A Happy Beginning

Looking back through some of my older posts, I came across "Injustice Personified," a diatribe from mid-2010 about the trials and tribulations of my friends who were trying to adopt a little boy from Kazakhstan. I realized I never updated that story, so here's the outcome:

Noah came home! After months - more than a year, actually - of agonizing, expensive, heart-wrenching drama in the Kazakh court system, my friends were finally granted custody of their son, and were able to bring him home shortly after Thanksgiving (of 2010). Ultimately, after having gone to the point of having to decide whether to petition the Kazakh Supreme Court, they were advised to re-file with the original court, citing some new/additional documentation of Kazakh families that had visited and rejected Noah as a potential adoptee. With little more than their hope, they did so, and for reasons no one will probably ever be able to ascertain, the same judge who originally denied the adoption finally granted its passage. Subsequently, most of the other families in the same situation at that Baby House (the Kazakh term for "orphanage") have also been approved for adoption.

Noah is now back in the States, thriving with his parents and finally having met his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousin. I like to think that it was the mounting pressure from all the friends, family, and occasionally, US government officials that finally persuaded the judge to get with the program, but we will probably never know. Nonetheless, I thank everyone who supported the cause, whether by writing letters or just saying a prayer. Thank you for helping to bring Noah home!