Kazakhstan - Undiscovered, Untouched, Unforgettable

Kaz-in a minute or less.
We are reading our Kaz books and learning Russian tapes in the car. Getting ready to go meet Baby Kaz if our passports ever come.

Cutest stuff EVER!

I have become more "addicted" to the internet than EVER, with the discovery of the yahoo internet board that consists off all adoptive parent in Kazakstan. It's such an incredible resource as everyone is so generous in sharing their time and their experiences. I have found the adoptive parental community to be so supportive. It reminds me a lot of the running/triathlete community. Everyone is so willing to give advice and help others out.

Check out these ADORABLE t-shirts. I am going to have to get a couple of these.

When Love Takes You In - Steven Curtis Chapman

The full music video of "When Love Takes You In", performed by Steven curtis Chapman in his album entitled "Declaration". Keep in mind, this song is a love letter to Chapman's adopted children ... and also a higher metaphor for the souls lost in the journey of life.

One step closer to Kaz

We had our first parenting class on Saturday, which also counted as a home visit as we met with Jeannine , our social worker, who also taught the class. It was very informative and interesting. I felt like all my reading was paying off as I felt somewhat informed. We met some really nice people. We were the only couple adopting from Kaz (and I think the oldest, but the cutest, of course), one couple adopting from Russia, 2 from Columbia, and 2 adopting from Vietnam. Our home study is next Saturday. Jeannine has been great to work with and knows we are hoping to travel in December, since that is really the best time for Joe and at least Sean is out of school for 2 weeks then. So, since the home study is all we need to get our I-171H (which is our approval to adopt an orphan from the Department of Homeland Security) and thus a very important piece of our dossier (all the paperwork Kaz requires), we hope to send that all off in August. I am still waiting on my passport, however, which I need to send 6 copies of in our dossier.
But, good things come to those who wait..right? Baby Kaz-HAVE NO FEAR GIRLFRIEND-WE ARE COMIN!!

First Blog ever--all for Baby Kaz!

This is my first BLOG ever!!! We have decided to do a blog to update our family and friends on our journey to meet our newest family member-we are going all the way to Kazakhstan to meet her! We are on our way-our first required parenting class is Saturday 7/14, and our home study is scheduled for 7/21! Joe put our pool fence back up a couple weeks ago in preparation. Sean and I visited the library last Friday and checked out 28 books between us! It's Sean's fault for showing me the adoption section!!

We are very excited and anxious to meet Baby Kaz. We are still deciding on names-but everyone seems to really like "Kaz" as a nickname. :) We are not sure when we'll be traveling to go get her, but we hope early 2008. We are requesting an infant girl, and Kazakhstan allows adoptions of infants at 7 months old. I am busy getting all our required paperwork together, and doing a lot of research. Kazakstan is quick to send you an invitation to travel once they receive your dossier. Our agency tells us it's 1-4 months after they receive it, you travel. In fact, one couple that is over there now traveled only 5 1/2 weeks after they submitted their dossier! My goal is to get everything signed sealed and delivered by the end of August. However, some of it is beyond my control, so we'll see. Patience and flexiblity are key-so I am keeping up with my yoga, and running early in the morning to manage any anxiety. :)
I have found the adoptive community to be incredibly supportive and helpful. The people I have met remind me of the running community. Everyone is eager to help and share information which makes this whole process seem less daunting.

Timeline:

5/9 Signed contract with adoption agency
5/15 Mailed home study application to our social worker
6/5 Sent off application for I-600a (Petition to the Dept of Homeland security to adopt an Orphan Overseas)
7/14 Required parenting class
7/21 Home Study
7/29 Finger Print appointment for the USCIS (Important part of our I-600a)