Adoption Update

We went to court this morning to listen to the proceedings concerning Morgan. Her materal aunt, Bonnie, was there along with "the team" that includes a case worker and her supervisor, Morgan's attorney, and the CASA worker. It was a full courtroom and Bonnie's presence made us very nervous. I introduced myself to her, but she was uninterested in talking to me. That's ok. She can love me later.

We were prepared earlier this week that today's proceeding would more than likely be postponed until January and not to expect much. To our surprise, the judge stuck to the plan for a merits hearing. The District Attorney called the case worker to the stand to testify about the danger Morgan experienced in the care of her parents. Since neither bith parent showed up for the hearing, the judge terminated all parental rights.

Several hours have passed and I am still surprised it happened so quickly. Kim and I will meet with a different judge on December 17 at 8:30 to testify to our desire to adopt Morgan. We had hoped to wrap up the adoption before the end of the year, but the adoption attorney says it will more than likely be the first part of 2009. For now, we are incredibly thankful to be a few steps closer to making Morgan a permanant member of the family.

Bonnie immediately left the courtroom after the termination and I did not have a chance to speak again. I don't know if we will see her again. We offered the social worker a goodwill gesture by saying we were willing to send Bonnie a picture of Morgan and McKenzie once a year with an update on how they are doing. I hope she will take it. I can't imagine how hard this situation is for her.