Photo Recap Part 6

Ella's Adoption Court Hearing in Birmingham, AL
April 20, 2011


What a special day! Ella didn't really get what the day was about. All she knew was how fun it was to have all four of her grandparents around on a short road trip and lunch where she got one of her favorite (and usually forbidden) foods - hot dogs! We sought out a hot dog joint for a special lunch just before heading to court and we found a great little cafe. At least in the States we can get better quality hot dogs. This girl is a purist. No ketchup, no bun, just the meat please! She ate two.

After lunch, we walked to the court house. Ella enjoyed a few fun moments with Papa. The mood of the day was very light and joy-filled.

We came upon some local children's artwork and noticed a plaque with a list of "heroes," one of which was H. Tubman (Harriet Tubman), the inspiration for Ella's new middle namesake. How perfect!

Sometimes I am just so overwhelmed with love for this little one. What a girl!

Our entourage

It must have been her knowing that she was extremely close to officially being a Sawchenko that brought on this uninitiated nerdiness.

The hearing took all of five minutes. The judge was just delighted with Ella. After asking us a few basic questions about her name and how long we've been together she kept saying, "Awww, well isn't that neat! Oh that is so neat! She is just the sweetest little thing!"

At one point in the middle the hearing, Ella stood up in the chair that faced the judge and put her hands up like a winning champion and said, "Yaaaayyyy!" I'm so glad we got that on video.

A photo with the Judge

 

It's all done! (We still had a ton to do actually but at least the hearing was done.) What a great feeling!