37 more days

I continue to count and I am continuing to practice my Russian while time seems to be moving at a slower and slower pace. I am very ready for winter to be over and to feel the sunshine again. If you can’t tell it has been VERY rainy and snowing in Oregon this last few weeks, and it looks as though it will never let up. We have not heard anything from our agency lately but we were not expecting to either. This is the major wait time, and I guess there is just not that much news for the agency to share with us right now.

There are a few more people I would like to thank for their help in our preparations. Dad and Sharron thanks for you help in getting the Russian II tapes. Thank you Sharron, as well, for the great picture book for the little one (or two.) Also a big thanks to Cindy B. for all of the little kid and baby toys. I am sure they will come in very handy on the very long plain ride.

20 Days Down 40 to Go!

Not much new to report. If anyone is wondering why I have posted a picture of a door below there is a good reason. This is the first part of the trim that John has completed!!! For those out there just reading along who don’t know us you might not realize the importance of this accomplishment. Let me just say it is huge.

So I am officially allowing myself to start counting down the days. I am still very confused on where we or our paperwork will be in 60 days, but hey it is something to mark the journey to becoming parents. I do know that our paperwork must go through three steps. The first is the Ministry of Education (MOE) and then or maybe at the same time the ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) then it goes to Uralsk. It is my understanding that the Letter of Invitation (LOI) will be sent when the paperwork is finished at the MOE and MFA. That is what will give us the go ahead for tickets and the visas. I can hardly wait but fortunately we should be pretty busy until we go. I have a couple trips planned mid March and we will probably go on a river trip over spring break. If all goes well we will leave shortly there after. It might be nice to spend springtime in Kazakhstan. I hear they have amazing tulips.

The Waiting Game Gets Longer

As each week goes by we are getting closer and closer, yet sometimes it feels like we are running a marathon without knowing exactly the distance and exactly how far we have come. We were warned by others that this step was a bit daunting and they were correct. We know that our paperwork is in the capitol. We were originally told it took 4-6 weeks to go through the capitol, but now it seems as though things are slower and taking 60 days. This was a huge blow to me today. At first I was filled with such sadness and I felt sick to my stomach at the news. I then stepped back and realized that 2-4 more weeks longer will not be the end of the world. This way we will have spring break for one last vacation with just the two of us. I don’t have to worry about missing the science fair and I will get to be with my students longer, thus I will not have to lose so much money while I am on leave. I must keep reminding myself that this is all for a reason. While we were trying to conceive I always believed that it didn’t happen because the right child for us was not ready and I still feel this way with adoption. The right child will be ready when the time comes and however small and helpless I feel right now, I must know that the universe is unfolding perfectly as it should.

Gifts

These are the really cool hand made dolls that Marlene sent us from Alaska.

2 Weeks Down

As we have read blog after blog about adoption
travel we have only seen compleated nuserys that
look all cute and wonderful. Here is a little bit of
the reality of putting it together:)


We have reached another milestone in our journey to parenthood. Our paperwork has been in the capitol for two weeks. It stays there for an average of 4-6 weeks so we are definitely getting closer and the reality is slowly seeping in that we will be parents soon. The room is coming along and John has actually hung some trim in the living room so this child will have a beautiful home to come into. Life in general is going well we are just VERY busy getting things ready. We are also looking after our neighbors horses which is nice because it forces us to go outside and go for a walk everyday. My Russian is coming along quite nicely as well as I have finished year I and I am anxiously awaiting year two to arrive in the mail. It is so exciting to be learning a new language knowing that I will be using it so soon. It also gives me something else to focus on besides impending mother hood. Work also is going well. My students are keeping me busy which helps the time pass quicker.

A word of thanks is definitely due to Jason, Lori, James, Hailey and Buddy for the help in bringing their newest cousins to be home. Also thank you Marlene for the beautiful dolls. I am sure they will be a cherished item.

Not too much new

Not a huge amount to report while we are waiting. I am mainly just getting our to do list organized so that I can stop being a dear in head lights and get back to preparing for the biggest trip of our lives. We have lots to do still, but when I lay it all out on paper it is not to terribly overwhelming. This weekend we are going to Bend to pick up any essentials. I am really hoping that this will be our last trip until we go. We did decide to just go on Friday night so that sopping on Saturday will not be so hectic. For those following this journey who have never been out to our neck of the woods, when I say we are going shopping, I mean we are going to drive 2.5 hours to a decent size city, get our supplies for the next two months and then we are going to drive 2.5 hours home.

On top of preparing for our big trip I have been working hard on planning the science fair field trip to Portland for my 7th graders. While it is hectic to plan for this while also being busy with the adoption, it is probably best that I am busy at work right now so the time will pass quicker. I am really starting to get sad about leaving my students early this year. I am really enjoying them and I have worked so hard with them that it will be hard to turn over their lives to someone else. I guess I would have to do that soon enough.

Many of you have asked for nursery pictures and they will come soon enough. Hopefully with the Bend trip I can get a few more things to help it look more complete. We have almost finished stripping the dresser of drawers we want to put in the room. Unfortunately the paint stripper needs 55+ degrees and those are hard to come by these days.

Happy February

So, it is crazy to think that this is probably the last month that we will be childless as we should be in Kazakhstan sometime in March. Our paperwork has been in Astan now for 4 days. It has been typically taking 35-45 days so at worst 41 days to go! I find that I am getting more and more anxious as we get closer. Fortunately we will both be home almost all weekend to get things ready for the little one.

An update about one or two:
We are still hearing the same thing, we can bring home two as long as we are willing to bring home one with a special need or if there are siblings. We have done a lot of soul searching over this and we still have not made any major decisions. I think that this is something that will work itself out while we are there. We still would prefer a sibling group but my heart is very set on a little one. This is the hardest thing about waiting for me. I just can’t form a picture in my head of what our family will look like.

We would like to thank Uncle Bill and Aunt Helen for their donation. One tip for other families out there: when you are doing your budget don’t forget the cost of the one way return ticket. For international flights a seatless child is 10% of the going fair and a seated child is ½ the adult fair.