Well it is official! Jim Bob and I are now the proud parents of two beautiful daughters! What a journey this has been! The time was finally here…we were going to have court to make these girls officially a part of our family. We spent the entire day together the day before court. The girls were so excited and yet nervous at the same time because they feared something would go wrong. They just desperately wanted to become a part of our family. When we walked the girls back to the orphanage for their last night there, they just clung to us and hugged us forever. We told them to try and sleep and they just giggled. The next morning when Jim Bob and I woke up, I felt so nervous! I just didn’t know what to expect for the court appointment. While we were getting ready, we received a call from our facilitator that we were going to be moved to a different region as soon as the court hearing was over. We were informed that the girls’ biological mother found out about the adoption. The information gets a little “fuzzy” from this point but we were told not to worry because her parental rights were revoked so she couldn’t do anything to stop the adoption. I guess that is was just in our best interest to move out of the region quickly so that there would not be any contact with her. My heart sank to me feet when I heard all of this because I feared that she would show up to the hearing and try to cause trouble. Jim Bob and I just prayed about it. God had gotten us this far, I knew he would get us through this. We arrived to the courthouse about a half hour before our hearing. The courthouse is nothing like I expected. The halls were run down and the rooms had exposed wires and the wallpaper was pealing from the walls. We sat outside the courtroom with our translator and our lawyer. They went over the procedure with us. It didn’t sound too bad.  Finally, the girls came to meet us. I was so happy to see them. You could tell on their faces that they were nervous. They ran over to Jim Bob and I and hugged us so tight. Then we were told by our lawyer that their grandfather was waiting down stairs. I felt my heart racing! I tried to watch everyone’s body language. The girls smiled and ran down the steps to see him. After seeing this, I knew in my heart that everything was going to be ok. Jim Bob and I remained upstairs to give them time together. He wanted to see the girls to tell them that he supported their decision to be adopted.  He even wrote a handwritten letter stating that he was there in support of our adoption. He wanted them to have all the opportunities and the best out of life. A few minutes later a man came up the steps and came down the hall towards us.  Our lawyer was behind him and then our translator looked at us and said… “This is their grandfather!” Jim Bob and I both sprang to our feet to greet him. He was a gentle old man, aged with a hard life. He introduced himself and I quickly stretched my hand out towards him to shake his hand and I introduced myself. Jim Bob did the same and he looked at us both and said that he could tell in his heart that we were very nice people. He told us that he was there to show his support for the adoption. He was glad that the girls will have a life filled with lots of opportunities. He explained to us why he couldn’t take the girls in his home. He had taken on the care taker role for his sick mother. He said that his marriage even ended over this. The one thing that he requested over and over again was to please have the girls write to him and to please send pictures. You could see the emotions on his face. I was trying to fight back tears myself. We told him that we promise to have the girls write to him. He smiled and said thank you. At the end of our conversation he reached his hand out to shake my hand and I leaned towards him and said “no… hug…were family!” I gave him a big hug and he squeezed me back and laughed. He reached to shake Jim Bob’s hand and Jim Bob leaned over and hugged him. At that point the grandfather was fighting back the tears and so was I. He waved good bye and walked down the steps. I let out a sigh of relief because I wasn’t sure how this meeting with the grandfather was going to unfold. The time had come for our hearing so we all shuffled into a room and waited for the judge to appear. He came into the room and I was quit shocked because he was wearing everyday attire…not what I was expecting.  He opened our file and the hearing started. My heart was heavy as the girl’s information was read. Their mother was an alcoholic and could not provide a stable environment for the girls. In 2009 the girls asked to be separated from their parents. They no longer wanted anything to do with them. The girls were told that as “orphans” they will be viewed differently by people. This didn’t matter to them. They said that they had a better chance of clinging to a dream of finding a family than staying in an environment that was not healthy. I couldn’t even imagine, two young girls pleading to be orphans because of their living situation. Listening to all of this, made life stand still in that moment. My life took a whole new meaning. I realized just how blessed I am with family and friends. Things that I actually took for granted, was actually a dream for two young girls. The hearing continued smoothly. Jim Bob and I were asked just a few questions and then we were asked to all stand up. Emmy, Jim Bob, me and Anna all stood holding hands listening to the closing statements being made about our adoption. Throughout the hearing it was said over and over again that no one has shown any interest in the girls for adoption or for foster care. But to my amazement the judge said that he believed that it was our destiny to find the girls. Everyone could see that there was a connection between us all. Even the head of the orphanage said that a connection was made immediately after our first meeting. The girls were asked what it was like when they first met us. They said that they knew as soon as they met us that they were going home with us. They said that we smile a lot, especially papa! They knew that we were good people when they first met us and got excited that maybe their dream was going to come true…they were finally going to have a family. They ended the hearing and told us to wait while the discussed everything and they would be back with an answer. When the judge left, everyone looked at me and Jim Bob and laughed and said… “You both were scared weren’t you?” We both laughed and said yes! They all began to laugh and say that they could tell because we didn’t smile much. Wow…I didn’t know how much Jim Bob and I smile…lol. Everyone has commented about that. After about 20 minutes or so the judge came back with a statement that said we were officially the parents to Emmy and Anastasia. The girls jumped up and down and gave us the biggest hugs!!!  Their dream to be a part of a family has finally come true! So the Shawley family of 4 is now The Shawley family of 6!!!  What a journey!!