Ezra and Gustav

I am so happy to announce that as of this morning, we have two new sons!! Court went great, and we are getting a bit of sleep (I hope) before we head home at 3 am! The judge, jury, and prosecutor were quite different than last time. He asked many questions and so did the two people who were the jury. They all seemed to not quite believe that we REALLY wanted 8 children. Was I really sure? He even said I was the mother of the most children that had ever been in their court! He told Everett he did not envy him the weddings (we have never heard that before...) and that it was going to be a very huge responsibility. I actually really respected that, because he is so right. It is a huge responsibility for Everett to provide for all of us, and a huge challenge for us to raise them. This is not something we take lightly and would never do apart from the awesome grace and strength of our God. It was a wonderful and sober time. Our picture book (thank you again, Julie!) was a huge hit and everyone told us how beautiful our daughters were. I think seeing them all happy and well cared for made everyone feel safe sending these boys off to a new home far away to be taken care of by obviously crazy people :)

After all the questions, the judge concluded everything and told us to come back that afternoon. I was shocked. And here I thought it had gone so well! I walked out of the room confused and upset and asked what had happened. Our facilitator assured me several times that it was okay, "you are the parents" and that the judge was joking with me. Really? Ha. Ha. After a bit it really sunk in and oh, such joy! It is hard to believe we really have two sons. (And just so you know, no one here ever gets my jokes either!)

We went back to see the boys right away and held them and told them we would be back in 10 days. They were so sweet and glad! I hope they understand a little how much we love them- I can't wait until we get to start showing them what it means to have a family. They are in for a shock! What? You make everyone drink green-smoothies and we don't eat cookies every day? (hehe...)