Our Journey To Sofia

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2008!!

2007-12-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

This will be the last entry of this blog. Sofia has been home for a year and a half, and this time with her has been extraordinary and priceless. It's been an amazing journey, and she has filled our lives with tremendous joy. We look forward to spending our lives with her, sharing with her the wonderful things life has to offer. We hope to take her to Kazakhstan someday, if she so desires, to show her the country in which she was born, her ancestry and culture. We can't imagine what our lives were like before she was a part of it and we are so very grateful for her.

We feel very blessed to have precious friends and family members who surround us with love, and are grateful for our Lord, for he has laid His hand over our lives and has blessed us countlessly.

May this season bring you and your families joy and health. And may 2008 be filled with happiness and peace. God bless you.

Mike, Diva, Alex, Dominique & Sofia

December 2007

Another Birthday, A Fabulous and Memorable Year!

2007-12-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

A week after the 4th of July, we happily celebrated Sofia's 2nd birthday. Wonderful friends Fernanda and Daniel and their children Augusto and Agueda were staying with us, and visiting from Argentina, so we made it a combined celebration given that Augusto's 4th birthday was on the same week. Many friends and family showed up, and Sofia had a fun time with a giant bouncer and lots of pint-sized friends.

The rest of our summer was spent at the beach, or at the club's pool, or visiting the zoo or mini-farm, or just at the park kicking some ball around. The children became very serious entrepreneurs, and put together a lucrative lemonade stand. We also spent quality time with our Argentinean friends showing them Laguna Beach, San Diego and other areas in Southern California, including the historic San Juan Capistrano Mission, which was found by Jesuit Father Junipero Serra around 1776.

Sofia had her first visit to Disneyland with her daddy (besides just the shop at Disneyland which she visited last year), and was intrigued by everything she saw. She seemed to especially enjoy Small World.

School started in September, and the children have been busy with it, sports and musical instruments. Halloween was as fun for all of us this year as last year, but this year Sofia actually went up to the doors, knocked and asked for candy. Very cute! Her vocabulary is enormous, and can say many sentences in a row.In addition to all that, Mike took Alex fishing and then to the USC football game at Washington State, followed by a trip to Nebraska to watch another game with his dad and friends. Go Trojans!!

Dominique was baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in October, and that was a big and exciting day for her and my family.

Many more activities have kept us busy such as 2 concerts: STYX (from the 70s - remember 'Come Sail Away'?? -- great song which I have now mastered in my piano!), and Ali & AJ for Alex and Dominique and friends.

November and December have brought the spirit of Christmas early into our home, and our tree went up along with decorations and lights right before Thanksgiving. Dominique went to the Annual Indian Princesses Ball at Disneyland with her Daddy and her tribe of girls, and had a wonderful time. We have been busy spending time with friends, and look forward to our trip to Beaver Creek, Colorado, for a "white" Christmas.

Summer Vacation

2007-07-10T15:20:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of June we went on a 10-day vacation to Yellowstone, followed by a couple of days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We were stunned by the beauty of the area, the Yellowstone Park and the majestic Grand Teton mountains of Jackson Hole. Even with the cold temperatures of June, we were able to enjoy some hiking, fishing and exploring, and horseback riding. The children were fascinated by the hot geysers everywhere, and were amazed by how smelly they are. We were lucky to see dozens of buffalo right next to the SUV, a bear and her two cubs just 5 feet away from the car, and fox, coyote and wolves, elk and deer.

We stayed at The Lodge at The Lake, a Victorian beauty built in the early 1900s and it was not fancy, but comfortable enough in a semi-rustic way. There was no TV, radio or electronics -- and it is always a relief to be away from all that. We are definitely coming back.

It's great to be an American!! . . .

2007-07-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

. . . and we are grateful for our freedom!

Just because they are so VERY precious!! . . .

2007-06-21T20:15:00.001-07:00

Bath is a favorite time of the day!

She seems to think brushing teeth is a blast -- we are not changing that perception!!

LOOOOVE to strum the guitar, just like big brother Alex!

I see you!!

My favorite pet horsey

Yo-Yo is one of her favorite foods -- must be all the yogurt she ate in K'stan!

What's wrong with this picture?? Nothing like some double-fisted action!
Playdate with Kazakh buddy KatieRiding the not-so-favorite horsey -- lots of tears followed!What else is one to do after a looong day of fun???

. . .and at the end of the day, a good cuddle and squeeze from mommy is a must for the both of us!!

We also enjoy writing ALL the time (to mom and dad's chagrin!) -- on papers, walls, tables, doorways, floors, mom's bills, important documents, sinks, etc. etc. etc. . .

That's all for now, folks!!

Dominique's Birthday and Cancun, Mexico

2007-06-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Dominique celebrated her birthday after Easter, during April, and turned 8 with a bang. She was lucky to have 3 celebrations: one which was an American Girl Doll party thrown by two of her school friends, the other at home with grandparents Lawrence, and the third one a special day at American Girl Place in Los Angeles with her friend Kyra and her mom, as well as Auntie Diane.

In May, Mike, Alex and Dominique went to Mexico for a 5-day Company trip. Unfortunately Diva and Sofia had to stay due to visa issues. But Mexico, for the 3, turned out to be a wonderful experience with visits to Xcaret and other Cancun sites. This time they did not get a chance to visit Tulum or another Mayan ruin, but next year we are going back to do just that. This time Diva and Sofia will be there!! . . .

Easter

2007-06-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

EASTER 2007

Sofia's Easter experience was great. She was fascinated by the Easter bunny -- albeit somewhat frightened by the big white giant with the sad face!! -- and LOVED the egg hunt. And this is before she even knew what was inside the colorful eggs she found. . . once Sofia found out there were delicious treats of chocolate and other goodies, she smiled and laughed while she go gobbled it all up with Alex and Dominique.

Spring Break. . .

2007-05-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

Spring Break this year took us to the Big Sur forest for a few days and to San Francisco for another few. It provided us with much needed quality family time. We hiked in the woods, played in the mud when it rained, splashed in the ocean, visited the Aquarium in Monterey, visited the Mission of Junipero Serra in Carmel from the 1700s, and spent lovely days in San Francisco at the Exploratorium hands-on museum, the Zeum interactive music and videotaping museum for kids . . . and simply just exploring the beautiful sights of that gorgeous city which is San Francisco!

Monterey Aquarium - lots of fun!!...

Exploratorium Museum, San Francisco -- Sofia just wants to be in on the fun no matter what, even with short little legs!. . .

Beautiful Carmel Mission from 1700s -- Jesuit Father Junipero Serra is buried here.

Big Sur, Northern California, for some great fun hiking and playing in the streams forest.

Also, some basic fun in a park. . .

We have been VERY busy!!. . .

2007-02-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

The last couple of months have been very busy. We visited with Sofia's pal from Kazakhstan, Katie, and her parents Greg and Lisa. Sofia was somewhat intrigued by the girl sitting in her high chair, but became very interested in Katie's pacifier. She was tempted to try it out to see if it tasted like hers, but kept putting it back into Katie's mouth instead. We had a great time with them, and hope to see them again soon!

Parks are a favorite stomping ground, and Sofia climbs and runs everywhere. She is fearless and will come down the steepest and tallest slide. She adores the swing, but her favorite is definitely the tire type.

Sofia continues with her Music To Grow On class, and feels very comfortable in it at this point. She will sway and clap to the music that is played. At home she sings all the time, and at bedtime she hums herself to sleep. She seems to enjoy music immensely.

We had a couple of fun visits to the mini-farm to pet the bunnies, see the goats and the alpaca, and chase the chickens. Sofia rode the pony at the farm, but that didn't go so well! She definitely prefers the wooden pony at the farm, and the soft stuffed pony she rides at home.

This alpaca looks just like the toy camels we brought back from Kazakhstan. What a sweet face!!

On a beautiful sunny morning, we stopped at Disneyland to meet Captain Hook. One could see Sofia was NEITHER very fond NOR impressed by him! Goofy was fun, and less scary, and Sofia was OK with him, as long as Daddy held her tightly.

Notice that Sofia is as tall as Minnie! Here she is head-butting the doll because she wasn't sure what else to do with this life-sized 'thing'!!

In January we flew to Sun Valley, Idaho, for the kids' Winter Break, and Sofia was able to experience the snow. She may have touched it in Kazakhstan, but I have a feeling the babies were not outside a whole lot during winter.

The older children in baby homes get the chance to go outside and play in the snow, but I doubt the same applies to the littlest ones. Anyway, it was a great time, and Sofia LOVED the snow. She was unfazed by how cold it was outside, sometimes in the low teens or even single digits.

She loved watching the kids slide down the hill, and couldn't wait until she was on the saucer. She was neither afraid or fazed at all by the speed of it nor was she fazed by the cold. When we were at the hill late in the afternoon, temperatures were down to 12 degrees! Brrr! What a tough baby!

One night we took a sleigh ride to a restaurant about 45 minutes away from Sun Valley Lodge, and it was lovely. Sofia, Alex and Dominique were troopers considering that this specific night the temperature was about 9 degrees. The restaurant was a beautiful historic log cabin, and we had a delicious meal. There was a gentleman playing the accordeon around the room, and when he approached our table he played a sweeet ballad to the kids and Sofia. She was enthralled by the music and the instrument, and smiled a lot.

Last weekend was beautifully sunny and balmy in Southern California, so we headed for the beach. The kids dug into the sand, built castles, and went hunting for small crabs at the many tidepools.

Sofia recently had her bi-annual checkup with Dr. Gary Feldman, of Stramsky International Adoption Clinic in Long Beach. He is an expert on children who are adopted from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and he conducts a developmental assessment to gauge the progress of adopted children. Dr. Feldman was very impressed by her social skills and her overall growth and maturity, and declared her within the 'normal' range. She can now say several words. He did note, however, that ". . .she certainly is a strong-willed child!. . .", as Sofia threw herself to the ground into a full-blown tantrum when she couldn't have the pen she was reaching for. I believe she is already into her ''terrible twos'', and the tantrums started when she was only 17-months old! Thank goodness it doesn't happen all the time, and when it does I remove her from that situation immediately, or, simply ignore the tantrum. If I ignore it, she will cry and scream on the ground for a while, and it eventually passes.

Let's hope this does not continue for very long!. . .

A Magical Time!

2007-01-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas day was truly magical! With a new baby in the house, things took on a much more festive feel. Christmas morning came with joy, and Sofia truly enjoyed herself. She loves her soft Elmo, Teddy Bear, and all the other fun and musical toys. She mostly adored helping her brother and sister rip open their presents, though. There is something about ripping open a package that must be therapeutic because most babies so enjoy that activity!!

The Season did not start on a very happy note, though. We insisted on taking a photo with Santa, and Sofia just couldn't understand why it was necessary to sit on the lap of a strange man with a white beard, especially after countless lessons on not talking to strangers, much less sitting on their laps. I tried to explain to her that Santa was different, and to " . . . better watch out, better not cry. . ." because Santa would then bring her presents, but to a 17-month old, it was all to no avail (as expected!). She just screamed her little head off!!

Sofia continues to grow, and is a very happy baby. She now insists on imitating the sounds of most words we throw her way. It is very cute to hear! She will be speaking in no time. We also enrolled her in a 'Music to Grown On' class for toddlers, and she loves dancing to the guitar and piano which are played by Ms. Livia. She also enjoys listening to music at home and wiggling her little bottom. In the Baby House there was a caregiver who constantly sang in Russian to the children while at play, including what sounded like Operas. So from early on Sofia has listened to music and seems to enjoy it very much. Following are some more fun Christmas photos from Sofia's perspective!

"I was told we have a tradition of building a gingerbread house every year before Christmas. This one ONLY took 4 1/2 hours!! Phew!!!"

"OK, the deal is: I get to open and rip up these packages or I'll throw a fit, alright????" "OK, then, here we go. . .This one is for Alex from Santa. . . .!"

"Oh, did you want to hold my Elmo??"

"Don't EVEN think about it!!!"

"Ok, everybody, it's time to get into the spirit of Christmas, so sing with me: " Jingle bells, jingle bells. . . ."

Happy Holidays!!

2006-12-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

"Let our earth be peaceful,

Let our hearts be hopeful."

Happy Holidays to you and your families,

and best wishes for a Joyful and Peaceful 2007!!

Mike, Diva, Alex, Dominique & Sofia

Boooo! Happy Halloween!

2006-11-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

Hi, everyone. Sofia continues to grow and amuse us. She insists on walking up and down the staircase in our house on her two feet, and does it well even though we are always concerned something may happen. She imitates the sounds of words, and we are thinking that any day now she will start talking. She insists on climbing into her high chair by herself, and does it quite well. On the way out, we always give a hand. She is definitely the climber, outdoorsy type of girl! She hikes up the full-sized slide in the backyard to then turn around and slide down. When she falls, she hardly whimpers. Amazing how tough she can be!

Halloween was interesting. She was a bit taken back by Alex and Dominique's costumes, and when it was time to put hers on (she went as a Tigress Princess), she was not a happy camper and cried. Eventually we got it on, painted some whiskers on her face, and off trick-or-treating we went. She went up to people's doors with the kids and started to enjoy receiving the candies. She would put them in her tiny basket and move on to the next door. At some point a shoe was lost, but that didn't stop her.

Eventually all she wanted was to eat one and stay in the car while the kids ran around collecting their 'treasure'. It was really cute to watch and we look forward to next year's Trick-or-Treating adventure!

Shoe? Who needs shoes?? What's important is getting the candy!!

Aloha!!!

2006-09-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

At the end of August we went to Kauai for about a week. Sofia cried in the airplane, and wanted to be down a lot, so that wasn't fun for anyone, especially me. Six hours of that made me exhausted. But, while there we had a great time. She loved the beach, and the pool, and enjoyed her meals at the restaurant. She slept well during the night and during her naps.

The only problem was the 3-hour difference between California and Kauai. So instead of waking up at 7:30 am, she woke up at 4:30, and so did Alex and Dominique. This went on for about 3 days, and they finally caught up to local Kauai time. Upon our return, the same adjustment took place, this time 3 hours behind. So
to get Sofia and the kids to bed early was no easy feat! But after about a week everything fell into place, and everyone is sleeping through the night, and going down at the right time. Phew!!

I love sand, and it even tastes good!

Taking a walk with my brother!

Daddy and Alex in Kauai!

Love playing with my sis Dominique!~

This is the life!!!!

More Fun!!

2006-09-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun photos of Sofia and our family at the beach, the pool, and our backyard:

Fun with Daddy at the pool

The whole family at play

Playdate with friend Eric

Sofia loves her doll playhouse!

Kicking a ball around, besides sitting in the swing, seems to be her favorite thing to do!

Sofia adores Alex, and is fascinated by bubbles.

Fun at Grandma's and Grandpa's

2006-09-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sofia is doing great!! By beginning of August she was exploring the house on her own, no longer afraid to go into rooms, or to lose me. While she is at it, she babbles non-stop. We don't understand what she says, but one would think she is carrying full conversations! She points and carries on like she truly understands what she is talking about. She loves to explore areas, play with her toys, go into drawers and pull things out, close and shut doors many times in a row, etc. etc. She is very active. She has finally learned to go up and down the stairs sitting on her behind, as opposed to launching herself right off. We have a gate at the top of the stairs, and when we train her to go down, we stand in front just to ensure she won't fall. She is smart and witty, and picks up on things very quickly.

Her schedule is the following: wakes up between 7:30 to 8 am, is changed and has breakfast. Then we do errands, or go to a park, and by 11:30 she is down for a 2-hour nap. After she wakes up she eats lunch, plays for a few minutes and then it's time to pick up the kids at school. From then on it's car rides to the children's activities until 5:30 or so. She has a small snack around 3:30 like fruit or applesauce. At 6pm we all have dinner, it's bath time and some play time, and then it's time to go to sleep at 7:00 pm, and she sleeps all night, with no interruptions.

Sofia loves our food, and she eats everything that we do. So for breakfast she may have scrambled eggs, sauteed green beans cut up small, and some cut up melon, followed by a bit of oatmeal or yogurt, and then a small cup of milk. She has great appetite, and eats every three hours or so. She no longer uses the bottle throughout the day, and likes the sippy cups. At night, though, I give her a bottle of milk right before she goes to sleep, and then we rock and sing songs for a few minutes before I put her down. She loves her crib, and hardly ever cries when it's time to go down. She still uses the pacifier at night, but does not want them throughout the day. At 18 months or so I'll get rid of the pacifier and bottle at night. I can see it's already affecting her new teeth, of which she has 7.

Sofia is a happy, well-adjusted child, and seems to enjoy different settings for play. I started taking her to a Mommy and Me gymnastics class once a week for 45 minutes, and she seems to enjoy that. But her favorite thing to do is to be outside, kicking the balls and on the swing. She loves to roam free, and keeps me very busy!!

We have been home for almost 9 weeks and we have gone to the beach on several occasions, and the pool, and she loves the sand and the water. She was reluctant at first and did not like the feel of the sand the very first time she touched it, but now she truly enjoys it. The only thing she seems to dislike is sitting in her car seat, strapped in. She whines and cries a lot and pushes her body against the straps in attempts to get out. IT's tough, especially when we are running around in the afternoons taking Alex and Dominique to their activities.

A few weeks ago we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a barbecue and we had a great time there. Here are some fun photos:

We Made It Home Safely!!

2006-07-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've posted on this blog, and this is due to some major events taking place in our lives over here! We were never able to get to the mountains outside Almaty before we left, but this is a photo of the mountains which surround Almaty, and it was taken in Spring by a gentleman who traveled there. It is a beautiful sight, and you can get this view from the south side of the city.

After a 30-plus hour trip home, in which I paced up and down the 3 flights for about 9 1/2 hours with Sofia in my arms, we finally arrived in Los Angeles to find my husband, my 2 children, Grandparents Lawrence, and Auntie Amber. I was thin from not eating much, and was so exhausted that upon seeing them at the gate, I burst out crying and sobbed for a long time. It must have been the relief to know I was safe, at home, back in the USA, and with my loved ones. There is no better feeling!!

Sofia was exhausted as well, and all the commotion made her even more clingy. Mike, who had made progress at the Baby House in Rudny, and was able to play with her and even hold her about 3 1/2 weeks earlier, suddenly became the 'scary' guy to her. He tried to hold her, but she screamed. This, by the way, still stands. Mike can only hold her if I'm not in the house, or if she cannot hear me at all in another part of the house. The moment I walk into the room, I'm IT. Mike is bummed out, but he understands she has to adjust to another situation. To her this is overwhelming, and it's yet another change in her life. She spent about 3 months in a maternity hospital upon birth, then was moved to the Baby House for another 8 months, then lived with me in a hotel room for almost a month, went through a grueling 30-hour trip, and now has to adapt to a whole new house which contains many rooms. It's all scary to her, and it will take time.

It's been 2 weeks and she is finally feeling like she can walk around a bit more on her own, although she checks on me often to make sure I haven't left the room. Amazingly, she has been sleeping through the night since day 2 (for 12 hours each night!). It is a giant adjustment for the whole family to have a baby amongst us, but we are so happy she is with us and is part of our family! She is a happy, sweet, funny and smart little one! And she is very affectionate! One of the first things I had to do was to babyproof the house, and now gates are up everywhere, as well as toilet safety gadgets (which also seem to confuse adults quite often!), electric outlet protectors, and cushioned protectors to protect little heads from banging on table edges. Alex and Dominique adore their little sister, and can't get enough of her. We have had to train them to be gentle with her, though, because sometimes they think she is a toy. She adores them, squeals with delight when she sees them and loves to play!

Last weekend we celebrated her 1st birthday with some of our family. Grandparents Ebert were present, as well as Auntie Diane, and Uncles Russ, Chuck and Wayne. She received wonderful gifts. At the time of the Happy Birthday song and the candle blowing she was very fussy, but dared to touch the cake and put a bit in her mouth. Then she realized her fingers were sticky, and lost it. It was really funny to watch and it's such a girly thing to do!

We have put her on the swing and she loves that, but when she sat on the grass, both feet were up in the air, hands raised above the head and she screamed. The prickly feeling of the grass was not pleasant to her, and we realized that she had never been on grass before. Yesterday I placed her on the grass again, though, and she seemed fine with it, caressing it, and then pulling some out and playing with it. Same thing happened on the beach. She did not like the feel of the sand on her feet. We will try again some other time, and hopefully she will realize that it can also be fun to play in the sand and the beach. We are planning on going back this weekend, so more photos to follow soon!. . . .

I Am Grateful

2006-07-13T02:55:00.000-07:00

This has been a long and arduous journey which started over three years ago, and which ends tomorrow. As I went through it, especially these last 6 weeks I have spent in Kazakhstan, I was reminded of how much in my life I'm grateful for and how little things can make a world of difference in someone's life. This experience has also taught me not to take so many things for granted. So, as I prepare to leave Almaty tomorrow, I've put a list together of the things for which I am grateful:

I'm grateful for . . . . . .

1. A smile. I did not receive many in this country, and it made me realize how one little teeny one can mean so much!

2. For the lessons I have learned in patience and flexibility, without which I would not have made it over here.

3. For little comforts such as high chairs, cribs, rocking chairs and a kitchen, none of which was available to me. I washed the baby's bottles in the bathroom sink twice a day, with the brown scalding water that came out of the pipes.

4. For a washer and a dryer, which would have made my life so much easier and prevented me from having to wash much of my clothing and Sofia's in the bathroom sink on a daily basis, to then hang them in an improvised line.

5. For cold drinks and ice -- when you get lukewarm coca-cola and water when it's 95 degrees out, it really doesn't quench your thirst!! And for treated water in America coming out of our pipes! Everyday I had to remember to buy mineral water to drink and brush teeth, and wash my face.

6. For window screens which keep bugs out. Here I found bees, giant horse flies, and beetles in my room, including my bed.

7. For air-conditioning, especially on days which are stifling and humid.

8. For a dark room to sleep in at night. For 40 nights while in Kostanai the sun shone every night until about 10 pm, and it didn't darken until about 11, only to have the skies lighten up again about 3:30 am. Hotels there haven't understood the importance of darkness for peaceful sleep, so their curtains are very sheer and of light color. It wasn't until last Friday, while in Almaty, that Sofia and I slept in a darker room and it was such a relief. It really rests the mind.

9. I am grateful that in America we have standards for smooth sidewalks, ramps for the handicapped, and steps which must follow a code. I have struggled immensely (especially with a sore foot) with uneven, bumpy, and crummy sidewalks; with steps which are completely uneven in height and width, and with stairs, which one finds everywhere you go. I have had to carry baby, stroller and groceries up and down steps countless times, every day, everywhere. Kazakhstan's handicapped and mothers with strollers definitely do not have a welcoming place in this part of the world!

10. For Mike, my husband. Without his perseverance, love and support, and intense heartfelt desire to make this work, I would have given up a long time ago. I am grateful for his hardworking skills, and for his ability to provide a great life for my family. And I am grateful for my children, who are the light of my life!!

11. For all the Lawrences, Eberts, Rey-Talleys, Amber and Diane, Judy, Donna Todd, Vovo and Uncle Jacques, Auntie Renee and Sophie, the Berumens and Ceruttis, and all our friends, acquaintances and extended family who have been there for us, in support and with your love. I am also especially grateful for all of you who continuously sent me email messages pushing me along and sending your love, and making me realize that I can do this, even when I didn't think I could.

12. For the other adoptive parents whom I've come in contact with in this country and who have in little ways made it easier for me: the Georges, who have been so supportive, for Sandy and her mom Helen, for Reid and Lori, and for Dessie and Scott.

13. I am grateful for Kazakhstan, for the way it struggles as it grows and survives in a tough world. I am especially grateful for allowing me to take one of its daughters home, and trusting me completely with her care.

14. I am grateful for Baha, our coordinator, who sacrificed her quality of life with her 4-year old twins and husband in Almaty to help us pursue our precious child, and organized our life for us in Kostanai. I am also grateful for Valentin, our translator, who is very smart, capable, and was so very patient with us, even when during a Sunday my boy had to be taken to the hospital and Valentin had to spend hours with us dealing with that. I pray that his dream of working as a chemist comes true. He just graduated from the Universiy of Kostanai with a degree in Chemistry, at 22 years of age. His work ethic is phenomenal, as he worked full time as a translator, studied full time, and took private lessons in English to perfect his language skills.

15. I am grateful for America, and for everything it stands for. For the opportunities we have, and the ability to do pretty much anything we want. I am grateful for the comfortable lives it provides us.

16. I am grateful for Sofia's mother, Olga (and all mothers who give up their children), who have allowed our family to grow. It's sad and ironic that her sadness and pain in giving up her child meant our happiness and fulfillment as we complete our family. As I looked through the Embassy papers last night, one of the pages included in the envelope was a one-page handwritten letter of relinquishment from Olga. As I looked at that letter, with tears streaming down my face, my soul could not comprehend the pain of giving up one's child. I pray that her heart is still and peaceful and that she senses that Sofia is well taken care of.

17. I am grateful for Director Brent Yoder and Joyce Thompson of Adoption Options, Inc., our adoption agency in San Diego, and for Frank Foundation, the affiliate. They are pros at what they do, and have been with us every step of the way in a supportive and caring manner. When we had issues in Kazakhstan which needed to be addressed ASAP, we were able to count on Brent and his staff 100% to have those issues addressed and taken care of.

We are also grateful for Director Ron Stoddard and Social Worker Rhonda Jarema of Nightlight Christian Adoption Agency of Fullerton, California. They worked so very hard with us in preparing our Homestudy, International Dossier, and everything in between and afterwards. These are all people who are caring and loving, and we appreciate them very much!!

Finally, I am grateful for my Heavenly Father. He has been there for me, and has kept me and Sofia safe. He has guided my steps in many different ways, has embraced me and Sofia lovingly, and has helped make this journey possible.

We did not go to the mountains today, because it is cold and rainy. Tomorrow morning we are off to Los Angeles, and here I sign off. I will post again once we are settled in.
Das SveeDahnYah for now!! Goodbye for now!!

One Final Step Before Our Trip Home

2006-07-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

Kazakhstan has a rich history which predates to the days of the Silk Road. The Tienshan mountains which are located in the south and east part of the city of Almaty are stunning, and divide Kazakhstan from China. And it was through these Tienshan mountain ranges which camel caravans traveled to the west to trade their precious commodities of Chinese silk. The Silk Road refers to routes which crisscrossed Eurasia and carried the riches of people and traditions of Asia with those of Europe. The mountains around Almaty are actually the most picturesque parts of the Tienshan ranges, and nowadays one may find Kyrgyz and Kazakh nomads herding cattle, sheep and horses up there. They live in yurts (special round tent-like homes), and live off the land and their animals. Sandy and I are hoping that tomorrow, our last day in town, we can go to the mountains to take a peak.

Speaking of sight-seeing, yesterday I walked around with Sofia - who doesn't last much longer than 1 hour in the stroller - and ventured into streets I haven't been to while searching for the KLM Airlines office. I ran into a large, beautiful park, and in its center found a beautiful church. It was Panfilov Park in which the Zenkov Cathedral is located. I have seen this cathedral in Almaty websites and had the desire to see it. So voila!

It was built in 1904 by the architect Zenkov and it is all made of wood and connected with wood -- there are no iron nails anywhere. It is gorgeous and colorful and one of the few buildings remaining from the Tsar era. It is also one of the few buildings in Almaty to have survived the 1911 earthquake. As far as religions goes, Kazakhstan is about 44% Russian Orthodox and 47% Muslim. This cathedral is Russian Orthodox and after having been converted into a museum for many years, the city decided to return it to its original use.

Panfilov Park also contains the monument to the 28 soldiers from Almaty who died during WWII near Moscow and for whom the park is named. It is impressive in size and detail.

Today we had our visit with the Consul at the Embassy. Sandy and I went with all our extra documents, and were ready for anything. We were not nervous, but just didn't really know what to expect. All went well (and NONE of the extra documents we worried over getting back on time from Sacramento before our initial trip to K'stan were needed!!)!!. As we waited to be interviewed, there were about 7 or 8 adoptive parents in that room waiting for the final a-OK in order to leave the country with their children legally, and with the proper documentation. As I looked around the room at those parents' tired-looking faces and at their beautiful children, I was very proud of what we all had accomplished in order to give a child a life of stability, love, and many opportunities. It is no easy task, and it definitely takes determination, perseverance, endless flexibility and inner-strength to go through the whole process without giving up. Having been through this experience, I applaud all those who adopt internationally.

That being said, on Friday I take my flight home with our daughter Sofia, and we will leave the hotel at 3:30 am for a 7:15 am flight. I will be home in about 30 hours from the beginning of that trip. I will post once again tomorrow, and then not until I am home.

Meanwhile, Sofia says Good Night Alex, Dominique and Daddy, Grandparents and Judy, and cousins and Tia Mana, and Vovo and Uncle Jacques, and Auntie Diane and Amber, and all our friends and family!

Happy First Birthday, Sofia!!

2006-07-10T00:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we have made it to Almaty, and insanity still hasn't set in, believe it or not!! We said good-bye to our friends who still have another 3 weeks in Kostanai, Lori and Reid and Baby Victor, took some photos of all three babies together, and then we got on the small, Soviet-era airplane for a very loooong 4-hour flight to Almaty. During the flight Sofia was cranky and tired and just wanted to be on the floor, so I paced up and down the small airplane for 2 1/2 hours with her in my arms. And all that time lifting her up above my head so she could touch the lights on the ceiling since the floor was filthy and wet, while the stewardess gave me dirty looks even though I was not in her way and never asked her for anything. As you can imagine my arms were jello by the time we landed, and I was exhausted. Sergey (our coordinator's husband) picked us up and we immediately went on an errand for the Embassy.

We checked into the Hotel Kazzhol at about 5pm and Sandy, Helen and I walked to the chidren's mall about 6 blocks away to buy Karina a stroller, and then it was off to the grocery store to buy baby food and baby needs. We believe that the grocery store's AC was broken, because it must have been in the 90s in there while we shopped. We couldn't believe it, and we were all sweating. Sofia and Karina were troopers, actually, until midway through the shopping and then both just lost it and screamed all the way back to the hotel! We were all exhausted, stressed, sweaty, disheveled, annoyed, and just so ready to be in our homes and into our beds!!

The Kazzhol Hotel is ok -- has AC, elevator, and receptionists who speak some English, and there are even high chairs at the cafe!! (Amazing how after being without, how little things like a high chair can make my day a better one!!) It's much like a Holiday Inn. We were very thankful to be out of Kostanai and in Almaty, but nobody slept that well on Friday night, and on Saturday morning Sergey was back to pick up the girls' birth certificates. Then we were finally able to relax a bit for a day and a half.

Yesterday, Sunday, Sofia turned the Big One, but she was too tired and cranky to celebrate, so this morning (Monday) while having breakfast I gave her a slice of cake and sang her happy birthday at the hotel cafe. She didn't really know what to do with that brown thing in front of her, so she did . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOTHING!! As I found out, The Countess is very picky about her cakes, and I guess I'll need to go 'lighter' with the color of the cake next time!! (Thanks Sandy and Helen for the adorable 'Sofia' bib, and the fun book, and thanks Lori and Reid for the colorful and fun doggie!)

After breakfast we were picked up by a Mrs. Lilly to be taken to the clinic to have the girls examined by a doctor who was western-trained. Both Karina and Sofia passed with flying colors!! Sofia was measured and weighed, and is on the 50% scale of the American chart for both. Her health is very good, and unlike what the original hospital chart says about her at birth, she does NOT have paralysis of the right side of the body! It is my understanding that Russian and Kazakh doctors are trained to believe birth is damaging to a child, so every child has some type of CNS damage or other. Well, both Karina and Sofia are absolutely healthy in all aspects.

Mrs. Lilly, by the way, is married to an engineer who makes $300 a month. She has two sons, Dmitri, a pilot, and Viktor, a neurosurgeon. The pilot makes less than $300 a month, and the neurosurgeon makes about $90 a month in a government-run hospital. The government believes that the people who are being treated are the ones who should pay!! How absurd is that when the people's average wages are about $250/month?? It is very sad. These young men, in their early thirties, cannot marry their fiancees because they can't afford to buy (or even rent!) a place to live. Then, if that weren't enough, today the dr. at the clinic told us his sad story. He has moved here from London to work at the clinic, and his family is still in London waiting for him to send for them. He, however, has yet to be paid anything. He has been here for 2 1/2 months, with no wages, and the Embassy will not process his paperwork quickly enough, so he can't even open a bank account. He is ready to pack his bags and go!! It truly is very sad what goes on in this country, and my heart goes out to the people who can barely make it over here!! I am reminded every day how blessed I am to be an American.

Tomorrow we have our appointment at the Embassy, and on Wednesday we go back to pick up the finalized paperwork, including Sofia's passport and all other documents. And Friday we are on our way to America. But of course, given my experience with the short flight from Kostanai to Almaty, I'm more than freaked out -- I'm dreading every moment of that journey home, which is an 8-hour flight to Amsterdam, another 9-hour flight to Detroit, and then another 5 hours to Los Angeles. I just hope that the antihistamine the dr. recommended works on Sofia and helps her to rest, otherwise I don't know how I'm going to make it back in one piece!!

By the way - and some of you already know this! - I loooove bows in little girls' heads. Dominique was unusual in that she allowed me to place bows, hair pins, clips, hats, or whatever on her head, without ever complaining and never taking anything off. So, we had to give it a try on Sofia, poor little thing!! And here it is, a whole 3 seconds of it! Just time enough to take a photo! Oh well, we will just have to keep on trying them on . . . .

We Leave Next Friday -- Yeah!!

2006-07-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Alex, hi Ms. Barbara and kids at McDowell! Hello from Kostanai, Kazakhstan!! Thanks for checking our blog and our experience over here!

Thanks also to all of you who send good thoughts and prayers our way!! I feel them in my heart when things are really tough -- they help my spirit to lighten up, and I take a deep breath and move onward. Without your support and your nice notes it would be unbearable.

It's true -- we found out yesterday that we will leave Kostanai next Friday, and go to Almaty for a week for finalization of Sofia's passport, etc. And then - hopefully, and please keep your fingers crossed! - we will fly home on July 14th. We have started our countdown and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Meanwhile, we just continue to hang out and play, and do what we do everyday. Naps and going to sleep at night are still problematic (tonight she screamed for 1 hour and 5 minutes before she went down!), but at least the clingyness is not so intense. And, Sofia has started enjoying her bath. The shower stall scared her before, but just in the last two days she started really enjoying the water and smiling in the shower. It took about 9 days! She still screams when I go in there and close the shower door in the mornings for the whole two minutes I'm in there, but at least she is able to let go of her fears when it's time for her bath. And in all likelihood, her fears probably come from the fact that I have to close the door when I'm in the shower, which makes me disappear. Poor little baby!

Everyday we walk around, and then at some point we park our stroller under a shady tree and stare at the pigeons that hang out in an area of the park. There is usually someone who brings bread crumbs, so there are dozens of these birds walking around and waiting for their 'snack'. Sofia is fascinated by them, and she talks to them often. Yesterday, as we were sitting and watching the birds, an older gentleman stopped by and started talking to Sofia. He had a Kazakh hat on him, which is very traditional and usually worn only by the older generations, and very calloused hands. I do not know for sure because my knowledge of Russian is less than basic, and barely enough to survive over here, but given the situation and how he was dressed, I assumed that he was Kazakh and was speaking the language. Sofia was enthralled by him, and kept staring. Once he turned to me and spoke directly to me about her, he then realized that I spoke neither the language nor did I understand him.

I then told him I was from America, and he just lit up. He proceeded to discuss at length something about flying to America and some experience which he or someone else he knows had over there. All in Kazakh! He sat down next to us on the bench and for about 15 minutes just spoke in his native language, as if I understood him completely. I smiled, and enjoyed the chatter, even without understanding any of it. He was probably just an older person who happened to be missing his four front teeth, lonely, anxiously looking to make some contact with someone, regardless of cultural, racial, gender or language differences. It's amazing how language is not always that important -- sometimes just a smile, and a few words in kind tones can make a difference in someone's day. He warmed up my heart and made my afternoon, and I hope I touched his day as well just by graciously sitting with him, listening to him, and letting him play with Sofia.

Well, here is Ms. Sofia already getting her bags ready for our trip next Friday. . .

. . . and wow, now that she is almost packed, she is definitely anxious to get going!! Aren't we both!!!

But, no, sorry . . . she is just too tired to go anywhere at the moment. Maybe after she takes a little nap and catches some ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, OK? Good night!!

We Miss You, Daddy, Alex and Dominique!!

2006-06-28T01:09:00.000-07:00

Hi! This is Sofia. Just hanging out with my mommy, and we have fun every day! My mommy turns on the radio and we sing, then we dance a lot. Then we sing 'Rock-A-Bye-Baby' to my baby so she can be comforted. We read books many times during the day, and we play with my toys. But my favorite part is when we roll around the floor and my mom tickles me. I laugh really hard.

We also go to the park a lot. I like going in the stroller and walking around with my mommy. I babble a lot while we are out. Then, when I get tired, I go down for naps. I don't always like them, and I fight my mommy about those naps, but I always feel much better after I sleep a bit. And then I'm not so cranky and clingy anymore. Alex, sometimes even I can be a peaceful milk baby too!

While we are out, mommy sometimes takes photos of me. I don't always want her to, but she insists. So, sometimes I smile just to make her happy, but sometimes I refuse to smile because I get tired of the photos. Here are some that we took just in the last couple of days:

This is the Kostanai University and I just may go there someday ----- NOT!!

My mommy and I thought about going in this movie theater to watch a movie, but changed our minds when we realized all movies are dubbed over in Russian! Bummer!!

I don't really care that this guy is some famous scholar and philosopher -- he scares me, so I'm not going to smile!! I'm mad I have to sit here and take a photo with him!

Hi Daddy!! This is your favorite coffee place!! We are both thinking about you, Alex and Dominique, and we miss you all very much!! LOVE YOU LOTS!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo!!!!

Getting to Know Sofia

2006-06-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's been tough over here. Baby Sofia and I are 'learning' about each other, and it's been a challenge. We are together 24 hours a day - day and night. And without a break, it's reallly hard. (By the way, what was my beloved husband thinking -- how dare he have abandoned me in a foreign country with a baby who does not know me well and who is seriously constipated and teething, and in a country with hospitals which threaten to perform surgery in your 8-year old when he can't eat for 3 days complaining of stomach pain, and then change the appendix diagnosis to beginning of pneumonia, but end up giving my son an enema instead?? OK, you know I'm kidding (not about the hospital, though!) -- poor Mike has his hands full taking care of the house, children, and catching up in his work.)

I have tried to continue Sofia's Baby House sleep schedule, but she refuses, and because I am living in a hotel room with her, I hold her a lot if she is tired and when she is whiny, which is most of the time. I'll have to wait to get home to get her on some serious schedule! She continues to be very clingy (although a bit less than before), and I still can't go to the bathroom without a 'visitor' on my lap. At least she has had bowel movements in the last day and a half, and that has made her feel a bit better (and me less worried). Thanks to Lori for some pureed baby prunes she brought from the USA! She also gave me some infant glycerin suppositories 'just in case' things got out of hand. . . When Sofia saw me holding those, her system 'miraculously' straightened itself out!!

SLEEP??? What's that? No, don't get much of that these days. Sofia and I share a room in this hotel, The Hotel Medeo (which by the way is newer, cleaner, has AC, and the toilets don't stink and work properly, and the beds don't have bed bugs like the other hotel!), and because I'm naturally a light sleeper, I wake up many times during the night when she moves around her playpen. So this has made me increasingly fatigued, as you can imagine. But, there are angels in this world, and Lori and Reid have been angels in my life during this whole last week (and Valentin comes over on occasion to help with hotel issues or what not) -- they check on me on a daily basis to make sure I continue to have some sanity left in me, and to make sure I've eaten. Sofia won't let me sit down for more than 5 minutes at a time before she squirms and wants down, so eating in restaurants is something I don't do much of anymore. (Restaurants in this town do not have high chairs and strollers don't fit anyway.)

Isn't it amazing how many things a person notices when you suddenly have a child to lug around everywhere you go? For example, there are stairs here just about everywhere you go (even at the grocery store), so in order for me to go anywhere with her, I have to carry her AND stroller up and down stairs, starting at the hotel. It can be a bit scary and I'm always afraid I will fall, especially with my sore foot. Kostanai is definitely not a baby-friendly town. Besides, people here are not very inclined to help unless asked. And then, because not much emotion is displayed, I never know if they are annoyed that I asked for help. Most of the time I don't want to deal with people because I can't communicate with them anyway, so I just carry baby and stroller up and down, even at the hotel, which has 4 flights of stairs and no elevator.

There are moments throughout the day that I just get out and take Sofia for strolls in the park or just around the streets. Sometimes she will last a bit and I can get some good walking in, and take a good breath of fresh air. Sometimes she starts crying and whining and wants out of the stroller, in which case I rush back to the room because I can't walk with her and push the stroller for too long. When in the room, I realized that if I just sit on the floor, even if we are done playing and I'm just reading a bit, it makes her less anxious. She then feels more comfortable exploring the room and playing with her toys. We play a lot together, as you can imagine. And if I'm exhausted (which is most of the time), I sometimes bring a pillow down onto the floor so I can rest my head, but can still play with her.

Above and beyond everything, though, it's nice to get to know Sofia. She can be sweet and affectionate, as well as funny and playful. She babbles all day long, and if I'm serious and she thinks I'm not happy with her for some reason, she stares me down very seriously, watches me closely and then 'talks' to me! It's almost like she is asking me 'what's going on?'. She seems to be very smart - she will remember I hid a toy in a place long after we have moved on to another game. She is very strong-willed, however, and is also physically strong. When Mike and the kids were here, she grasped the edge of the desk, and in front of me and the kids, she did a pull-up which caused her feet to dangle. She has done those a couple of times. It's amazing. I've never seen a girl of 11 months do this type of stuff!! I think we may have a gymnast in the making, folks. One thing we know for sure, no one messes with Sofia . . .

We Are a Complete Family!!

2006-06-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

Three children, two from my womb, one from Kazakhstan, ALL FROM GOD.

Following are some photos of the last visit to the

Baby House in Rudniy (plus the Court House):

Sofia and her interesting outfit before we changed her into her 'homecoming' clothes. The nurse placed this 'hat' on her head because she was going outside somewhere to receive polio drops; in this country you NEVER see a baby outside without some type of head cover, day or night, sunshine or not.

The Courthouse in Rudniy, a place which produced much anxiety!

The bedroom where Sofia and 15 others slept

The Babies' playroom adjacent to their sleeping area

Another photo of Babies' playroom

Adoptive Parents' Playroom in which we visited Sofia for 18 days. This is also some type of medical examining room in which children are brought in for nasal treatment, etc. The benches on the right side of the wall are the examining and treating tables.

The Visitor's Playroom has two of these fish tanks and the kids loved them.

Grandma Helen hugging Karina (her granddaughter), Sofia and Victor (Lori and Reid's Baby) for the last time until she and Sandy return in a couple of weeks to pick up Karina.

The Medical Director handing over Sofia once she is changed into her own clothes.

Saying goodbye to the Medical Director, the Director of the Baby House (Dr. Reema), and the Assistant to the Medical Director

Front of Baby House

In the van on the way back to the hotel - Sofia was very quiet and fell asleep soon after.

Our family is finally complete!!!

Another Emotional Day

2006-06-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you for following this and for all your support -- Mike and I appreciate you from the bottom of our hearts. Yesterday was also another tough day!! Picking up Sofia at the Baby House was very difficult. We were allowed a tour of the facilities, such as the bedroom where they sleep (about 15 cribs), their play area, and their bathroom. The 2-month through 18-month olds share this space and then at 19- months go to the toddler area of the House until they are almost 5-years old, in which case they are moved to a Children's House.

After we toured the House, we changed Sofia into her clothes and left hers with the caregivers. Some of the caregivers were downstairs picking up Sandy's baby Karina (it was Sandy and Helen's last visit) and Lori and Reid's baby (they arrived recently and their baby's name is Victor), and at that point they realized that Sofia was leaving. They started crying and hugging her, and I cried with them and we hugged. It is their loss also. I thanked the House Director, Dr. Reema, and the House Doctor, as well as the caregivers for all their wonderful and loving care of our daughter. Dr. Reema was emotional as well. They really run a wonderful home in Rudnyi, and from the bottom of my heart I will always be grateful. Leaving was very difficult. . .

We took many photos, but I don't have the time right now to post as they may take at least a couple of hours to compress and upload. I promise I will do so in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, it's been really hard on Sofia. She has been clingy, and has not allowed me to put her down. I understand; after all she is in a strange environment, and she hasn't seen the caregivers who have loved and taken care of her for almost a year. Yesterday she wouldn't even allow Mike or the kids to pick her up, and if I walked out of sight she screamed.

Today, Mike and Alex and Dominique left for Almaty at 7 am. It was a very emotional departure because I was already missing them. Plus I'm exhausted from holding Sofia all day yesterday and not sleeping enough. Her sleeping pattern is completely thrown off and I'm going to try to normalize it. The Baby House has given me a schedule of sorts including foods that she eats, and I'll try to follow it somewhat. Today was the same story as yesterday -- she would not allow me to put her down, not even for a second, and screamed and cried a very sad cry all day. I haven't taken a shower, my arms and Achilles are sore, and my foot is swollen. I have not had a chance to eat today (with the exception of breakfast), but will as soon as I post this.

I am, however, not concerned about me. My heart goes out to her, as she has experienced loss that only her small soul can comprehend. Her future will be bright, filled with love, and laden with opportunity. And this too shall pass, but for now my heart aches with hers . . . .

Families & Friends, Ladies & Gents. . .

2006-06-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

We are happy to introduce you to SOFIA ELIZABETH LAWRENCE, formerly known as Saule Amangeldinova Shurpo!!!

It has been a very long weekend, and a much longer day. Court started at 4 pm sharp, and ended at 5:30 pm. It was an emotional hour and a half, which was witnessed by the Judge, the Prosecutor, the Courtroom Clerk, Dr. Reema the Baby House Director, and the Social Worker, Natalya. Many questions were asked, and asked again, and I broke down about 3 times and just cried . . . I wasn't a pretty sight, but the stress was very intense, and it's all I could do. Mike was a trooper and picked up when I fell apart. For whatever reason the judge decided to quiz him first (through a court-appointed interpreter) and kept going for over half an hour, then asked me a few questions and to confirm that I agreed with what Mike had just said. Various officials gave some very warm testimony about us and recommended that the court approve our adoption, and then the prosecutor asked Mike a final question. The judge then asked us for our final comments (a very emotional moment) and then retired to her chambers to consider her decision. After an endless 10-15 minutes she came back to chambers and we learned through our interpreter that Sofia would be officially part of our family!

As usual it felt like it was over 90 degrees in the room, and for some reason our whole court appearance took an hour and a half versus the usual 30-40 minutes for most proceedings in this region, but we felt that these officials genuinely had Sofia's interests in mind and were friendly but very thorough accordingly. During all of this Alex & Dominique patiently waited downstairs with Sandy's mother Helen, and were very excited to hear the news about their new sister. Then it was Sandy's turn, but maybe because our hearing went so long hers was over in about 45 minutes, with the same positive outcome (congratulations Sandy!). We then gave our court-appointed interpreter a ride (she was late for a meeting with the mayor) and came back to Kostanai to celebrate at our favorite restaurant Dolce Vita.

Tomorrow we get to visit Sofia at the baby house and will find out what the next step is, so stay tuned!

Sofia's First Steps!!!

2006-06-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another very interesting day, and once again full of surprises! We started the day by visiting our baby girl at the B.H., and, oh boy, did she surprise us!! Two days ago we introduced shoes to her -- I purchased some cute ones at the Green Market. We put them on her feet, and she was not a happy camper! There was some whimpering, a disapproval scowl, and some staring in disbelief at her covered feet. Yesterday she was much more accepting of them, but decided that perhaps it was a tasty morsel and proceeded to chew on them. She has some serious oral fixation going and nothing stands a chance at this point!!

Then we introduced her to her new 'baby'. Dominique has a baby that is similar and which she has loved and adored and which has kept her company at night (at home or elsewhere) for the last 7 years of her life, so we decided that Sofia needed one. She is really funny and every time she sees that baby she loves to plunge into it, head first, and seems to really enjoy the baby's softness.

Later in the morning, she decided she had enough of us and the constant on-your-face attention (Alex especially will not leave her alone and squishes her, kisses her, and dotes on her every minute we are there!), and got up and started walking away. Just like that!! She had been standing for periods of time by herself, but had never actually taken steps. She took all of 6 of them and fell on her bottom. We were able to capture those steps and it was very fun to have been there to witness this!!

Meanwhile, Sofia really has warmed up to Sandy and Helen, and she will often crawl over to their side of the room to be held by either of them. She loves Grandma Helen's hugs!! It's really cute to watch!

Then, as if our day wasn't interesting enough, when we arrived home, after lunch, our coordinator approached us to tell us that the Judge had once again changed the ruling and that I was to stay in Kostanai for the 2-week appeal period, and NOT go to Almaty. So, the saga continues over here. . . . and never a dull moment!!! Rules and regulations change constantly, and have we learned a lesson on flexibility!! I had already accepted going to Almaty for 3 weeks and was starting to look forward to the change of pace, to the new hotel with AConditioning and more amenities, and to the bigger city, even if by myself -- and then, BOOM, I am now stuck here for two full weeks!! What can I say -- we are stunned. But, it is what it is, and this is where I'll be with our Baby Sofia, to be followed by our flight to Almaty and another week there before we leave for the USA.

So, those are the current news from Central Asia, folks!! Now I just have to find some quieter hotel somewhere, hopefully nicer, and have to finalize my baby shopping and I'm set to go. Today I bought the stroller and some more 'stuff'. Tomorrow will be diapers, bottles, baby food, diaper bag, etc. etc. Talk to you tomorrow, but in case it's not possible for some reason, remember that Monday is the Big Day of Court with the Judge! Please think positive thoughts and pray that Sofia becomes our daughter, and that Karina becomes Sandy's daughter! Thanks and hugs to all!!

Back in Commission

2006-06-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!! Sorry we've been out of touch for a while -- we've been waiting for some interesting news. It was confirmed to us that Court Date with the Judge is definitely on Monday, June 19th, at 4 or 5 pm, so please think positive thoughts on that day (it would be about 3 or 4 am for you, but any help with small prayers before and after would help!!). We will find out on the spot about becoming the legal parents of our baby Sofia. Most couples are awarded immediate custody of their children, but there have been cases (the exception!) in which couples were turned down for whatever reason the Judge deemed important enough and they then had to leave the country without the baby -- for good.

When we meet the Judge and the Counselor, the Social Worker, etc., we are asked many questions about our reasons for wanting to adopt, why from Kazakhstan, why this child, why not America or any other country, etc. etc. etc. Soon after the interrogatory, the Judge retreats into her Chamber for a meeting with the panel and makes a decision on whether we are qualified or not to adopt this child. Minutes later we are told of her decision. We will of course be saying some prayers as well, because not being awarded parental custody of Sofia would be a devastating blow. We are feeling pretty good about everything, though, and we don't think there will be any issues to worry about!!

Meanwhile, our visits to the Baby House continue. Today is our 15th visit, and legally the last. The rule here is that we visit the Baby House 15 times in 15 days to be awarded a visit with the Judge. So, that's done, but we will continue going to the Baby House for visits through Saturday. Today we also had a chance to visit with the Director of the Baby House, Director Rheema, for some questions and answers on basic things we wanted to know about our babies, their backgrounds etc. Stuff that they someday would want to know. It was a very good meeting with the Director, and we are so grateful for her. She runs a wonderful House, and those babies are so well-cared for!

On Monday we will not go to the Baby House, but Tuesday we go to Rudniy for photos of the orphanage, upstairs and everywhere, for presenting cakes to the caregivers, for papersigning, and for picking up the babies. They will strip the babies down and change them into clothing we provide. The babies leave with nothing from the Baby House. We then come home that afternoon and spend the last night in Kostanai with our baby in our room at the Hotel Tselinnaya. The next morning, Wednesday, we take a 4-hour flight to Almaty, and that's where I'll be with our baby for at least another 3 weeks, at the Hotel Razzhol.

Meanwhile I'm busy after Baby House visits collecting items of clothing for baby, bottles, baby bag, pacifiers, formula, changing pad (of course they have no idea what that is!), etc. etc. Yesterday we went to the Green Market, which is a giant outdoor flea market to purchase some items at good prices. On our way there with Sandy and Helen, we walked by the Russian Orthodox Church and it's absolutely lovely. They were having a celebration of the Trinity, and the beautiful marble floor was covered with grass, with flowers everywhere. Women are required to cover their heads with a scarf and wrap an apron or a scarf around their hips if they are wearing pants. So Sandy and Helen and I did that (there is a pile of scarves provided by the entrance), but we took a VERY quick look around and immediately took off our scarves. We were fearing lice, especially after Sandy and Helen's experience with bed bugs in their king-sized bed. We were not taking a chance, thank you!!

The weather has changed dramatically. It has gone down to the upper 60s, at least for now. Isn't that crazy?? A forty-degree difference in weather in just a couple of days. But I found out today that Almaty, which is southeast of here, actually had two days of 110-degree weather!! And by the way, the hotel in Almaty has air-conditioning (yeah!!), and an elevator (yeah!!). For those of us who have been climbing 4 flights of stairs every time we go out, it will be a relief to have an elevator, especially because my Achilles tendon is still really sore. In Kostanai, by the way, apartment buildings only have elevators if there are more than 7 floors. So, it would be VERY unwise to purchase an apartment on a 7th floor if that's the top one!!! But of course there are those who do, and for that I hope they get a huge reduction in the cost of purchase!!

We will talk more tomorrow . . . good night!!

How to Entertain Yourself In Kostanai, Kazakhstan

2006-06-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

As if The Attack of the Dandelions weren't enough, now we are dealing with The Attack of the Double H: Heat and Humidity. It's been about 105 degrees here in Kostanai. It's unbearable!! There is no air conditioning anywhere, and the air is still and heavy with humidity. The rooms have no cross-ventilation in this hotel, so it's stifling. And there is no place to 'escape' to -- no air-conditioned malls, or stores or any place. . . . . (we are so spoiled in America, aren't we??). So we take about 4 - 6 baths a day, if not more. Mike needs about 8. And many times a day I mutter to myself feverishly, "Beam me up, Scotty!!!", but unfortunately Scotty is nowhere to be found. So, in order to keep cool, we are forced to sport casual "underwear chic" attire between baths and attempt to stay alive by keeping busy.

Consequently, in order to help those who may find themselves in our situation someday, I've put together a few ways in which One can entertain oneself or One's family with children in Kostanai, Kazakhstan, if it's unbearably hot or not, if one wishes to pay a visit:

One could act in a play about Princesses who are only allowed to marry Princes who come from France and nowhere else (sorry, folks, the plot is too deep and complicated to explain in one posting!!. .) . . . . , or . . .

. . .One could build a fort to fight off the much-dreaded and feared Darth Vader!! . . . . (and 'may The Force be with you' as you do this!!) . . . , or . . .

. . . One could visit Lenin in the Park of Victory for a much-needed tete-a-tete.! . . . .

Or, One could sit around for hours and build from scratch about 7 fairies out of wire for a daughter who adores fairies and demands a Rapunzel, a Bride, etc.!! . . .

Or, perhaps, One could even go to a Baby House and play with an adorable baby in the swing.

If that's not sufficient entertainment, however, One could read and read and read for endless hours, and when all books have been read and One is feeling very brave, One could dive into a 1,000-page Winston Churchill chronicle and lose Oneself in its interesting contents.

But, if One is feeling sick and hot, especially when it's been 105 degrees outside with 90% humidity, One can dunk One's head in a cold bathtub about 8 times, or even go to a local park at the exact moment the sprinkler system comes on and enjoy the glory of its mist!! . . .

That's it -- we hope this has helped some of you who may wish to visit Kostanai in June, that it may enlighten you and give you numerous ideas of healthy entertainment and enjoyment.
Tata for now!!!

A Day of Learning

2006-06-09T01:58:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone! Yesterday I took the day off the blog since Mike worked pretty much all day (aside from the few hours in the morning at the Baby House) and hogged the computer. It was actually ok though, because Alex wasn't well -- Mr. Montezuma came to visit him and they didn't get along very well! He is much better today, though.

Today Sofia turned 11 months of age -- she was born on July 9th, 2005. She is very strong, and can stand on her own for a few solid seconds before sitting down. I bet that another month and a half and she will be walking everywhere. (By the way, for those of you who asked, the clothes she wears are from the Baby House -- we are not allowed to bring anything in to put on her, or to feed her -- they are very strict, and when we take her away on June 20th, she leaves everything behind -- we bring clothes for her to change into.)

Then she decided she wanted to learn about animals, so Alex gave her a lesson on Chicks and Horses, and she enjoyed that very much. That wasn't enough, so she learned all about Teddy Bears, and she liked that so much she gave one of them a big hug! She is very affectionate. (OH, OK, so she was actually chewing on the bear, what can I say!. . . )

After that very important lesson, we went outside today to enjoy some sunshine with Sofia, and outside we found about 10 babies and 6 toddlers with their caregivers. Those children are beautiful, and our hearts went out to all. To me it was a bit emotional -- for those of you who know, Nina was amongst those children and she is doing well. How we hope and pray that they will all be adopted and be given a loving home!! We were allowed to take some photos of those children, but we are not posting them. Here are photos of some of the caregivers, though. They are wonderful people and we appreciate them very much for all they do.

But, here are The Big News: last night we learned that according to the Judge (who is new in the adoption sector) I will have to stay in Kazakhstan for the remainder of our journey. This came as a big shock. Mike and I expected to return to the US for a couple of weeks, and I was planning on gathering the baby's suitcase with food, formula, diapers, medications, etc. and returning to pick up the baby in Kostanai and then to Almaty for Embassy paperwork etc. Well, it's not going to be that way. Mike and I have our court date meeting with the Judge on June 19th, then we have one day of papersigning followed by picking up Sofia from the Baby House on the 20th, and then we all fly to Almaty on a four-hour flight on the 21st. There Mike will help me settle in for about a day and a half, buy a small stroller, clothing, baby stuff, etc., and then if all works well with flights availability he will return to the US with Alex and Dominique on June 23rd. I will have to stay back with Sofia for about 3 weeks or more, and hopefully be home by July 15th. I'll be myself with Sofia in Almaty, but hopefully only for about 10 days when Sandy and her mother Helen return after they fix their visa problems. How about that?? I'm still a bit stunned and still digesting this . . . .

I guess the biggest lesson I've learned from all this is the following, folks: when you go on a trip. . . . . . don't EVER leave home without touching the roots of your hair, because you never know when you may be in a foreign country without your trusted hairdresser for almost 2 months !!!! . . . No one is going to recognize me when I get off the airplane in July -- I'll be a brunette with blonde ends! Oh well, I was getting tired of being a blonde anyway!!

That's it for today. Hugs, miss you all and Das Vedanyah!!

We are making progress!

2006-06-07T03:26:00.000-07:00

In many different levels, we are making progress. First, during our Baby House visit today a photographer stopped by to take photos of Sofia and Karina for their passport (we believe it's for the Kazakh passport), and also to take a photo of each family. That's a good step towards beginning of finalization of paperwork. Finally, and most importantly, Sofia is now going towards Mike without much whimpering. She is letting him hold her for a few seconds, and as long as she is entertained by some toy while on his lap, she is ok. So this is great progress, and it makes her Daddy feel great! But I can already tell that she will be an 'appendage' of mine for a while, especially while traveling and with the newness of it all back home. And that's just fine with me!! I just have to bring back the hip sling Lisa and Greg recommended -- it will be easier on my back. By the way, Lisa and Greg, it was great to hear from you!! Hope all three of you are doing well. Mike and I look forward to seeing you all soon, once we are back and settled in.

Jody and Katherine, thank you so much for sharing our blog with Ms. Barrett's class! Dominique was very eager to hear from Katherine, and was happy to know everyone misses her. She misses everyone also, especially Katherine and Jana.

We have been attempting to check out some of the historic sites in town, and the green building is the Kostanai Museum. Unfortunately it was closed for repairs, but Mike and I had the opportunity to visit it while we were here during our first visit in March. It is small but it contained some interesting information about World War II, the Kazakhs' small victories and heroes during that war, and also shared some of Kostanai's antique artifacts. For those of you who wish to learn more about Kazakhstan, the warrior Genghis Khan and its history, and more, check out the link on our blog "About Kazakhstan". It's very interesting and filled with great historical and geographical information.

The yellow building is also historical from the turn of the century, and it's called "The Clock Tower". Notice the 'appendage' Kodak Photo shop which was added a while ago. This is what I was talking about in my last posting, and how it ruins the appearance and integrity of buildings.

To all friends and family of Helen, Sandy and precious Karina, a big hug and a warm hello!! Karina is a fun, smart, happy and active little baby -- when we place Karina and Sofia together they don't seem to notice each other, but we're certain they will as they get older.

Jennifer and Carol, our dear neighbors, thanks for watching our house for us, and for the updates!! We can't wait to get home!! And we will definitely bring some yummy chocolates! Judy, thanks for your warm emails to the kids -- they love hearing from you. Same with Auntie Diane's, Auntie Amber's, Tia Mana's comments, and Uncle Wayne's as well as Grandpa's. It's great fun to read all comments.

Love to all of you , family and friends, and thanks for all your thoughts and support!!

Never Ending Days

2006-06-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Literally, the days almost never end. At 4:30 a.m. the sky turns light, and by 10:00 p.m. it's still light out. So it's been a true challenge to have the kids sleeping by 9 p.m., especially because there no are curtains to shield the sun and brightness away from the room. By 3 p.m. Alex and Dominique are usually a bit fatigued, but soon catch a second wind. A nice lunch helps!

Check out the breakfast we have every morning: eggs with some type of a ham, thin crepes with butter, yogurt, fresh bread and fresh butter, tea, juice, and coffee for Mike. The servers in the hotel cafe are very sweet, and their schedules are grueling. This is one of our waitresses. They work from 8 am through midnight for 2 days in a row (sometimes 3 days), and then return after 2 days to start again. And they wear really high heels. We don't know how they survive so many hours on those things!! Women and men dress up nicely, by the way. We don't see sneakers, or casual shoes or casual clothing very often. They may not have much money, but they save up to buy nice items of clothing, and a nice winter coat with matching hats which probably last them a long time. Kazakhs take a lot of pride in what they wear and how they look -- women always wear a bit of makeup, and their hair is always nicely styled. If someone is wearing tennis shoes it could be a child in some type of hockey or soccer team (they are BIG soccer fans!), or most likely Americans. It never fails.

Our visit to the Baby House today was great!! And here is Alex to fill you in . . . .

HI EVERYONE, I LOVE KAZAKHSTAN!! Our Baby Saule (soon to become Sofia) is a great baby and here is why: she is cute, sweet, cuddly, playful, sometimes crabby, silly and strong!! I LOOOOVE her and can't wait for her to come home so I can play with her every day forever!! In this photo she is inspecting my mouth, and we were having so much fun doing this.

She is PERFECT!! Hugs and kisses to you and Baby Saule for now. I'll talk to you later! Alex

The Attack of The Dandelions

2006-06-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of a Kazakh family at the park. We were surprised she allowed us to take photos of her and her kids. Kazakhs are very private and guarded, so this was nice.

A funny thing (and annoying as well!) is taking place in the town of Kostanai -- millions of dandelions are blowing its seeds into the breeze around town and it literally looks like it is snowing outside. The sky is blue, and the sun is out, but millions of these teeny and white fluffy things are flying all over the place, making some parts of the ground look white. It is all over your face, flies into your nostrils, mouth and eyes. Not fun, let me tell you!! We scrub our eyes and wash constantly, many times a day. You can't really see them in these photos, but they are there. This will last about 10 days, we were told, and it's relentless. For those who have allergies, do NOT ever visit Kostanai in the beginning of June -- you will not survive this!!

This building is where Mike's favorite tea/coffee house is located, with yummy treats! Small businesses will ''attach'' themselves -almost like appendages - to buildings, even historic buildings, and will paint these entrances very bright colors, almost in an ultra modernistic way. It's strange.

Yesterday was Sunday, and we were not allowed to go to the Baby House. Because we were all suffering from Baby Sofia withdrawal (badly!!), we went to a park in the center of town to get out and catch some fresh air -- it's wide, green, has a couple of fountains, lots of trees, and a small recreational area with rides for children. On the way to the park, a man approached us and struck up a conversation. We are constantly being watched by people, and people actually openly stare at us and our children, so we weren't surprised when this man wanted to talk. He seemed friendly and was accompanied by his mother. He spoke fairly good English, and told us he was an English tutor. Once he found out we were Americans, he became almost agitated, and really excited, like this was his last chance to truly understand some things he had been wanting to know for years. It turns out that he listens to American music (like most of the Kazakhs!), and was confused about some of the words and phrases he has heard in music by Ozzy Osbourne and others. So he asked us what "see you on the other side" meant, and when I explained about the after-death, he was thrilled. The next definition he needed explained was "daffodils", and then "purpose of life". After each answer, he became more and more excited, almost like he did not want this encounter to end. Almost like a child who tries his/her first piece of candy and can't get enough of it! It seemed to us that to him this was his only chance of finding out the meaning of words from all the music to which he had been listening to for years. Finally his mother asked him to leave, stating it was not nice to force people to speak to him for so long. It was a very interesting moment and we could tell we had made his day! The power of music is huge, and music truly is an international language.

It was nice to get out and walk around and Alex and Dominique enjoyed some of the 'safer' rides at the park, albeit choking on dandelions' seeds. After playing in the park, we went to our usual 'chai' (tea) house, and enjoyed some delicious cake and pastries, with tea. Kazakhs make delicious cakes, and some pastries are very tasty. You just have to hope it is fresh. Some come with meat inside, however, but you don't always know that. Most pastries sit outside the cooling cases (if any even exist), so if we happen to mistakenly buy one with meat, we try not to purchase that kind again.

We have been very careful about drinking and brushing teeth with water, and not eating vegetables (unless it is at Dolce Vita which is ultra clean and we have had salads without problems). We buy apples, bananas and oranges from the supermarket, but peel the apples thickly. They are delicious. Drinks, by the way, including Coke, Sprite or water or juices are served room temperature most of the time, and sometimes those drinks are even on the warm side. We are getting used to that! Kazakhs have wonderful chocolate. Besides that, they enjoy American candies such as M&Ms, Mars Bars, Snickers, Mamba, etc. etc. We haven't seen and don't know of any other Kazakh candy besides chocolate. But we will keep exploring!!

Today we visited Sofia, and because of the attack of the dandelions we did not take her outside. We had our best visit yet. She really had a great time with us today, smiling and laughing a lot, and even letting the kids hug her later on. She loves to pretend she is riding a horse. Like it or not, she is constantly smothered in kisses, but hugs from the kids or Daddy sometimes frighten her a bit, although she is getting more and more used to them. And if she starts whining she immediately looks for me in the room and reaches out. I must remind her of one the caregivers because immediately upon picking her up or simply sitting next to her, she calms down. This happened even in the very first day.

She discovered the mirror in the cabinet today, and was thrilled! She was laughing at herself, kissing her image, and baby talking. Towards the end of the visit she was letting the kids pick her up and hug her. Alex and Dominique loved that!! It will be really tough to leave her to go home, even though we will come right back!! I may be coming back sooner than expected, by myself. We'll see . . .

One Week Has Gone By. . .

2006-06-03T20:09:00.000-07:00

Preevyet! Hello from Kostanai! Hi Ms. Barrett, hi Katherine and everyone in Dominique's Class! Dominique misses you all! We are having a great time visiting Baby Sofia in the Baby House. Yesterday we were able to take Sofia outside, and that was fun.

The Baby House is a large yellow building, with a small playground in the back. This Baby House keeps about 75 children, ranging from 3 months of age through 4 years of age, boys as well as girls, although baby girls are the ones parents adopt the most. When they reach 4 years of age, the children are moved to another Children's House in the same town, where they will live until they are older. They are cared for very well in this House, but all of us who are adopting wish we could bring them all home with us to provide these little children with a loving home, hugs, and stability. It breaks our hearts to leave them behind, but hopefully other people in the world will adopt them. . .

Here is a photo of our hotel. Buildings are all like this, block-like, and painted with different colors. Hotels are not just hotels, though. In one given building, be it a hotel or something else, it contains multiple small businesses. Only the third and fourth floor of our hotel have rooms, and part of those floors are businesses.

Most people in Kostanai do not have very much money -- the minimum salary here is about $100 per month. An average job may pay about $250 per month, and a teacher and a doctor who works for the county hospital may receive about $150 per month. Most people go to college and get degrees, and jobs are available, although the more specialized ones require moving to a bigger city. People who make good money are businessmen and corporate people - they can make about $2,000 per month. A judge or a lawyer may make about $1,000 per month. Most people ride the bus and do not own cars. People walk everywhere.

Food and items at the grocery store, which looks like a very small version of our Ralph's, is not very cheap. Families live together in small houses or apartments in order to make ends meet, and extended families are an important part of the Kazakh culture. Grandmothers and other members of the family live together, and they all take care of each other as they age, and children are not required to leave their homes when they are done with college.

Here is Valentin, our Kostanai translator, and Baha, our coordinator who lives in Almaty with her husband and twin 4-year old children. Valentin recently completed his degree in Chemistry here in Kostanai, and lives with his grandma and parents in an apartment. His thesis was about milk, and he studied the elements of it with milk from his Grandpa's cows. He is very intelligent, and a hard-working young man. His parents must be proud. While studying chemistry, he was taking English lessons for many years, and working as a translator. He hopes to land a job as a chemist somewhere, but for that he will need experience. We met an Irish couple who is adopting here as well, and they are looking into trying to arrange a job for him in Ireland for experience. Baha is very busy -- she works with many adoptive parents at a time, and she coordinates and schedules meetings with lawyers, judges, arranges hotels, Baby House visits, transportation, etc. She is away from her little children a lot, and that's hard on her. But she loves her work, and does it well. She likes children, and is often kissing and hugging Alex and Dominique.

We found out that our Court Date is set for June 16th. This means we will probably be going home on the 18th. And then Mike and I will return to Kostanai two weeks later, probably around July 2nd for about 9 days. At that point we fly to Kostanai to pick up Sofia, spend the night, and fly to Almaty for about a week. The week there consists of going to a medical examiner for final physical check-up of the baby, for finalization of paperwork and Sofia's passport, and for interview at the US Embassy and legal paperwork for Sofia to enter the US as an American.

For now, DAS VEDANYAH! (Good Bye!) Hugs to all!. . .

A Day In The Lives of Our Babies

2006-06-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

After that very lengthy posting, it's the Babies' turn!! (And it comes with photos this time around!) And it goes like this. . .

Hi Chloe, Titia Mana, Grandma and Grandpa Lawrence, Grandma and Grandpa Ebert, Auntie Diane and Auntie Amber, Auntie Renee, all our cousins, and friends, and Dianne Nesmith: I, Sofia, and my housemate and playmate Karina, wake-up at 6 a.m., we eat our breakfast of kashi and who knows whatever else, get our bottles of milk mixed with black tea, and then we are back to bed by 8 a.m. for some much needed snoozin'! At 10 we are awakened to be changed and then our caregivers take us to play with our 'new' mommies and daddies, and our new sisters and brothers, and even our grandmas! It's so much fun!!

We even play with each other!!

We really enjoy our hugs and kisses because we don't really get many get many of them around this place!! We have to share our squeezes with everybody else around, so this is a really fun time!! But at some point I get kinda cranky, and as Alex puts it, I'm not a 'peaceful baby' anymore, and I start to fuss and to cry a bit. But my mommy always knows what to do. There is a special spot on her left shoulder that I lay my head and this feels good. She massages my backand then sings a lullaby in Portuguese that goes like this "Nana nene, que a cuca vem pegar. . .". Anyway, I always feel really drowsy when she does that, and I guess I fall asleep.

Then it's time to go, and although I really get excited when the Baby House caregivers come to take us away, I think I'm starting to miss these new people who come and see us every day. . . But we are so sleepy by then, we just know we will go down for a looong nap until 2 p.m. when it will be lunch time. Lunch most of the time is a bunch of veggies, and mashed potatoes, and ground beef, all mashed together and mixed together. I don't know if it's good or bad because it's all I know. So, I eat it up, and then we play until 4 p.m. when we take another nap. At 6 p.m. we eat dinner, change into our jammies, and it's time for bed. At 10 they wake us up for a bottle, and we are off to Dream Land. . .z z z z z .!!

So, that's our schedule. At least that's what they told my mommy and daddy. Kisses and hugs to everyone!!

A Day In Our Lives In Kazakhstan

2006-06-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody!! No need to worry -- sometimes the dial-up connection in our hotel dies, so there is no way to email or post in our blog. That's what happened yesterday -- no internet until 10 p.m., and at that point Alex, Dominique and I were asleep, but Mike started to work. The USA is 13 hours behind, so he works every night for about 3 hours, and also in the early morning, before people go home in the US. Mike is very tired, and he is still fighting his bronchial cold, but I believe it is in the last stages of it. Poor guy!!. . . He will get some good rest on Sunday when we are not allowed to go to the Baby House.

It was very nice to read all your comments, and I'll try to answer the questions as we go along. A day in our lives over here goes like this. .

Wake-up at about 6:30 a.m . . . our hotel, The Tselinnaya, is fairly nice, albeit not fancy or luxurious at all. Much like a Holiday Inn in the US, clean and fairly comfortable, and our rooms are set up like a small suite with a pull-out couch for the kids in the sitting area which also contains a small refrigerator and plates, cups and a TV (nothing in English, though!), along with a desk and a couple of chairs, and an armoire. The bedroom contains a king-size bed, and that's also where the baby will sleep once we take her out of the Baby House in a few weeks.

We bathe and get cleaned up in our bathroom (we have to be careful with the scalding and brown water!), and then downstairs for breakfast. A typical Kazakh meal consists of dumplings rolled up with ground beef (could be horse meat, we don't know!), or thin pancakes with butter, or fried eggs and a piece of ham, or ravioli dumplings with ground beef. This is accompanied by juice, or coffee with milk, or tea. Russians and Kazakhs are HUGE tea drinkers, black or green. The food here, by the way, is very very flavorful. Everything is very fresh, and they don't even use many condiments, but the flavors are strong. (I'll make sure to take photos of the foods we eat and post them in the near-future.)

At 9 a.m. we get into a van which is run by a very nice team of father and son, and off to Rudniy we go. It's about 45 minutes away, in a very bumpy road. It's very similar to Brazil, lots of potholes everywhere, crazy drivers, and no seatbelts. On the way we see some countryside with cows, sheep, goats, and rural housing. Even DACHAS, which are small, doll-like houses which Kazakhs go to in the summer. (I'll post photos of these soon.)

At the Baby House we enter a small playroom, take off our shoes and put on our clean socks, and wait for the babies. We play for a couple of hours, and then it's back to Kostanai. The Baby House is very well run. It's extremely clean, and very well organized. Nothing fancy, but well-kept. In this specific orphanage we know that our children are fed very well, and medically treated fairly well. We have heard from other people, and other blogs of people who have gone and are still going through this experience, that some orphanages are not clean at all, they don't have enough food, and the children have awful rashes, scabies (a mite), and all types of issues from uncleanliness, not enough nutrition, not enough care, or attention. So, we feel VERY blessed that our child is in a very clean, and caring environment.

While visiting, we are NOT allowed anywhere else in the House (only in the bathroom, of course). At some point, next week, they will let us take our babies outside. There is a small backyard with jungle gyms, and small tables and swings. Also, while in the playroom, we do not see any other children. Other parents who are adopting are in other rooms. There is a very tight protocol that we all need to follow while adopting, and we stick by that. I know that by the end of our 15-day visit we will be allowed to see the baby's room, the one she shares with perhaps another 10 babies. Each has his/her own crib. We will also be able to see the kitchen, and meet the caregivers. We look forward to all that. By the way, before they come into these Baby Houses, children spend some months in a Baby Hospital. Sofia is from the small town of Zhitikhara, which is much too far to visit, otherwise we would take photos of it. We will soon take photos of the outside of the Baby House.

The Baby House keeps a VERY tight schedule with the feedings, naps, playtime, etc. etc. We are NEVER allowed to feed them, but that's ok because we see that Sofia is very healthy. Her skin is clear, and she is very clean and well fed. We know they don't get much of a variety of foods, but for certain their foods are all natural. The one thing we will do away with, though, is the black tea these children are given throughout the day!!!

So, once back in Kostanai, we usually go to lunch. We have had great Chinese food, and German food, and our favorite is Dolce Vita, Italian cuisine. Their pizza is very thin, and their pasta really flavorful -- they don't use any sauces, and yet it's all extremely flavorful. Their vegetables are fabulous, and everything is very fresh.

After lunch we walk around a bit. The weather is lovely. We have had a couple of 88 - 90 degree weather, but for the most part it's been in the 70s, and at night it's nice and cool. We go to a park to breathe in the fresh air from the trees, or have an ice-cream somewhere (their ice-cream is pure cream and delicious!), and then we are back in our rooms for the rest of the day. There is a Chinese Market which Sandy, Helen and I will be going to next week to purchase some interesting Kazakh items, and we will not take the children and will have to keep our purses tight. Not a very friendly place for children. Anyway, we have been playing games such as Chess, cards, Sorry, etc., the kids have been creating stories and writing them, or they play Game Boy games, or we all watch DVD movies, and we read a lot, as well as post on the blog and read email messages. Dominique has gone through almost all her books -- about 11 of them so far, and we are almost running out! She will just have to re-read them! She is such an avid reader.

Then it's time to go to bed. I usually cut up some fruit, and we have yogurt with that (Great yogurt here!), and I make a cheese sandwich for all of us, with some delicious cherry juice, and then it's off to bed. And then it's morning, and it all starts all over again. . .

Sofia's First Smile for Us

2006-05-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

As has been the case in the last 3 days, we can't wait to get to the Baby House and smother our baby with kisses and hugs. Today was no exception, and we had a great day with her. She was very awake, and ready to play. Alex held her a few times, and Dominique spent some time squeezing her too. Suddenly, there it was - the precious smile. We hadn't seen one of those full-blown smiles yet, so this was priceless. When it was time for her to go, it was tough to let her go. But there is tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, and the day after. . .

Meanwhile, we walk around and explore the town of Kostanai, and have lunch with Sandy and Helen. They are from Louisiana, and are the nicest people. Besides them, we have also met 3 other couples who are staying at our hotel and who are in the last stages of their adoption process. Two of the couples are from the USA and one is from Ireland. All lovely people!! Today they had their meeting with the judge and all were approved in their adoption of their children. It was very stressful for them (there are cases of people being refused the right to adopt, even after spending 3 weeks here bonding with the child!), but they all did well and went out celebrating tonight. I do not look forward to that day in about 2 weeks!!

All of us are still exhausted, and continue to wake up at night. Mike and I can't wait for the night when we and the children sleep until 6 am, without waking up countless times. Mr. Sandman, where are you when we need you???!!. . .

Thanks to all of you for posting comments and for emailing --- it's so nice to know we are thought about, plus it's fun reading the comments. The kids really enjoy that as well!
Tata for now. . . and good night.

Our First Visit with Sofia!!!!

2006-05-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

Rudniy is a small mining town outside of Kostanai, about 40 minutes away by van on a bumpy road. As soon as we arrived at the Baby House (as the orphanages are called in Kazakhstan), we were ushered into a playroom to meet our babies. Sofia was sitting on the floor and playing with a caregiver, and immediately noticed the commotion of 6 strangers walking into the room - the four of us, plus Sandy and her mother Helen.

Having waited for this moment for nearly 3 1/2 years, Diva instinctively went straight to Sofia and within minutes had her in her arms. Soon after the caregiver left and Sofia was instantly comfortable with her new mommy.

Meanwhile, since Mike had a cold, he stayed a few feet away and maintained camera duty, but Alex immediately demanded his "turn to hold the baby", while Dominique became enthralled with playing with Sandy's baby Karina. Not wanting to let go so quickly of that special moment, Diva spent the next 15 minutes cuddling Sofia, and Sofia spent the next 15 minutes administering the "vice grip" around Diva's neck - a perfect match!! After 6 or 7 requests, Alex finally got his turn by sitting on a chair and holding Sofia on his lap. He was all smiles, ear to ear, and immediately gave her kisses on her cheeks. The moment didn't last long, however, as Sofia decided she wanted to be back in Diva's arms. Mike's turn followed, and Sofia became mesmerized by her first sight of a man's beard. She carefully and methodically touched and studied his face, which lasted about 10 happy minutes. Later, back in Diva's arms, and with a little rocking and a 'secret' Brazilian lullaby she was fast asleep for the remainder of the visit. Alex turned to Diva and said "she is so perfect", with a giant smile. And so she is!. . .

Later that day, after lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant Dolce Vita, Alex told her he missed Sofia and couldn't wait for our next visit. Our feelings exactly!!. . .

The World Travelers Finally Arrive Safely. . . and Then Crash and Burn!!!. . .

2006-05-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

First there was the 9 1/2-hour red-eye trip to Amsterdam in which none of us slept more than 3 hours, followed by a layover of 6 hours which consisted of a two-hour power nap in a comfy 'napping' area in the airport where Diva, Mike and Dominique slept while tireless Alex enjoyed his new Game Boy. Then onto another 7-hour red-eye flight from Amsterdam to Almaty, in which we slept only a couple of hours and arrived at 5 a.m.!!

Upon our arrival we met our lovely traveling companions, Helen and Sandy who are also adopting from Rudniy, and we acquainted ourselves for 7 1/2 hours in the airport cafe. We then met our coordinator, Baha, who brought fruit and pastries for all to enjoy. Alex and Dominique were great!!! Sleepless flights, long layovers, lengthy waits and still they have been our perfect little angels, with the help of some handy electronics of course. We then scrambled for seats on a very old, Soviet-era propeller plane for an extremely hot & humid (easily 100 degrees inside the plane!), 4-hour flight to Kostanai, our final destination. Upon our arrival there, Mike bravely took a picture of our old, beat-up airplane and promptly got cussed-out (twice) in Russian by our crazy bus driver whom we think must have been trying to protect decades-old KGB secrets! And strangely enough, we met a fellow American that used to work for Mike's company and who was on his way to adopt his 7th (!!) child from an even more remote location eight more hours away by train. And we thought our trip was tough!

An old van then took our tired corpses to our hotel, the "Tselinnaya" in the heart of Kostanai, where we were hoping to savor the glory of REM sleep. We all literally crashed and burned upon hitting our beds, but it was not meant to be blissful for long. The kids woke up at 2 a.m. and immediately began to play (still on California time!) until Diva intervened by sending Alex to sleep in the "snoring room" with Mike and then adeptly quieted Dominique down with a pile of books and a reading light which worked perfectly until around 6 a.m. After a quick ham & eggs breakfast with our traveling companions and coordinator it was finally time to go to the baby house in Rudniy!! But, sorry, this story is for the following posting. . .

Pheww!! We are finally off to Kazakhstan!

2006-05-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

After a few very stressful days in which Mike caught a bronchial cold, it was finally confirmed to us today that all the paperwork expected at the Kazakh Consulate in D.C. has been received, our Kazakh passports and visas are on their way to us, and our adoption agency called us to let us know we will definitely leave this Friday, at 6 pm, on our much-awaited trip. Hooray!!!! The kids are very excited, and they are jumping for joy and thinking about their new sister Sofia. They are very much wanting to play with her. For now, here is a photo of Alex and Dominique as they wait patiently for their little sister. . .

This is it for now, as we must finish our packing. Thanks for all the wonderful support we have received (Judy, thanks for the adorable card you sent us! The kids loved it!). The next posting will come from Kazakhstan. We won't arrive until Sunday night, so hopefully by Monday or Tuesday we will be settled in and ready to post on this blog. We will be exhausted because K'stan is about 12 hours ahead, but we will survive. Keep in touch!. . .

Talk About Short Notice!!

2006-05-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

Two days ago we found out we are leaving next Friday, May 26th, for Kazakhstan. A week from today my husband and I and our two children Alex and Dominique will be on our way to Kazakhstan, a 32-hour trip, for the second time in less than two months --hard to believe. Usually we get more notice than this, but we are not so lucky this time around. We have to renew our Police Clearance Letters, our medical exams, employment letters, our children's medical exams, etc. etc. The list doesn't end, as most people in this situation know. These documents must be renewed EVERY three months, without fail. Then they must be sent via special messenger to Sacramento's Secretary of State Office, where these documents will be authenticated and apostilled. HUHH??? What is THAT??!! Yeap, our question exactly.

Once they are back from Sacramento, copies are sent to our Agency, Adoption Options, Inc. in San Diego, and we are good to go. Meanwhile I'm packing for four people for a stay of almost 25 days. And how do you keep two children, 7 and 8-years old, occupied for almost a month in a country with different customs, expectations and norms?? They will be indoors a lot. Yes, much consideration has taken place over this matter, and besides the normal books, games, crafts and crayons, small toys, and a small DVD for watching some of the Disney 'stuff', I BROKE DOWN TODAY!! And I bought each of the kids an adorable Game Boy -- so much for watching how much time they will spend in front of the teeny weeny screen watching a DVD, and so much for using two thumbs on a continuous basis for hours on end on an even smaller screen! But, what's one to do unless one is not interested in keeping his/her sanity?? Ok, so sue me!!!

Baby Sofia looks healthy, very healthy, even by American standards. She is almost 1-year old and her head measurements as well as general growth are excellent - she is on the 50% scale overall, and higher in length. Of course we will confirm this when we arrive. We are very excited to meet this wonderful and precious human being, and are counting the days!

2006-05-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

We have started on this journey almost three years ago, and it's been a long and winding road. Follow us on this wonderful and exciting trip via this site.

More to come. . . .