Wednesday, May 20, 2009
May 20..HOME!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
May 12
I got the official word today that I can leave on May 14. Everything was hinging on Julia's passport being released from the US consulate, and it was! Needless to say I am thrilled to have a concrete, firm, tickets booked departure date. We will be picked up by our driver tomorrow at 11:30 pm, our flight then leaves at 2am, we have a 7 hour flight to Almaty, then a 6 hour layover in Frankfurt, followed by a 10 hour flight to Atlanta, to arrive at 4pm Thursday afternoon. It is a long trip and a little, ok very overwhelming for me to think about. But, it is the last leg of the journey. A very specific prayer request is that Julia will sleep on the plane, so that I can sleep. I am going to try to get a couple of hours sleep tomorrow in the evening before we are picked up, but I doubt that will happen because I am sure I will be busy getting things ready.
Today we went to the "sisters" office in Almaty to fill out forms for the US embassy and for the USCIS. Then, we went to the SOS clinic (international medical) where Julia had a "physical". It was basically a very quick look in her ears, listen to her heart, ok she is fine physical. That has to be done for the US embassy to issue her a visa on her Kazakhstan passport. Tomorrow we have our final meeting with the adoption agency here, then we go to the US embassy where I will pick up her new passport and visa.
Thankfully Julia and I have been able to get great rest here at the Holiday Inn (picture included), it is very quiet and very clean. She slept 14 hours last night and took a 3.5 hour nap this afternoon. I assume that the more rested she is for the trip the better off we will be. I am a firm believer that well rested babies sleep better. Well, that is all for today. I will post once more after we are home. Thank you all for your prayers and kind words of encouragement as we have gone down this 65 day journey. They have been such a blessing to Ethan and myself.
Monday, May 11, 2009
To Almaty
Saturday, May 9, 2009
May 9 The Sun is Shining!
So, I have to say that I am elated today! Tomorrow I leave for Almaty at 1pm. I am packing and have tears in my eyes, I NEVER thought this day would come. This journey seems so long, even though it has only been 2 months. When we came to Petro, the snow was 2 or 3 feet deep and now, the sun is shining and the trees are starting to bud. Today was Victory Day in Kazakhstan. They are celebrating their(USSR) battle against the Germans in WW2. Everyone was out on the street today. There was food, babies in snowsuits (85 degrees) and of course dancing. Not my little Julia, I had her in a long sleeve shirt and I decided that was good enough. I got a lot of looks, but I decided I did not care, it was too warm for her to be in a snowsuit. So, tonight I am going out to dinner with the American families here for a final farewell, an Uzbekistan meal. I think I am going to go vegetarian. So, we are ready to say good by to Petro and hello to Almaty, one step closer home!
I included some pictures taken around town today. Notice they paint the bottom of the trees, it is purely to make them look "pretty", but they don't ever plant grass?? Oh,and the wedding dresses I found at a indoor shopping area.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Nothing is ever concrete in international adoption...May 7
So, as many of you know I have been scrambling to try to get a flight out of here on May 16. When I first talked to my travel agent there were no flights available. After about 20 e mails of my begging and pleading and a small charge, I was able to get my flights confirmed today to Atlanta. Well, then this afternoon I got a phone call from my agency that is located in Almaty saying that my dates have been changed and they THINK I can leave for the USA on Thursday May 14, but they will no know for sure until Tuesday May 12 at 4pm. As far as I can understand the reason why is because Julia's Kazakhstan passport has to be registered at the consulate and they are estimating that it will be released from the consulate Tuesday afternoon. So, I have sent another e mail to my travel agent and hopefully there will be tickets available for May 14 and she will be able to hold them until May 12. The good news is worst case scenerio now, I will be home on May 15 and the best case scenerio is home May 14. So again, we wait. But, I very excited that I will be home for my nephews birthday party at the Lookouts on May 16 regardless!!! This is the hard part about international adoption, we are dealing with agencies and governments that do not work like those in the US. The rules and timelines are different over here, not better or worse, just different.
Everything else is status quo. Julia is taking steps here and there. She is laughing and smiling all the time. She is sleeping pretty well, but she now demands to be rocked to sleep, it is funny how fast children learn, as I know she was never rocked to sleep in the baby house. We are trying to have two outings a day. She does OK in the stroller, not great, but ok. I can tell she misses kids because when I take her anywhere that other children are, she will bounce up and down in her stroller to try to get their attention. It must be a strange adjustment for her to go from having other children around all the time, to never seeing other babies. That will change soon enough though! She also is seeming to become more secure, for example when other people talk to her besides me she does not scream. Also, Dave and Jocelyn babysat her on tuesday while I ran to the store and she did fine. That is very encouraging. I am spending my time watching romantic comedies, sitcoms, reading and playing cards in the evenings. Ok, well, only maybe 7 more days!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Return home date
May 5...Waiting
Julia and I remain in Petro. Her passport came in yesterday (Monday) which was ahead of schedule I think. Today they are filing the passport with the immigration police. I was hoping to have a departure date by now, and for a short while really thought it would be earlier than the projected "worst case scenario" date of May 16. But, as of now (3pm on Tuesday afternoon) I am waiting for a phone call or e mail to let me know when I can leave. Please continue to pray as this last leg of the journey has be frustrating as I am tired and ready to have our family together at home. On the bright side Julia is doing beautifully, she is smiling and laughing all the time. She stands on her own and will take a step every now and then. Therefore, I do not regret my decision to stay with her as I feel it was the right choice. But would like to be home at some point. I will keep everyone posted as to when my departure date will be when I am told.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Finally May!
I was able to talk to Ethan via Skype this afternoon. They made it to Frankfurt and are there in a hotel. Ethan said that Caleb traveled like a champ; he said on a scale of 1 to 100, he was a 100. Also, Caleb has been apparently eating nonstop since he left Petro. I was able to see Caleb in the hotel room and of course I cried when I saw my little guy, but I am so happy that he is doing well and the trip home is going smoothly for them! Their plan today is to go to the Frankfurt zoo and out to eat. They will leave Frankfurt around 7 am (Eastern Time) and are to arrive in Atlanta at 4 pm Saturday afternoon.
We are doing fine back here in Petro. Julia slept from 7pm to 8:45 this morning! We went out today to a festival they are having in the town today with Dave and Jocelyn and then went out to lunch. The day has gone by quickly and we are enjoying our one on one time. Tonight a group of Americans are coming over to play cards. I did hear from our agency that we should know my return home date sometime early next week. I e mailed them yesterday just to remind them that I am still here, in case they forgot. I do have Julia's birth certificate and adoption decree in hand. Even though it is in Russian, it is still nice to know that it is in hand. I have included a picture of those as well as a couple of photos I took around town today. Thank you all for the prayers that are being lifted up on our behalf and the sweet encouraging words. They are such a blessing to all of us.