Pray some more, please....

Well. Court is behind us. The first part of court, anyway.

It didn't go as we had hoped. After a slew of questions fired at us and the social worker, we were asked to step into the hall while they discussed the case. That part wasn't so unusual.

The unusual part was the final verdict. Court has been postponed until Friday, January 21 at 11:00 in the morning.

Not exactly what we had planned, but we keep telling ourselves that GOD IS IN CONTROL. He has a purpose. He knows exactly why we don't get to go get Jack Nickolay as planned tomorrow morning. He knows exactly why we need to spend an extra three days here. He knows exactly what the judge's final decree will be.

I can't say why it has been postponed on here as this is a public forum. Everything that happens in court must be kept to ourselves as it is a closed court session.

It was hard. Our end of the questioning went well....nothing unexpected. Things went downhill after that. I don't know if I have ever prayed so hard in my life as I did when we were sitting there listening to the conversation.

If all goes well on Friday, we will be able to leave Vlad on Feb. 3. We would be able to come home no sooner than Feb. 7.

Please pray. Here in the motel right now, moods are kind of low. Tears have flown....like the whole way from the court house to the motel. Dad and Mom could tell immediately that the ruling was not in our favor. Even Addie did. "Why is Mommy crying?" We're sad. We're overwhelmed. We're frustrated. We're mentally exhausted. We're praying. We're trying our hardest to get our attitudes aligned with what God requires. And we're trying to explain it all to Addie...who can hardly wait to pick up little Jack Nickolay.

Currently I'm wishing that I had about 10 pounds of M&Ms for the next several days. Oh, what a comfort food they are. We brought a couple pounds with us, but they were nearly polished off while we were prepping for court this afternoon. If any of you feel the urge to send them to us, let me know. I'll be glad to get the address of our motel for you. :)

So that's our day. Actually, it's not completely. Before court, Jason and I played a couple games of pool....and then went to the restaurant for a banana split and a basket of bread. It was so fun. A good way to ward off the nerves.

Addie and Will stayed here at the motel with Dad and Mom while we went to court. That was a good thing as they would have had not much fun sitting quietly in the hall while we were in court for the one and a half hours that we were there.

In conclusion. Pray. Hard. Please. We can hardly believe that this has happened, but it has. As stated before, God knows what the whole picture is.

"For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:14