Cheap clothes here in Kaz!!!

Hi all...

We finally made it to the bazaar today to go shopping - wow - it's like a huge flea market thats sort of outside but sort of inside, with very, very narrow uneven walkways and eeything you can imagine on either side of you....

We bought Drew his first clothes - of course most of them a little big as mommy misjudged the sizes, but that's OK. Get this - jeans and a sweater for about $9!!!! Unfortunately, they don't seem to sell matching outfits so you buy tops and bottoms and none of them really match. Gramma would not be too pleased!! I can't wait to get home and buy some American clothes...outlet shopping here I come...

We also started souvenier shopping and found some great stuff - so we were very excited about that...

Had a great lunch and when Tonya (our translator) explained that I was looking for grilled chicken, the waitress said that many Americans come to that restaurant so she knew what I was looking for - guess I'm a typical American...

Had a good visit with Drew trying on all his new clothes, which he seemed a little confused about. We also had our first "dirty" diaper today - quite the milestone....

So - all in all a good day here in Kazakhstan...

Shout out to cousin Stacy for being so cool!!!

Shout out to Cole just for being so cute and reading the blog everyday to find out about his new friend Drew!!

Happy Halloween to everyone...I want pics of David, Cole and Spencer on their first Halloweens please...

Jodi - Any TV pdates???? I'm missing ANTM tonight :(

Hope everyone is well - miss you all...still no word on a court date - maybe tomorrow????

We had our hearing today!!!!

...and the guardianship commission (the official name of this group) approved our petition for adoption to go forward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next we find out our court date...we've told told it could be Nov. 12, in which case we would stay in Kaz. until then. If it's later, we will likely come home. So things are still up in the air, but we passed the first hurdle!!!!!!!!!!! What a relief...

They asked us our names and occupations, if we had any children, if we talked to Chris and Ben, what we will name the baby, how long we will stay home with the baby once he comes to the USA and a few other questions. It took about 5 minutes in all...I was sooo nervous, but it was fine!!! What a relief!!!

Afterwards we were able to see Drew for a little while, but he was not happy that mommy and daddy did not have his bag of toys, juice and food...it was funny to see him look all around for it. It's nice that he knows we have food and things to play with for him...

That's it from here...we're going to try and make it to the bazaar tomorrow so we'll see how that goes....

No hearing today :(

Well, we were all ready for our hearing and found at at noon local time that it was cancelled and now it is scheduled for tomorrow - but we don't know what time tomorrow. I'll believe it when I see it. We have heard from others that this group we are meeting with only meets on Mondays so we're not sure what to believe...on top of this - the woman helping us with our paperwork started a new job today (we never knew about this) - so we honestly have no idea what to think...think good thoughts for us, cause I have a feeling it will be a bumpy few days here...

Thankfully, Drew continues to amaze and impress us each day!!!! Today, for the first time, he smiled us when he came in the room and when Patrick reached out for him he reached back to go to his daddy!!! It was soo great to see...as mommy is sick with a fever, daddy was in charge of all the feeding and playing today. There were lots of laughs and giggles...he is an adorable little boy and so worth all this beurocratic red tape we're in the middle of...

I hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for Halloween...what is everyone going to be?? I don't think they have Halloween here...

Well - that's it for now - it's bedime and nyquil for me...I love nyquil!! :)

Chris - Good luck in your concert tonight sweetie - Knock 'em dead!!!!!!

Laurie - So glad to see you on here!!! I can't wait to see pictures from Spencer's first Halloween!!! Please send some when you can...

Sami - Thanks for the insights into change and customer service...nice to know it's not just us. Though today Patrick went into a store to buy something and the people actually turned away so they didn't have to help him!

Christine - Congrats on a Sox sweep!!!!!!!!! Will James be going to his first victory parade soon??

Hi to my FF friends!!! Miss you all....

Ok - sleep time :(

PS - At least the Browns won!!!! Woo Hoo....

Pre-court hearing tomorrow...

Tomorrow is a very important day for us and Drew. We have our pre-court hearing with the local education commission who must approve us to go forward to court. We are meeting with our translator and coordinator at noon to go over everything and learn how we should answer all their questions. Our hearing is at 4 p.m. - 6 a.m. EDT...eek!! Very scary and exciting...hopefully all will go well and by Wednesday we will find out our court date.

Drew continues to be cute. Today was a very active day - his favorite activity (besides eating!) was throwing himself back and forth between mommy and daddy and having us lift him high in the air and back down to the ground. He thought that was very cool. He also continues to rip apart his book, play with the big balloon and throw his blocks around the room. He's also gotten in the habit of pulling things out of "his" big bag. Today he pulled out the apple juice bottle and handed me his cup!! What a little smartie he is!!

Some basic observations (vents???) about Taraz (as Patrick and I start to feel really homesick!!)

1. Why do people look at us like we're crazy when we walk into a retaurant and want a table?? Don't they want people to eat there? Why do they roll their eyes and moan when we pay the bill, but we need change? Isn't that considered rude in their country?? Kazakhstan will not be the great country it wants to be by 2030 unless it teaches good customer service, cause right now it sucks!!! This has happened many times to us!!!

2. The people here keep their streets and sidewalks very clean and it's very nice. But the poor women use just the broom part of the broom to sweep, so they are all hunched over. I feel so bad for these women - I want to buy them all a four-foot pole...

3. Why would people buy bloody meat out of the back of a truck when they can go to a grocery store and buy it there?? I guess it's fresher, but it's been sitting in the back of a truck for hours...it seems a little unsafe to me.

4. We have seen at least one wedding a day since we've been here. People get married every day of the week and then they and their guests drive all around the city stopping at various places for pictures. The bride and groom's limo is generally white with streamers and a big heart on the front. The guests put streamers on their cars and honk as they drive through the city.

That's it for now - sorry for the whining - the 95 percent carb diet is getting to me!!!! I promise to be in a better mood tomorrow...

Oh - and since it's Sunday morning in the US - GO BROWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have a chance to go over .500 today - woo hoo..................

No bazaar :(

Hi all...

I was too sick to go to the bazaar today...ugh! Hopefully immodium will help...if not I'll switch to cipro - aren't you all glad to know that!!

I got on the Internet early to check college football scores - it wasn't worth it though. Rutgers lost to W Va. 31-3....ugh!!!!!!! Everyone's having a bad day apparently. Though I know grandmother, granddad and Uncle Phil are probably happy about that final score...

We'll go to the baby house in a few hours to see Drew...can't wait!!

Auntie - I will take anything you want to make for tree trimming...I don't think they know what sauce (gravy??) is here...the pizza has just cheese on it!!

Jodi - You are soo funny!! Glad you got Internet back...hope everything went OK...

Chris - Hope your practice goes well today - good luck in your concert!!! Hi Ben!!!

Please send McDonald's!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This will be a short one today as the food here is going to be the death of me...ugh! I would pay sooo much money for a McDonald's anything right now. Unfortunately, Kazakhstan is one of the few countries in the world that does not have a McDonald's...seriously - look it up...

Drew continues to be great..though he's getting a whole bunch of teeth in and was a little blah today. We took him outside though and he LOVED the slide - had a huge grin on his face going down...he also played with a big balloon that we bought him at this very cute park in the center of town. We tried bubbles too (thanks to Auntie for the suggestion) - he seemed to like them but wasn't exactly sure what to do with them.

Drew also had applesauce today and scoffed it down very quickly! He's a hungry little boy - I can't wait to get him home and get some food in him!!!!

Tomorrow we're going to the bazaar, which looks interesting and slightly scary. I think it's like a crazier version of a flea market - we'll see.... We got to pre-court (commission) on Monday afternoon and will find out our court date a day or two later- cross your fingers for us!!!!

Michelle - I was soo happy to read your comments!!!! Hang in there...I know how hard it is and I promise it is sooo worth it...

Kelly, Greg and Cole - Hey guys!! Cole - tell your mom that Auntie Beth wants to see pictures from your first Halloween this week!! We miss you...

His first English word......

is....

Wag!!!

Yes, as in wag the tail. Before we came here, I bought a book by Matthew Van Fleet called "Tails." It's an interactive book about different animal tails and on one page you can pull something and make the fox "wag, wag, wag" his tail...Drew loves that part so much he ripped the foxes' tails right out of the book, but today when I was reading that to him and I said wag, wag, wag, wag, he repeated the word wag...so there ya go - not mama, or dada, but wag... Carolyn - reminds me of Nicholas' exciting first word!!! LOL...

Another great day with Drew - there was juice and cookies and playing and discovering how much fun it is to hit daddy with a big balloon. Today we were in a room with two families from Belgium who are adopting babies as well. One has a 9-month old son and the other an 11-month old daughter. It occured to us that had we gotten there a few days earlier, and before these couples, one of their babies might be our baby instead of Drew. So much of this is random with no rhyme or reason to it. But after only 10 days, we can't imagine any other baby for us besides Drew. Besides, I'm sure he'd rather grow up in the USA than Belgium!!! Sorry- that was the "typical American" coming out in me!!

A quiet day here today...tomorrow we're going with our translator to the department store and Sunday she is taking is to the bazaar, which I think is like a flea market, but we will see...

Good night from Taraz....

Chris and Ben - If you guys are reading this, we miss and love you very much!!!!

Happy Republic Day!!!

Hi all...today is the 15th bithday of the Republic of Kazakhstan!!! They celebrate much like we do - bands in the town square, speeches touting the greatness of the country (I imagine), rides and games for the kids, a day off from work, and shots of vodka!! Sounds a lot like the 4th of July to me...all we need are some fireworks at the Middlesex Country fairgrounds and we're all set...

Today before we went to see Drew we went to our translator Tanya's apartment for lunch. Tanya is about 22-23 and lives with her mother, her husband Consantine who is a "military man," and their 17-month old son Daniel in a 2-bedroom apartment that Tanya grew up in. We brought flowers for our guests and it's customary to give an odd number of flowers, as an even number of flowers is for a funeral - so that would have been offensive. We took off our shoes as soon as we walked in. They had a table set up in the living room that was loaded with food - so much food!! There was chicken, pork, spaghetti (I had told them that was one of the few foods I could eat!), french fries, rice, vegetables, and stuffed dumplings that are a native dish of Kazakhstan.

Also on the table was a bottle of vodka and shot glasses. I didn't do shots, but Patrick was a gracious guest and toasted to health, happiness and new friends with our hosts. They said we had to do three shot for luck and we all took turns making toasts. Tanya's friend Julia was there too - she told us she wants to meet an American man and she loves Arnold Schwartennegar (I know I didn't spell that right!) - we told her to come over and we'd find someone for her!!

Tanya's mom could put a Jewish mom or grandmom to shame - she was upset I wasn't eating enough and started actually putting food on my plate for me!!!

So, even with a language barrier it was a wonderful meal. We then watched a video from Tanya and Constantine's wedding - they have some very interesting customs. For example - the groom comes to pick up the bride for the wedding and before he is let in the room to get her he must bring wine, sweets and money and present them to the bride and her family as asked. They then went to the Russian Orthodox church for the ceremony and had a reception for 200 people!

Then we went to see Drew...who continues to be the cutest baby on this side of the international dateline. He liked being cuddled by his mom and dad today and we loved cuddling him. When he came into the room today, he immediately looked for his toys - it's neat to see that he knows his things.

Everyone cross your fingers for us - it looks like we'll go to commission (a pre-court hearing) on Monday and should find out our court date Tuesday...we're hoping and praying that it will be two weeks from now, rather than a month or so away...we'll keep you posted...

No big plans for tomorrow - just visiting our baby. I do need to give a huge shout out to Steven and Elizabeth for the DVDs...I don't know what we'd do without them - we're halfway through the first season of Sopranos!

And...

Ron and Katie - Huge thanks to you both for looking after things....

Christine - Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to hear more about James and see pictures. He must be a good luck charm as the Sox are kicking butt...

Kelly - I hope Quinn is enjoying the blog - you are too funny!!!!

Aunt Lois - They eat a lot of meat here, but horse is pretty big, and so is pork. I just stick with chicken - it's safer...they do some fish, but not shellfish, so I'm not sure what it is - sardines maybe?? It's a scary country food wise!!

Jodi - Good luck with the move!!!

Auntie - Drew says he can't wait to see his ornament and see what this whole tree trimming thing is all about...there is actually a chance he could be there with us this year!!!

Finally...a good dinner!!!!

Before i fill you all in on our great dnner..I fill you in on our great little guy!!!

Another good day was had with Drew - who played peek-a-boo for the first time, gave his Daddy a hug all on his own and was very cute about "hiding" his toys so no one else could play with them...he also was very excited to pick out his own animal cookie and put his blocks away himself by throwing them into his bag. He also really likes to put things in my mouth and then pulling them out and putting them in his mouth, and was playing a game with Patrick with putting fingers in mouths all over the place...a very unhygenic day, but fun was had by all! We also took pics today for court with the orphanage director and two doctors - both of whom come in for two secs, sit on the floor and pretend to play with the baby and then leave...it's pretty funny!

We hate saying goodbye to him after the two hours - it stinks...it also stinks we have to sit in this one little room with him. I should, however, give a shout out to grandmother for her soft blanket that Drew just loves to play on!!!

So, after we left Drew we decided to venture out and try and find a restaurant with an English menu. So we went to one place that looked nice and asked for an English menu, which they didn't have, but motioned for us to stay while they searched the restaurant for someone who knew English. Another patron there said he did and he helped us order! So we had really good grilled chicken, rice and french fries (hey, we can't eat any of the salad so we do the best we can with starches!!)...it was soo good!! Patrick had his first Kazakh beer, which he pronounced as better than Bud - so that's good I guess, right?? What's funny is, on the tables instead of wine and water glasses, there are shot glasses for everyone!!

While walking around a little boy looked at us and said, "Are you American?" - we said, "Yes." and he started giggling and walked away...I guess we're pretty obvious...

Tomorrow, in addition to being Drew's 16-month birthday, is the 15th anniversary of Kazakhstan becoming an independent republic - so there should be some big celebrations! Apparently everyone has off of work for the next three days for it!! I think our government should look into something similar for the 4th of July...

FR - I'm glad Kingy enjoyed the fish...did you sit next to him? I hope he behaved himself...and I can't imagine Drew would ever tell me "no." - LOL....

Kel - Since Auntie says it's OK...let's get the shots ready!! :) You bring the vodka, I'll bring the ginger ale and saltines!

Auntie - I think Cattie will have Drew running around in no time!!

Aunt Lois - Nope, Kazakhstan is nothing like the Borat movie!! I'll bore you with all our sightseeing pics when we get home!!

Christeen - Hormones?????? I hope that means the news I thought was good before I left is good news......and where are we having our next lunch???

Kristi - Your comments alays make me smile!

Uncle Steve - Guess who threw a ball for the first time today and had the best time doing it???!!!

I love all the comments everyone!!! :)

Another day with Drew...

Hey all...

We have reached out halfway point of the bonding period and all is going well...every day Drew does something that amazes us and impresses us and make us think he is the cutest and smartest baby in the world (as all parents think of their babies!!)...Today he was more vocal than he has been and he also knows that the cookies are kept in the big bag that Mommy and Daddy bring in the visiting room with them...as soon as he comes in the room he looks over there waiting for us to break out the animal crackers and apples juice! A quick thanks again to Aunt Lysee for the great bag that holds all of Drew's stuff - and he has a lot of stuff! He is fascinated with his sippy cup and keeps trying to figure out how to open it...and Grandma will be happy to hear the cup has Pooh on it - he's already a fan!!!

Today we also went to the grocery store to stock up on juice for Drew, and soda and water for us...and did you all know they have some different Pringles flavors here - like Bacon and Cheese and Onion. We didn't buy the bacon ones- that just sounded too gross, but Patrick is enjoying the cheese and onion. There was no bread in the grocery store, but there was every vodka known to man in there!!! Oh, and there was also a section of the store to buy clothes, including wedding dresses!!! Anyone need a wedding dress? I can pick one up pretty cheap....it probably costs as much as some of the vodka...I can pick that up too - Kel - I'll get some and we can do shots with ginger ale chasers!!! :) Do moms do that kinda of thing???

On Thursday, our translator Tanya has invited us to her flat for lunch...she's very nice and has a little boy who is about Drew's age and sometimes he comes in to play with Drew. I'm a little scared of what she might be making us and it's hard to explain eosinophilic disease in Russian!!!

Speaking of Russian - mine is getting better! I'm up to about 12 words or so...

Das Vidanya!!!

Thanks for all the comments everyone - we LOVE reading them!!!

Roberta - You are so sweet...thanks for writing!!

Mama - Got your message...you are so high tech, blogging and all!!!

Hi to everyone is Essex...I haven't seen any boats here yet, but I'm looking :)

Auntie - Thanks for the bubbles suggestion - I like that idea...I will check in the store for them...

Aunt Lo and Uncle Harold - Have you ever tried Kazakh vodka??? I think I need to bring you guys back some...from your newest great nephew...

Jodi - Keep the updates coming...how about Friday Night Lights???

Monday in Taraz...

Hi all...

Thanks Auntie and Aunt Lois for the wedding updates!!! I'm dying for pictures...anyone?? Pictures???

We had another good day today...we started out with being able to have the hotel do some laundry for us!!! Woo hoo!!! Clean clothes are a good thing...my Ohio State sweatshirt was starting to walk around the room on it's own :)

We went with our translator to the Taraz museum, which was very interesting - Taraz is more than 2000 years old, so we were able to learn all about Drew's birth city. There was even a small thing about Jewish life in Taraz featuring a menorah and prayer book and a shirt with a Jewish star in silvery fabric on it, which was sorta wierd. I admit, I was afraid to ask if there was still any Jewish life in Taraz, besides me and Patrick at the moment..

Then we went to lunch - I had "pizza" - it was Ok, but not like "real" pizza....

Then it was off to visit Drew who was, of course, adorable today...we had him walking some more and crawling around and he was very cute. He laughed even more with us today and seemed to like putting a straw in my mouth, then pulling it out and putting it in his mouth and then back in my mouth - he thought that was very funny. Probably not too hygenic, but funny anyway. The best part of the visit for me was at the end when he was tired and he just snuggled against me wanting me to hold him...that moment makes the last almost five years worth every minute...I am so in love with this little one I can't stand it..

Today the orphange psychologist came in to take pictures with us and Drew - we think for court but we're not sure...she was only in there for about 2 minutes...it was sorta funny...

That's it from here for now...tomorrow we have a big outing planned to the grocery store...Drew is going through apple juice like water!

Good day in Taraz...

Ok - so anyone reading this who was at the wedding - fill me in!! Congrats to Alyse and Shawn who at the moment are either sleeping or enjoying their post-wedding brunch!! Wish we were with you - especially since the food here is really getting to us- we could use a nice American brunch!

We had another great day with Drew and are quickly becoming "those" parents who think everything their kid does is the best!! I hope you'll all indulge me a little while longer! Today he entertained us by dancing in his seat to music and waving hello...and for the first time he cried when he had to leave us - it broke our hearts, but it shows he sorta likes us. He was a big cuddler with his dad today and thought he was the funniest person in the world for putting a straw in his mouth and blowing...

Earlier today we did some sightseeing around Taraz with our translator Tanya and Mira, who used to head the orphanage and is now helping facilitate our adoption. Everywhere you go here there are billboards and signs across the street talking about how wonderful Kazakhstan is and showing pictures of the president - I'm guessing his poll ratings are higher than our presidents'. There are signs for "Kazakhstan 2030" which we were told means that by 2030, Kazakhstan will be as great a country as the USA and everyone will want to visit.

Today we went to a monument from the 12th century - it is for a young woman who when going to meet her love, was bitten by a snake and died before she saw him. The site is considered good luck to visit and many people go there on their wedding day for luck - we saw a wedding there - the bride looked so happy and everyone who was at the wedding had bows all over their cars to show what was happening..it was really neat to see...

We also bought special bracelets they put on Kazakh babies to ward off evil and protect them - we hope Drew will like having that once he's older.

They also took us to the Presidential Park, which was built 6 months ago and is the pride of Taraz. There is lots of new building going on in and around the city and they credit the president with doing all these wonderful things...very different than America to say the least...

And that was our day...

To all my FF friends - you all are soo great, there just are no words...you all know what it means to finally be able to post a picture of my son. Your support is amazing....

BigBroChris - It's your job to teach Drew to love the BROWNS!!!!!

Cousin Sammy - Glad you saw the blog!!! Drew can't wait to meet his new cousins!!!!

Nicholas - You can keep calling Drew Cookie Monster!!! He can't wait to see all the things you have for him...

Talk to you all tomorrow...

Check him out.....

Hey everyone...

Check out the cutie pie on the right side of the blog...yup - that's Drew!!! His favorite pasttime so far is playing with stacking rings - kid can't get enough of them...and cookies too of course!!

We officially accepted the referral today, so we've put the wheels in motion to adopt him...today was day 4 of our 14-day bonding period - 10 more days to go, then we go to "commission," which will ask us questions about why we want to adopt and then we will get our court date. There's still hope we may go to court this trip, but most likely we'll have to come back.

The baby has had a cold since we met him and today he wasn't feeling too well. He wanted to be held and cuddled a lot, which was no problem for us. Apparently they don't give the children any medicine when they have colds - even when you can hear that it's in their chest like we could hear...I wish I could give him something, he was so miserable :(

Tomorrow we're going to do some sightseeing with our translator before we go visit Drew - she's going to show us some famous Kazakh landmarks, etc...it will be good to show him these things when he's older. We took some pictures around Taraz today - it's a very nice city. Though this morning Patrick ran into an open-air meat market - get your heads out of the gutters - it was literally sides of meat from various animals out for people to buy - in the middle of the city! Oh, and disco music played as people shopped for their meat...

We've met some very nice people from Belgium who also are adopting babies - and we hear five American couples are on their way....

That's about it from here...

Big shout out to Alyse and Shawn who are getting married today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love you guys and are with you in our hearts...have a wonderful wedding and celebration and honeymoon - can't wait to hear all about it and see pictures...and I'm wearing my matron-of-honor dress (and both pairs of shoes I bought!) to the video showing!!

Kel - Yes, you can share the blog :) And tell Cole I told Drew all about him!!

Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful comments - keep 'em coming - we love to read them. It makes us feel closer to home...

OK - time for sleep - I am STILL very jetlagged, and the food isn't agreeing with me too well and I'll leave it at that for now - LOL!!!

What a great day....

Today we had the BEST day!!!! The baby started warming up to us and was laughing and playing and just so great...I fell in love with him today and he became mine in my heart - Patrick felt the same way...we are still waiting for some more info. from the doctor, but I can't imagine there's anything she could say right now to make us not officially accept our referral tomorrow...

We know he has some speech delay, but so do lots of people who didn't even grow up in orphanages! And any nutritional problems can be corrected when he comes home....he's just the cutest little guy. Today we brought him animal crackers, watered down apple juice and some new toys - he was a very happy guy!! :)

We met his caregivers who just love him too - they said that he has big cheeks like Patrick! LOL...He also has his big brother Ben's pouty lower lip when he's not happy!!!

Oh - his name would be important huh??

Drew Sebastian Esatai Sanders - born June 25, 2006 - his birthday falls right in between his best-friend-that-he-hasn't-met-yet Cole and his big brother Ben!!!

I'm in a family of three boys, and a boy puppy - I am sooo outnumbered!!!

We're in Taraz!!!

Well - we survived the 10-hour train ride on the Soviet Train, which really wasn't so bad, and made it to Taraz. It's been a overwhelming day or so (I'm losing track of time)....but the big news is that we've been referred an adorable 15-month old baby boy!!! We met him yesterday for about an hour and spent two hours with him today so he's still pretty scared of us, but got much less scared once we pulled out the cookies! He's a little cookie monster...he's also a cuddler who likes to be held while you stand up so he can look around or put his cheek right next to yours! He's very serious and hasn't warmed up to us yet, but I guess that takes time...

We are still running all his medical information by our doctor to make sure we can accept the referral - it's a very nerve-wracking time because we feel like he is ours, but he's not yet and may not be if there are problems...so we should know in the next day or so...cross fingers for us!!!! We hope this is our baby.....

We are settled into a nice hotel, after two days in a small hotel further away from the center of town - so we're feeling more relaxed and have unpacked and all that good stuff - and this hotel has internet access- woo hoo!

Let;'s see...Kazakhstan is an interesting country - Taraz seems to be a very nice city - though without many traffic rules - that is a litle scary! The food is scary too - I'm staying away from all meat and sticking to bread and spaghetti...Patrick had some sort of "beef" today that he said was definitely not cow!!

That's it for now...we'll keep you all posted!!!

We're in Almaty!!

Well, after a 22-hour plane trip, including 6 or so hours in the Frankfurt, Germany airport, we made it to Almaty at 2 a.m. Tuesday. Getting through customs was easier than I thought it would be, though the military people are intimidating!! Our luggage arrived safe and sound, which is better than we've had it traveling within the US!!

We are now at the Alma Ata noted (I think that's the right now) - we had a very nice room and spent some time today walking around. I felt VERY American and with jeans and a T-shirt on was the least well-dressed woman on the street...

We had cheese and bread for lunch today to play it safe...and thank goodness "coke" is the same in any language...

We're leaving at 6:40 p.m. on the "Soviet" train for Taraz and we arrive around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday (Kaz time), which is Tuesday afternoon on the East Coast. We will meet our baby tomorrow afternoon!!!!!!

At the airport..

We're at Gate 63 in the international terminal at Newark Liberty International Airport -it used to be just Newark airport, but former Gov. McGreevey thought it was patriotic to add in the "liberty" - I never understood that...

It's 3:35 EDT on Oct. 14 and we board in about an hour...our plane is right in front of us and it's HUGE!!! Check in was easy, got through secuity with no problems...just watching football - Browns are beating Miami so far.. :)

I know we're about to start our long journey to Taraz where our baby is waiting for us, but it still doesn't quite feel real...it still feels very far away. But we will be there before we know it.

Very emotional saying goodbye to my family yesterday and today. Anyone reading this who will be at Alyse's wedding next Saturday - have a toast for me to my sister :)

One last thank you to all of my family and friends without whose support I would never have even made it to this point...you all know who you are and how much I love you...

OK - time to check the Browns scare again... cause I am my father's daughter and whatever else may be going on in the world can wait a second to make sure the Browns are still beating Miami!!!

Packing sucks!!

Ok - I'm trying to pack for 3 weeks and it's really impossible. I already filled up the suitcase that was supposed to hold both of our clothes...I feel a disagreement coming on! UGH!!! This is not going to be pretty...

Last post in the USA

It's Thursday night and we leave in less than 72 hours...how crazy is that?

I tried to start packing - not really sure how everything is going to fit in the suitcases we plan to bring. I guess it will all work out. But what purse should I take?? Ah - the important decisions to make!! LOL...

I went to temple tonight...everyone wished me a "Mazel Tov" and it was really nice. I even found out about others who grew their families through adoption. My family will be in good company.

Well - our flight leave at 5:10 p.m. Sunday, we land in Germany at 6:30 a.m. Monday, and finally end up in Almaty, Kazakhstan at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday morning - 10 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States. We spend the day in Almaty on Tuesday and that night take the train to Taraz - about 400 miles to the West and slightly south of Almaty. We get to Taraz at 4 a.m. give or take...and go to the hotel...FINALLY that afternoon we go to the baby house to meet our baby!!!

It doesn't feel quite real yet - it's very hard to imagine being on the other side of the world, not speaking the language and bonding with our child...that is just crazy!!!

Well - this is it from New Britain, Conn. - next tme I post I will be in another country and that much closer to my baby...

Here we come baby....

We are leaving for Kazakhstan this weekend - I can't believe it. It feels very surreal. We should be meeting our baby next Wednesday or Thursday!!!!

There are no words to describe how I feel right now....

We got our LOI!!!!

Yesterday morning we received out letter of invitation to travel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We did not expect it to come yesterday and are still in complete shock - it still seems surreal that we will be traveling in the next 1-2 weeks and will meet our baby so soon.

Sooo much to do, so little time...so many more gifts to buy, so much to pack, so much to get ready....

Our visa applications are on their way to the Kaz. embassy in Wash. DC - we'll get those back next week and once we have them we can go...

Here's how the process works:

Trip #1 - 2-3 weeks - we have a 14-day bonding period with the baby, and once that's done the Dept. of Education in Taraz will (hopefully!) recommend us for adoption..

Trip #2 - About a month after we come home from Trip #1 - we go back for our court hearing at which point (hopefully!) our adoption is approved.

Trip #3 - Patrick will go back by himself 2-3 weeks after we come home from Trip #2. He will go to Taraz, get the baby, go to the US Embassy in Almaty for final approval of the adoption and then bring the baby home...

It's a long process - but it will all be worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting and Waiting....

Well, we had thought we would have traveled by now, but we are still waiting for our Letter of Invitation to travel UGH!!! Lots and lots of delays and problems in the last couple of months. Our dossier was originally going to Almaty city and we found out some things we didn't like about that region such as not being able to adopt a child younger than 12 months old, the necessity to make THREE trips rather than TWO to Kaz (a huge difference when each trip is $5,000!!!!) and the requirment that we sign a document stating we'd be willing to adopt a child of any age with any medical conditions...so we begged and pleaded to be switched and after lots of back and forth our dossier is now in Taraz and we are waiting for our invitation. Of course we have since found out that we need to make THREE trips to Taraz, too, but it doesn't have the other issues. So, it is exciting to look on a map and find Taraz (it's in Southern Kzakhstan, about 400 miles west of Almaty) and know that our child is there waiting for us - we'll be there soon baby!!!!


Needless to say it has been a VERY stressful few months and we're hoping that our child will be home by the end of the year at this point...so frustrating and distressing...

So - we've been preparing to travel and the future baby's room is now the packing room! It was so exciting to buy the baby his or her first toys to bring over with us - I got a baby cell phone that speaks, stacking rings and some other toy that promotes crawling!!! We still have a ton of gifts to buy for what seems like every person we will talk to in Kazakhstan - I guess local custom dictates that everyone gets gifts - oh well - you do what it takes I guess?

The furniture is still in storage - it's so beautiful - I can't wait to get it into the room already!! We've picked out bedding and paint colors for both a boy and girl - blue for a boy and yellow for a girl - I can't wait to paint. Well, I can't wait for patrick to paint...

In other news - we had a great summer with Ben and Chris and had a GREAT vacation to the Grand Canyon and northern Arizona...and I finally got to Four Corners! We also got to see Laurie, Doug and meet Spencer - such a cutie pie!!!!!

Alyse and Shawn are getting married in about two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!! So exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's about it...I will try and post more regularly - I hope to have more exciting news to post soon...