The Handoff

We picked Phoebe up at the orphanage the same day as the court hearing, at about 12:30 local time. The transfer was surprisingly (to us) anti-climactic. Phoebe did not cry (we had our agency's facilitator with us, a grandmotherly woman who's well known to Phoebe), and the only member of the orphanage staff to speak with us at that point was the director, Natalia Yurievna, who has perhaps gotten used to this process, and is able to control whatever sadness she may feel at seeing one of her little one's go.

We were able to keep the clothes she was wearing at the time, and left off some in exchange. This way, for as long as Phoebe needs it, she'll have some tangible connection to her old home.

She also came with papers. We have a copy of her old birth certificate, with the spaces for parents' names blank, and her new birth certificate, with our names as parents. Also, an official "adoption certificate," and a copy of the court's judgment. All this will go into a safety deposit box, and we'll share it with Phoebe once she reaches a stage where she wants to know more about her background.