WE ARE PARENTS AGAIN!

 Mike and I in the courtroom.

Mike and I with our judge, back in her office after court.

Court started at 9am this morning. In the courtroom were us, our translator, the judge, 2 jurors, a lady from the institution, the social worker, a prosecutor and the clerk. We were asked many many questions by the judge and prosecutor, thankfully they focused the questions on Mike. The judge and prosecutor then asked the town social worker and the lady representing the institution many questions...mainly questions about our interaction with Dmitriy. The social worker, the lady from the institution and the prosecutor all gave their approval for this adoption to be in the best interest of the child. The judge then left the court room to decide her verdict. About 15 minutes later she came in, court started back up. At 11:30 we all stood for the announcement and I cried as she read (keep in mind our translator is translating all this ) that she approved our petition to be named the parents of Dmitriy and approved our petition to have his named changed to Dmitriy Ezekiel Risse. Praise God!

After court there were many hugs and tears. We then went to the institution to see Dmitriy for only about 2 minutes as he was napping.

So, family and friends we are introducing today our son, Dmitriy Ezekiel Risse! We are thankful that God has chosen him for us and us for him. What an honor to have him as our son, we could not be happier! For those of you who have walked this journey with us and covered our journey and this day in your prayers, thank you!