Wow!!!

I had mentioned in my previous post about how some pretty WAY COOL things had been happening to me in the last week. People that I hadn't met before I had had come into my life, all with incredible stories of faith. As I've learned over the past year, adoption is ALL ABOUT FAITH!

Tonight was no different. In fact, It was so cool that I had to devote a post about it because I know Baby Kaz is going to think it's pretty cool too.

Sean is off to church camp until Saturday. I put him on the bus at church around 12:45 today. He went last year for the first time and absolutely LOVED IT! Last year I was crying when he left..this year I was excited for him. I spent the afternoon getting some shots at Passport Health Clinic and getting some medication for Traveler's diaharrea. ick-o-rama.

My sweet hubby called me and asked if I wanted to meet his boss and his wife for dinner at their favorite Italian joint. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I was all for it! We have been there with them before, and they always have the same waiter. He knows them, they know him, and they are regulars and have been for the past 2 years. Tonight, however, their waiter was on out for his birthday.

The waitress is at our table pouring wine and I am eating bread and said to the table "Shleep e Masla" which is my version of "bread and butter" in Russian. The waitress perked up said "what did you say?
I said, "Shlep e Masla" is Russian for bread and butter. She kinda look at me and I said "Do you speak Russian?" She said yes, and corrected me cuz you say the Shlep with that weird Russian throat gurgle thing.

Turns out, she is from Ubeksistan and she is very homesick for her mom that she hasn't seen for 6 years. She is saving money to go home to visit. She is going to USF and working at this restarant. She said her heart stopped when she heard me speaking Russian as she had been so homesick! So, I got show off "Ya gavaroo neemomoga par russki" (I only speak a little Russian) and I said spacceba (thank you) and Pajulsta (please) and spaquina noche (good night)

We traded emails and phone numbers. Her name is Alesia and I Have a new Russian tutor!
I really want to learn some basic Russian and she really needs some cashola for a plane ticket home. What a {win-win}!

What are the odds...we get invited out at the last minute, Sean is at camp, the "regular" waiter is out for his birthday, and she walks up just in time to hear my butcher "Shcleep e Masla?"

Another way cool thing--I had plans to go to Arkansas next week to visit my sister and then to California to visit my aunt and my Grandma was flying in from Arizona.
This was prior to the big "LOI" for August 1st.
I called my sister today to say I didn't think I could handle the California trip. I was too stressed and had too much to get done. She called me back later (she is going to California too, with her 2 boys, age 6 and 3) and suggested we blow off Arkansas, and cut the California trip short to go with her. We really need to see my Grandma while we can. I call Joe to ask him if he'd mind cancelling Arkansas, and he told me he was just about to call ME to tell me he'd have to join us way later in the week as work was insane.
Great suggestion by my sister-I had not even considered that.
Then-I get home,and have my new appointment from the USCIS for fingerprints for July 3rd. We would have been out of town for that appointment but now we're not.

I gotta have Faith Faith Faith, I gotta have Faith Faith Faith!

I'm so dizzy, my head is spinnin......{very long post}

Remember that song back from 1993 by Tommy Roe? ( I did not know who sung it, I looked it up) but it went..."I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning, Like a whirlpool it never ends, and it's your girl making it spin, you're making me dizzy"

That is how I've felt since we got our elusive LOI on Monday. It's such a surreal feeling. The one piece of paper that you've been waiting and waiting and waiting for FINALLY COMES, and after you scream of excitement and call your family and close friends and announce it on your blog, then ...EMOTIONAL PARALYIS sets in. I didn't expect to feel like I did. I was totally and completed FREAKED OUT. I wanted to dig a deep hole in the sand on the beach, never to emerge again. My stomach was a mess, I had no appetite, and when I did eat, my stomach would hurt until I threw down some Pepcid. I walked my dog, and couldn't remember if I had gone down the street already or not, as my mind was so pre-occupied. I think we went longer than we usually do because I was having to tug Miles along (he is my 100 lb labradoodle) and he panted for like 2 hours when we got back. Joe asked what I did to him and if I made him run a marathon. :)


It was so surreal looking at this document, that I can't understand, and all I can read is my name and my address. Joe asked me if I was sure it wasn't a contract to have us killed, since we don't know what it says. LOL. Thank goodness for my husband. He is always so calm and positive and his dry sense of humor just makes me laugh. I am SO GLAD I have him. God really knew what he was doing when he put us together.

I have now settled down (somewhat) but my stomach is still not normal. In fact, I am callling this new diet the 'LOI DIET' because FINALLY I am able to lose a few lbs that I have been trying to lose now for awhile.

After Tuesday, my day of "emotional paralysis", I got to work on Wednesday and started trying to organize my chaotic thoughts. By Friday afternoon, my new dossier was done! I just have to have it finish being notarized and apostilled, but we are waiting for the notary at Joe's work to get her new stamp and she is going to notarize it for us. That was a huge weight off my back. I got confirmation from the USCIC that they rec'd my request for new fingerprints (They don't expire until end of October, but I am paranoid and would rather be safe than sorry). My social worker is on vacation until July 2nd but hopefully she can update our homestudy is a jiffy.
I started to organize all my "tips" that i've received over the last year in a notebook. I started to feel a lil better.

When I first started the adoption journey, I was so excited and nervous. However, you are so busy with everything and collecting documents and figuring everything out. Then, it's finally done, and you wait. You go thru the steps of translation, embassy arrival, region assignment, etc. And you wait, and you wait, and you wait. Then, I started to wonder, if this is really real. Is it really going to happen? I prayed a lot, and started seeing signs, that to me, was God telling me that yes, you are on the right path. I can't even tell you the incredible experiences I had even this week, as I have been "emotionally paralyzed", and how the people I have met seem to have been strategically placed in my life to remind me once again...TO HAVE FAITH! I have cried so many times I've lost count.

I have answered the same questions, over and over.
No, we don't know the child are are going to meet. No, we don't know the gender, or age, or sex. We really don't know anything. We know that we "requested" a little girl, under the age of one, but we don't know if a little girl is waiting for us.

My HILARIOUS husband was sharing our news with the ladies in his office. One lady said we'd have to get on it to get the nursery together. Joe said, "Oh, no, that's been done for a year. My wife is obessive". She said, well, you will need clothes and toys for the baby too, and Joe said, "oh no, we don't even know for sure the age or the gender of this child, but Susan has a wardrobe for a girl aged newborn to 14, and we can't recycle Sean's toys, so she had to buy all new ones"
I do NOT have a wardrobe for size newborn to age 14, BUT, I do have 6 months to 24 months. Sorry dude--a year of waiting makes a girl anxious!!

I think back to when I met my husband.




We met at work, and I had talked to him on the phone, (he has A fabulous deep voice!!)but had never met him 'In real life" . A friend introduced us, and then called me to ask if I was dating anyone exclusively. I was NOT interested in Joe. He was "TOO OLD" and he had "too much baggage" and I had been thru a divorce and didn't need that. Well, he was persistent, and asked me out 4 times. I kept hearing from everyone who knew him how WONDERFUL he was and what a great guy he was. FINALLY, He asked me out on a Monday, for a Saturday night. (His previous dates were turned down, because he'd ask out on a Friday, for a Saturday. Reason being he was a single dad to 2 kids, aged 12 and 15,and he never knew until the last minute if he had a free evening). He called me on Friday, for a "pre-date" date, before our real date. I did actually, have plans, but i cancelled them. Our pre-date "date" went very well, and "broke the ice". Our first date was awesome. And, you know the rest of the story. We dated for 3 years, and have been married for 11. His "baggage" is now almost 26 and 28. :)
I didn't "expect" to ever marry a man who was 10 1/2 years older than I was, much less, with 2 teenage kids!!!! Was it always easy? No!! Was it worth every thing we've gone thru, even thru rebellious teen years? YES! Although, sometimes, I wasn't so sure!!!

It looks like we will be leaving for Kaz on July 31st or so. I'm still looking into flight arrangements. We cannot arrive in Kaz prior to August 1st, so we won't be meeting our kiddo until Monday, August 3rd. We are planning on at least
2 trips. Sean, Joe and I will go on trip one, and stay thru pre-court (which seems to average a week after bonding). Court typically is at least 30 days after the end of bonding. Joe and I will go back for court. It's undecided at this point whether we will both stay the remaining 3 ish weeks, or if I will stay and Joe will leave, or if we'll both leave and just come back to take Baby Kaz home. We'll just have to see how it goes. Sean starts school August 20th, so hopefully he will miss very little school, and will still get to see Kazakhstan and hopefully meet Baby Kaz. I am still waiting to hear if Sean is allowed in the baby house. Sometimes kids are not, but I also know we'll be taking baby Kaz outside, so maybe Sean is allowed outside. There is so much that is unknown-but we'll just have to "go with the flow" so they say.

I will close this very very long post with what keeps me hangin in there, and keeps my "eye on the prize" and my heart from seizing in fear of the unknown. I have met these families before they had their "Baby Kaz's" and it's proof that it is REAL and what a blessing these kids are.

I have read for 2 months about Alyona, Andrey, and Alexa. They are all adorable, sweet, healthy, smart, gorgeous kiddo's!! It was such a pleasure to meet these REAL LIVE KAZ KIDS in the flesh!!



The Group shot..Alexa was not happy because Shannon took her away from playing. Alexa is an adorable happy happy girl and she loved flirting with Joe!
Shannon is a very relaxed and happy Mommy too. It was so great seeing them together!!!





















Alyona huggin on Sean. Alyona is a TRUE diva in every sense of the word. She is smart, very polite, very sweet, and VERY INTO princessess. She was hilarious. She was very proud to show me her room. She fits right into this family of performers. Her English is VERY impressive.
















Andrey is "all boy" and is a lil peanut with a ton of energy. He is very sweet and very very cute. He loves his "machina" (car) that we brought him. Sean was busy playing with the kids. On the way home, he declared, he was "exhausted". JUST WAIT SEAN, JUST WAIT!
Sean didn't believe that he was so active when he was 3.


The song that I will be hangin on to from now until we leave is George Michael's tune "Faith"....I've got to have FAITH FAITH FAITH!! BABY!!!

Just another Manic Monday...Whoa, ohhh oooh.....

< Play Me, Baby!! (but you need to pause the music first, at the bottom of "me blog")

Happy Father's Day!

No news on travel plans to Kaz, but we are into our second full week of summer. We are having fun. Sean had sports camp the first week, and this week he took a break from camp. We went to Disney on Monday. We lucked out-great weather (not too hot at all, and pretty much no lines!!) He was in Camp "Sassy to Mom" though. We are keeping busy seeing all the new summer movies, and going to the beach. I thought I'd share what Sean did for Joe for Father's day this Sunday. It was really cute.

Sean has the gift of poetry like his momma. Here is the poem he wrote for his Dad. He made a "shirt" for his dad and the poem is written inside.




Then , we went shopping at Target after seeing "Kung Fu Panda" at the matinee (great movie!!) and Sean picked out all kinds of his dad's favorite things to put into a basket. I took a picture of Sean with it, I think it turned out cute. It includes peanuts in the shell, twizzlers, reeses peanut butter cup miniatures, his favorite gum, a new book from his favorite series, some fiber one bars for the office, etc. I think he will like it.



Sean can be a real sassy pants sometimes, but he also has a very sweet side. I really love the poem he wrote for his dad.

Onto the poem:

My Dad is not the same
because he takes me to football and baseball games

He is really nice
because he doesn't wear Old Spice

He is really cool
because he likes chillin in the pool

He really likes to boat
He really knows how to float!

Plus he really likes to fish,
and sometimes, he likes to wish!!

Happy Father's day! Love, Sean (with smiley faces and hearts)





Joe really is a good dad. He is so very patient and a good teacher. He has so much common sense. I am excited to bring up another child with him. He is just a really good man, and I am a very lucky woman to be married to him! He is a rock!!

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign.....

Remember that song from the Five Man Electric Band?

The chorus is :
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign....

And the last verse:
And the sign said, Everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay, so I got me a pen and paper and I made up my own lil sign
I said thank you Lord, for thinking about me, I've alive and doing fine..


I had a very interesting experience in Orlando this weekend and then again teaching Sunday school on Sunday, and it was quite apparent that the big man upstairs is trying to tell me something. :) I wanted to share it on my blog because I know that Baby Kaz will like this story one day and I know that my friends out there will appreciate it too.

The last day of school was Thursday, 5/29 and it ended at 12:30. I picked up my rising 5th grader and we drove to Orlando. A group of several mom's and kids headed to the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando where we had killer Florida resident rates and purchased Univeral Studios season passes. Yes, I was a trader to Disney, but we had a really good time. The hotel was amazing-with a huge 12,000 square foot pool with a huge water slide. It was within walking distance of "Citywalk" which is tons of shops and restaurans as well as entrance to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. There was probably a group of about 10 moms and kids from Sean's school, but really we mainly "hung out" with 2 other mom's and their children. On Friday, after lunch, everyone wanted to head to the pool and hang out. Another boy and I who love rollercoaters chose to stay at the park and meet the group later. So, Sharon and I did the coasters while Sean went back with the other mom's and his buddies.
We got back about 5:45. The reason I tell this is because it's all about timing in this cool set of circumstances. Anyway, keep in mind there are MANY resorts in Orlando (and I am a DISNEY REGULAR ANYWAY!!)and 3 huge hotels that are Univseral resorts, and the pool area at Hard Rock is HUGE!! I found our group, and was talking to them. Earlier, at lunch, a couple mom's were asking me what Kazakhstani babies look like. I was trying to find Sean in the pool and I look up and this cute lil baby girl and her mom are in the water. I look at my freinds and point out the lil girl and explain that SHE is what a Kazakhstani baby looks like. I went over and started talking to her her mom and she asked if I had a child in the pool. I explained that my son was 10, and she commented that it must be nice to have a 10 year old that you don't have to watch every second. I agreed, but said that we were hoping to adopt a baby girl about her daughter's age so I noticed the baby right away. She said "Oh, well, Avery is adopted and just came home about a month ago!" I said, "Where did you adopt her from?" And, YOU GUESSED IT! The reason I totally KNEW BEFORE I even asked, she was a KAZAKHSTANI BABY GIRL!!! Isn't that crazy? They were such a nice couple. She introduced me to her husband and her son, who was about 4, and also adopted from Kaz about 3 years ago. He was from Taldy-Korgan (his name is Connor) and Avery was adopted from Astana. They got over there right before it closed.

Of course, all the mom's FREAKED out and said that was a "Sign" and that I was going to get 'THE CALL' in a couple weeks. I DO think it was a sign that we are on the right path, but not that we're going to get a call this week. I don't think we're going this summer, and I am totally at peace with that. We have a wonderful summer planned and I am enjoying Sean while it's just "us" while I can. I was kinda bummed because I didn't get the parents name or anything. I just knew they were from West Palm Beach. Well,keep singing that "sign" song cuz things just get freakier.

The next morning, I went downstairs to get us a starbucks coffee before we went down to breakfast. I was in line to pay, and guess who gets in line behind me. Yupperdoodles--my Kazakhstani friend Avery and her dad. I said Hello and he asked if I had a piece of paper and gave me their blog address. Now, for me to run into them AGAIN, in this HUGE hotel, at the SAME TIME, when we weren't even going to go in this lil shop before breakast, is just way more than "just a coincidence".

Then, in case I wasn't sure about what these signs meant, on Sunday, at Sunday school, where I teach K-3 EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY, our lesson was on the Holy Spirit.
The holy spirit is God working inside our heart. :)
We did this experiment with a bottle of water, and you add sugar and yeast. It makes carbon dioxide and you put a balloon over the bottle and it blows up the balloon. You can't always "see" the holy spirit but you KNOW he's there, just like the air in the balloon. Well, it takes awhile for the experiment to work. We had another project to work on so I put mine to the side, thinking it just didn't work.
I am so NOT patient, and it's something I am working on. I have really chilled out though in the last couple of years but I still have a ways to go.
I was going around getting the next project started when I look over at my balloon and it's BLOWING UP! The Holy Spirit is ALIVE AND WELL !

So, what I took from this is that we ARE on the right path. Our daughter is in Kazaksthan, but, I need to continue to be patient. God is with us. :)




So, on the eve of my 42nd birthday, I will trust in the man, with the plan, and I will be patient. I will enjoy my summer with my son and my husband, and redo my dossier-so that when the time is right, we'll go get her! The only update I have is that we were told we will NOT be going back to Astana-so we'll be going to Kostanai.
I think it will be awhile as there are several families waiting. We'll just make 2 or maybe 3 trips, it will be fine.

I am excited to follow Chris and Tricia's journey to Kostanai, and a big WELCOME HOME TO Alexa and Shannon, and Alyona and Andrey and Matt and Suzanne!