About Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is in central asia. It was once part of the Soviet Union. It is nestled to the south of Russia and northeast of China. The national language is Kazakh but the common language spoken is Russian.
Lilypie

Monday, July 13, 2009

Hi to all.

Thanks to all for your patience and support. I am sitting here thinking about all the new friends I have made so for on this journey. All of us at various stages of the process. And often waiting during those stages. We now wait for our children to come home. For several reasons we have decided to have Sasha and Masha escorted to the US. Hopefully, they will be here the last week of July. We have met with the escort twice and feel very comfortable with him.
We miss them very much and can't wait to hold them and hug them again.
Here are some of my favorite photos.

6 comments:

aultfamily said...

I think I'm 'allowed' to leave comments here AND on Facebook. :) Sasha & Masha are BEAUTIFUL! It is so fun seeing their personalities come through in the photos. They are great and I was right, they were worth the wait.

Hugs,
MaryAnn

Lori @ Five of My Own said...

Kari, the pictures are beautiful. Once again I can't help but look at the family photo and think yup they belong together.

If we return to KZ we will likely use an escort. Jet lag and new baby do NOT work well together. I think Oleg does most of the travel and he is excellent with little kids. We saw him in escort action and I was 100% comfortable with his manner with the baby.

Sleep now mama!

Becki Stone said...

I love the pictures- their smiles are so beautiful! I can't wait till they are home and in your arms forever!

Dean and Janie said...

congratulations! You will be glad you used the escort service I think as you will be much more rested to take care of your knew ones when they arrive. We have considered the same option, although I know how difficult is is to let someone else take your child/children on such a journey - especially from an orphanage. Unfortunately for us, I don't think our agency is set up for it. God bless you and enjoy! Janie

Vonda Kaye said...

Gorgeous! Gorgeous kids, family, lighting, composition...and on and on... Thanks for sharing. I think of ya'll often and just am so eager to see them at home with you. It's just around the corner!

Karen, Glenn, Allie, Max, and Sam said...

Love all of the pics -- the kids are so beautiful! We are about to submit our dossier for our 2nd Kaz adoption, and we are very seriously considering an escort home this time around. We know for certain that we both won't return for trip 2, and now we are leaning towards an escort instead of either of us making trip 2. So, for what it's worth from a family who made two trips last year, we think an escort is a great option. We can't wait to read about the homecoming!

Timeline to Kazakhstan

  • July 28, 2009: Gotcha Day
  • June 17, 2009: Court in Ust-K
  • May 21, 2009: left for Ust-Kamenogorsk
  • May 7, 2009: received LOI and region assignment to Ust-Kamenogorsk
  • March 12, 2009: dossier approved and sent to Kazakhstan
  • Feb. 26 2009: dossier sent to Kazakhstans DC embassy
  • Jan. 23 2009: updated documents apostilled and fed-ex'd to AA
  • Jan. 20 2009: received FBI clearance
  • Jan. 7 2009: Re-did the Re-do of the FBI fingerprinting (Kari) and sent for clearance
  • Dec. 19 2008: Re-did FBI fingerprinting and sent for clearance
  • July 11: Dossier authenticated and Fed-ex'd to Adoption Ark.
  • June 21: received I-171h
  • April 19- received fingerprinting notice in the mail
  • Feb. 13 went to Sherrif dept- got black fingers (fingerprinting) for FBI clearance
  • Feb. 8: received dossier packet via email from AA (Adoption Ark)
  • February 6: mailed contract and initial paperwork
  • 2008