Court for Amos

Here is the update from court for Amos!

He was very excited for today. The facilitator talked with him a little bit before my husband came in, and explained that they were going to court to do paperwork. When my husband came in, he repeated what the facilitator had said about going to do papers. They visited and he brought him candy and juice, and some magazines to look at. He also really liked the tablet, but the battery ran out after a while.

At that point he laid down on a bench and started rocking and stimming. It's tough, knowing he did not have those behaviors just a few years ago. But we will get him home where he will be safe soon.

They all went to court, including Amos. He was rocking a lot in court, but he told the judge he was very excited to go to America with his new papa. It was the same prosecutor as last time with a different judge. We were told it would be a different prosecutor, but at least he was a lot more agreeable this time. Compared to the last time we went through this court, with multiple court dates and extra requirements, this was much faster. It was still not an easy process. They grilled my husband about everything. They asked a lot of questions. The orphanage was really impressed with the change in Barton, and it helped that they said so.

Passing court for Amos was the most emotional for me out of all four children. I clearly remember our concern two years ago as this same court was so difficult for Barton, and then for a later family adopting from the same orphanage. Amos's condition is also so shocking compared to a few years ago.

This is not a fancy video. The beginning is a clip of Amos at his old orphanage. He is in the middle singing, with Barton on one side and "Dell" who was since adopted on the other side. The second part is Amos now, in the orphanage before court. That stimming that no one had ever seen before is now a constant behavior. The only difference was the transfer from one older child orphanage to another a couple years ago. I can only imagine how much more he would have deteriorated if he had been transferred to the adult facility in his region with caged pavilions.

I am so, so glad that it was our family who chose to adopt him. Honestly, many people who had committed to the child in the first half of the video would not feel prepared to bring home the child in the second half. But he is OUR son now, and he will thrive here.