Going to Court

Tuesday morning we have our court date. At that time we will petition the court to make Steven our legal child and to change his name from Steven Kamone C--- to Steven James C---. We won't see a judge or anything; we will just meet with a clerk. Our agency director is the social worker going with us.

After we petition the court, there is a 6 month waiting period. So, on June 15th, Steven will legally be ours, and we will get his new birth certificate (with our names on it as his parents) in the mail. I was a bit bummed to find out that we never get to go before a judge or anything. Our social worker said that the finalization is quite anticlimatic--just a certificate in the mail.

After we go to court, we owe our final payment. Up until now, we've only paid the application fee, homestudy fee, and acceptance fee. This is the major payment (over $10,000). We'll end up getting the money back through state and federal tax credits as well as a $5,000 reimbursement from Mark's employer. Right now we have a Family First loan that is through a bank in Grand Rapids and paid directly to our agency. It's set up so we can pay it back as we get your tax credit checks, but we still have to make interest payments each month.

Things will be very very tight, but as we've seen throughout the entire process, God will provide for us. He has made it very clear that this is His plan for us, and as my dad has said, God doesn't order something and not pay for it.