yes, the ones that I gave the formula to."

This comment was regarding our last visit with him. During his interrogation conversation with Kristen, he'd asked her why we hadn't had our own children. She told him that we'd tried for awhile, but were not successful. Since he was in a great mood that evening, he said something like... 

"In Uganda, we know that there is a certain time in which it is more likely that you will become pregnant. You just 'try vigorously' during that time!! Do Americans not know this?" 

Of course, this was met by much laughter from everyone in the room. He even proceeded to draw Kristen a diagram of 'the cycle.' 

Next, he read the summary of the ruling. Basically, there are some requirements that we have to fulfill when we get home, but the part I liked best was the 'this court has nominated that Derek and Kristen be the legal guardians of Viola and Gideon!' After he got done, we and our attorney thanked him for his services. Then, he stunned us with his next words.

"You are very welcome. This has been a good case and Dorothy [our attorney], these are exemplary clients. Good luck to you both."

This is coming from the same judge who, previously, had been described to us as 'harsh.' He often dismisses cases and is not an easy judge to satisfy. He also said it in front of all the other people from other cases in the room.

I say this because I have no idea why. I didn't think our court date went especially well because of anything we [Kristen and I] did. There were even questions here or there that I didn't think were answered very well. There were also the facts that the judge is often harsh, we don't have our own kids, his meeting [prior to hearing our case] went very long, we asked him to see two cases, and this was the second time seeing one of the cases. If anything, I thought we had things stacked up against us... which is why I'm now convinced more than ever that God was moving behind the scenes and in the hearts of those surrounding us and our case. Our attorney [who has worked with this judge for years] told us that he never does this.  He never does this!

We're thanking God in amazement that we now have a family of FOUR! It's still a surreal feeling when I'm driving and look in the rear-view mirror to see TWO kids sitting with my wife. Currently, both of MY children are running around in dresses and eating ice-cream. Yes, Gideon enjoys wearing Viola's dresses.

Which brings me to the next part of this post... We have Viola!!

On Monday around 10 am, we got a call from our case worker that we needed to leave to go to Nakaseke to see the magistrate and pick up Viola... RIGHT NOW. I think I can safely say that we've gotten used to some of the unknown nature of proceedings here in Uganda, but this was unexpected. It just so happened that we were already out and about. So, we drove over to pick up our case worker and off we went. After getting one more document from the magistrate, we drove to Viola's village.

At first, she wasn't happy to see us again. But, she quickly remembered us. After about a half an hour and a bath, her grandma said something to her and she walked over to Kristen and hugged her! My ears already fail me quite often and right then, I thought my eyes were failing me as well! We started walking down the path to the car. The plan was to get into the car with Viola and some other people that live near her and drive a few hundred yards to the market to get biscuits. But, since she went without argument and even got into the car, that wasn't necessary. Within half an hour, we were tickling her and she was smiling! by the time we got home, she seemed pretty comfortable. However, upon entering the house, she was hesitant. It occurred to me that she's probably never been in a house like this. Doors that lock, lights, running water, and multiple rooms were probably all relatively new sights for her. Nevertheless, she did well. We had rice at dinner [which she'd requested earlier that day]. This was pretty cool since our hosts didn't know she wanted it.

So, needless to say, we're astonished and excited with the progress she's made already. Also, just now, Kristen came to tell me that, out of the blue, she counted to six... IN ENGLISH! We didn't know she knew any English words at all and we have no idea how she knows. She'll even copy Kristen all the way to ten. We were shocked. We're also pleased because Gideon and Viola seem to get along well [of course they've already fought too]. They get to talk to each other in their native language, which is nice for her transition.

Gideon has also had to make an adjustment. For almost 4 weeks, he's been an only child.. Now, he has to share the love! Since he came from a family with so many children, I think he loved all the individual attention he got from us. Now, when Viola sits on my lap, he cries and wants to sit with me too. He's very obviously jealous of the attention that Viola gets from us. But, he doesn't seem to dislike Viola for it, it just upsets him.

Whew, my posts always turn into novels... Almost done.

Today, we also went to the U.S. Embassy medical office to start their physical examinations. Unfortunately, they had to get tested for tuberculosis, which involves an injection just under the skin. On Friday, we take them back to see if they've reacted to the injection or not. Needless to say, the injection was not fun for either child. I had to hold Viola and lock her arm under my arm pit while the doctor did the injection. She's definitely stronger than she looks. Thankfully, it was quick and she stopped crying fairly soon after it was over. Kristen held Gideon and the same result followed.

It's also possible that we'll get our passports by Friday as well. Once we have these, we'll make an appointment with the Embassy to apply for a visa. The Embassy tells us this will take about two weeks to get, so we're trying to move as quickly as possible.

We're getting there! It's definitely a marathon, not a sprint. More updates soon to come..

Our beautiful Viola at lunch today!

Derek, Kristen, Viola, and Gideon!!!!