Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Little Boys Too...

We are counting down the days now. Chris has talked about looking for a job so I know its time to come home. He also is talking about building a racetrack and running a LADA division as there are so many of these cars here. Maybe we can get a NASCAR Sanction....
The highlight of our day is visiting Leah for 1.5 hrs in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. Heck we know every inch of the baby house now and have named all the ants in the small playground. What worse is they come when called.
This is day 19 and Christopher is still smiling. He also can re iterate all the words to National Geographic and probably will have a PHD in science when we leave.
Our court is Thursday at 4pm which is 6am NY time so set your alarms as we will be in active labor. Thanks to everyone who have been emailing and posting to our blog. Reading these messages everyday helps us feel closer to home. 

Court Date Aug 3 2006

It is on this date we will become Leah's parents if the judge rules in our favor. We believe in our hearts his decision will be favorable. As you can see by this photo its hard to decide who is smiling more. Each morning when we come together everyone in the room watch these two and cannot decide who smiles first. They both light up a room not to mention what they do to our hearts. They already have a bond and we can tell the joy that is in store for us as a family already. We feel blessed.
The care givers are most definately angels and these children are surrounded by love and dedication. We cannot say enough about them and what they give of themselves to these children. We can tell already that when we come for Leah on gotch ya day there will be tears. We know they love her. We can only hope they know we love her too....
 

Day 15

It is hard to believe we have been here 15 days already, yet it also feels as though we have been away from home forever. As you can see by the photos we have been blessed to be given the opportunity to adopt this precious child. She brings a smile to all our faces each time we visit and she has come to know us as her family. The care givers tell her every day that we are her Mama, Dada and Brother and when we arrive each day she is as excited to see us, as we are to see her. We cannot wait to bring her home and begin our lives together as a family. However we need to complete the process and the schedule of events go like this. Tomorrow we will be taken by our coordinator to petition the court to adopt. Then on Friday our coordinator Alma will meet with the judge and find out when our court date will be. Sometime next week we will appear before the court and ask to adopt Leah. All our documents will have been reviewed and a representative from the Ministry of Education and Orphanage Director will also speak on our behalf. Then the judge and prosecutor will ask questions and a decision will be made. We believe it will be favorable and we will be granted permission to adopt Leah. We will be told the decision that day and then, there is a 15 day waiting period for all the paperwork to be completed. It is then that we will make plans to fly home. Leaving Ust Kamenogorsk will not be easy as we love that little girl but we know for us it is necessary to come home. Her caregivers will, as they always have taken good care of her and we know they will talk to her about us. We will leave a photo book for her as we already know she likes to look at books and pictures. We pray she will remember us and when we return we can pick up where we left off.
Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow as the legal portion of our adoption proceeds.

Favorite Shots of Leah Natalya Young

I love wearing my brothers hat.

He even lets me play with his baseball
Good morning!!! Where ya been. This is what I look like in the morning without make up...... 

Its ok to feed these animals at the zoo in Kazakhstan

An afternoon at the zoo in Kazakhstan 8$ for a family of 4.

 

Scenes we have seen

Water truck at baby house
Public Transportation
Irtysh River 

Lunch with our Driver and Coordinator/Translator

Bulat and Alma Driver and Translator/Coordinator



This is how they cut the grass here. Notice the hand held mower.
 

Our Friends are Leaving Today

We wish our friends from NJ and Delaware a safe trip home to the USA. We were welcomed by them the day we arrived at the baby house and we all looked forward to sharing our daily experiences each day forward. They both went to court yesterday and filled us in on what to expect. Congratulations is in order, 2 more families have been granted their adoption. We look forward to meeting again after we all arrive back home and settle in. Megan and Michael I think Christopher will really miss you guys. Enjoy being home.

I think I figured out photos blogger style Hooray

 

Counting down the Days

The weekend was an adventure as each day has been. On Saturday our driver Sergey was off and we had a different driver. They always arrive promptly on time and have to wait for us to get the three doors open for us to exit the apt. We have a routiene down now as to who carries what. Big water bottle check, cookie and apple for Leah check, pocketbook more like suit case check, toy bag check,keys check, camera check ok lets go. It is always a challenge to get out with out forgetting something. We arrive at the baby house about 10 minutes later with the same anticipation as if it were the first day. Christopher is always the first up the stairs and cannot wait to see Leah. We also want to run but being the adults we restrain ourselves. Each time we walk into the room and she sees us and that beautiful smile crosses her face we all understand this leap of faith was well worth all that we have been through to get here. She usually is just getting up from her morning nap and still she is smiling. Her care givers change her into the clothes we brought and out the door we go to explore the outside. We take turns holding Leah and entertaining her and then she wants the apple. She knows it there and eyes up the pocketbook. I wish she could know Dad is the one who peals the apple each day just prior to leaving so it stays as fresh as possible. He also is the one to make sure we don’t forget the cookie. One day I am sure she will know how much we love her if she doesn’t already.
After our visit its back inside for lunch. The caregivers greet her much like we do with smiles and obvious affection. I can imagine when we come for her the final time there will be tears shed from both sides of the world. I pray they can see we will love her as they do. They have already asked us to send pictures for their family wall. In the visiting room there are a few family pictures on the wall and Sveta tells us they want us to send photos back. We will.
We decide today we need do something with Christopher so its bowling Kazakhstan style. Our driver dutifully takes us, but not before running a red light and getting us pulled over by the police. Talk about tachycardia. No problem a warning and we are off to bowling. I must keep my practice up for the bowling babes. The lanes are a lot like those in USA 50 year ago but Brunswick is alive and well in Ust Kamenogorsk. After a few games we take a stroll by the river and then its time to go back to the baby house.
Leah is happy and ready for our afternoon visit. We have the playground to ourselves. Quiet peaceful and the times passes quickly. Another day closer to forever.

A room with a view

This is life in Ust as seen from our windows and around town. This women arrives each morning around 6am. The local people as you see come to buy. They bring clean empty glass containers and not a drop of milk is spilled. Talk about our memories of the milk man. This women brings the jugs of milk, a pail of eggs, bags full of what I think is butter and a container that she scoops out of, that which looks like heavy cream as it does not spill when she places it in the container the customer provides. If it slides down the side of the container no problem a quick wipe with her hand and in the container it goes so as not to waste a drop. This is a scene which unfolds each morning giving us a glimpse into life here in Ust Kamenogorsk. We have not heard any yelling or fighting. This small gathering place serves as a play ground for the local children by day, a hang out for the local youth in evening and a place to beat the dirt out of the carpets which make a noise that brings us to the window to investigate. As you can see in the morning it also serves as a market place. Yet a short ride over the bridge and technology is beginning to explode. The young people all look like home with jeans and sneakers and cell phones. There are small department like stores which I explored yesterday but nothing like our expansive malls. Upon entering the shops you are waited on like royalty. This is how they do business. It somewhat intimidating when you just want to look but they are not pushy they stand in attendance with an at your service demeanor. No sale no problem a smile and a goodbye. I had the opportunity to get my hair done yesterday and I have to say they do it right here. A quite shop,a quiet station and beautiful relaxing music. I felt like a queen and so relaxed they could have cut my head off and I wouldn’t have noticed. Life here is simpler,slower paced and respectful. At least this is my take so far.
Our visit with Leah was again the highlight of our day. Her health is improved and she was glad to see us again. It has finally occurred to us that we have thrown off her schedule and she is now the last to eat when we bring her back to the care givers. How frightening the next couple of weeks will be for her. We pray we can comfort her when again she is separated from the only family (caregivers) she has known. Her security will again be rocked.
Christopher is well and we have gotten his updated passport. Thank you Alma you are the best!!! One less thing for me to worry about. Christopher continues to be a child that brings out the child in all of us. Here is a picture of him playing catch with Sergay (sp?) our driver. This man was so quiet the first few days we thought he didn’t like us. We won him over I think. He loves to play catch now and you should see the smile on his face. We are teaching him NY slang and when we get in the car at the end of the day he looks back at us and says HOME JAMES!!!!! What a kick.
Like I said this experience is life altering and a gift to treasure. These photos took a while to download but well worth the internet time. Two photos are the view out the back window of the apt where a new apt building is just in the beginning phases. We over look the Irtish River (Sp?) and the bridge is one we travel over each day to get to the baby house. The bus picture also says it all. I took it while riding to the baby house. These memories will last a lifetime.

A picture worth a thousand words

These pictures say it all. I wonder if Leah already knows that the man who’s arms she is running into will love and protect her today and forever. As I have been blessed to be loved by Chris so will Leah.
After all the years we have shared together this man is still my knight is shining armour. To the world he is a quiet, hard working determined man. To us, he is our foundation. He grounds this family and teaches lessons in life when he doesn’t even realize he is doing it by example. Throughout this whole adoption process he has been un wavering even when the journey became painful and unsettled. I thank God for him each day and love to watch him in his most important role. DADDY

When we arrived today Leah was smiling as usual when she saw us come in. Unfortunately we were told she was sick and had a temperature. They said she was examined by the doctor and would receive all the necessary treatments. They said she had a sore throat. She did look pale (er) today. So our visit was inside, and brief only 30 minutes. She was happy and content to just tear up paper towels and hand small pieces to me. Then she would cruise the small room and visit Chris, Christopher and Sveta. She is bright as we played peek a boo with her and she remembered and peek a booed us around a small refridgerator. We all laughed. It is truly amazing how entertaining a small child can be and how quickly we can all get back to that mode.

In the afternoon at 4pm again we arrived to visit and Leah had just woken up. She saw us again and smiled. We were permitted to bring her outside. I was sure she still had fever but outside air is better and we just let her stay in the stroller where she was contented to just be wheeled around. We each took turns and with each change of drivers she would stretch her neck to look to see who was there and then she would face forward as if to say that pit stop took to long. It was a good visit although it was obvious she wasn’t feeling well. At 5:45 she really began to fuss and cry so we returned to her room and gave her back.

We Petition the Court

Today begins day 7 of visiting our precious daughter. Christopher is always the first one up the stairs to her room. He is such a caring young boy who is wise beyond his years. Not once during this trip has he shown any amount of discontent. He appears to truly understand the situation of these children and has been very patient and kind. Not only with the people of Kazakhstan but also with Dad and I. He is used to summer vacations of beaches and go carts and fun times. This is a trip of the heart as anyone who has walked this path can attest to. Our son makes us proud when we least expect it. We have a daily reminder of just how blessed we are to be his parents .
We are told by our translator that this particular baby room is named HOPE. The reason being is that in Kazakhstan if you cannot care for your child at birth you can bring the child here for a certain amount of time in hope of returning to re unite with your child. Mothers and other family members are permitted to visit with their children. We have seen already 2 different grandmothers visiting children when we visit. One child is in Leah’s room and he has the biggest brightest eyes and smiles each time we are there. The other child an older boy (4) sits quietly with an elderly women whom obviously loves this child and she gives him a small candy to eat. The poverty here is evident and it is hard not to feel guilty for all that we have.
On a lighter note we have completed the petition to adopt with the help of our coordinator Alma. It had to be hand written by us with all the particulars. We have learned now that Leah’s first name legally is Natalya not Natasha. Natasha is like a shortened version according to Russian culture. So we have decided to call her Leah Natalya Young. The petition asks the court to give us permission to adopt her and to change all her birth documents to reflect we are her parents. We are told these documents will be presented to the court after 15 days of visiting which makes the date July 27th. That day we will find out who the judge will be and when the court date will be. We are that much closer to having our daughter.
During the lunch break today we visited a beautiful park. The weather was hot but beautiful. Sveta and I spoke about Kazakhstan and Christopher and Chris played catch. People would walk by and look as baseball is not popular here at all and the park is more like a walking garden.
It is my impression Kazak people are quiet and reserved. Life is still pretty simple here although the undercurrent of a growing economy is evident. They have the latest fashions,cell phones and internet cafes yet along the side of the road the grass is being cut by hand held sickle. Its like two different era’s in history rolled into to one co existing. Shopping is available but in stores like yesteryear for us. There is no Macys, Gap or Sears. Yet all you need can be found. There are open markets much like we call flea markets. However everything is scaled way down. Everything is smaller. Just enough. No more no less.
We are sampling the food and it has been different yet tasty. We have learned that many of the restaurants are owned by the same people so the food is similar in each place. Soups are big here, prepared daily and are very good. We love the Borsch (sp ?)
Before returning for our afternoon visit we bought Leah her own girly socks, a new shirt to go with her jeans and her own girly pink underware which they use over the diapers we provide.
When we get to her room again she is all smiles and so is her brother when their eyes meet. Its awesome to step back and just watch that which is happening in our family. Here we stand in the HOPE room unable to speak the language yet I feel as though our eyes and hearts speak to each other in a universal language of caring. We are given more information about Leah. The care givers tell Sveta that Leah is like a different child. She used to cry all the time. Sveta relates what they said to us. We are shocked as this child has done nothing but smile and babble since we arrived. We have not seen a single tear yet. We have seen her feisty personality when she does not get what she wants (cookie) but not a shed tear yet. Tears or smiles we will take her as she is. Each time we return her the care givers ask Sveta Did she cry? The same answer is given. No. We are told this evening by the care giver Natalya has chosen you. Sveta translates to us what she said. We smile.

Signed and Sealed

Our time with Leah is going well. She is always smiling when we come to pick her up. She especially likes Chris and Christopher. She actually lunges to get to Christopher. I can tell they will be close as he loves her already. She also has Daddy wrapped around her finger. We have given her bits of plain cookies and she loves them. They told us not to feed her so we follow the rules most of the time. Unfortunately she already knows where the stash is. Also when the other families bring food she can smell it a mile away and lets everyone know she wants some. She does not miss a trick. Her care givers say she has a good appetite.
Christopher has taught her DA DA. She can mimick him already. He on the other hand is learning Russian and can say a few words.
Leah had her passport photo taken today and we went to the notary to sign documents for the adoption so the process is moving along on time.
We are at day 6 and counting.......

The Baby House

This is where we spend our visits. Twice a day for the next 15 days. This is the little park directly adjacent to the baby house.

Leah Young AKA Natasha/Natalya in Ust Kamenorgorsk

Our MIRACLE

"When they placed you in our arms and we looked into your face,
We felt our hearts melt into one ~ a miracle took place.
Our prayer was finally answered,
Though delayed, 'twas not denied ~
The pain of love unanswered, in a moment's time subsides.
God's plan seemed hard to understand.
The circle's now complete.
He placed the heavens in our arms, so precious and so sweet.
Though you grew within another, our souls and yours were one.
We united in God's loving heart before life had begun.
We received a priceless treasure ~ this adopted child we love...
A gift of joy and happiness to us from God above."

Alice Moore, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

The first day of the rest of our lives

We were up early to get ready for our first full day of visiting. The schedule is 10-11:45 am then 4-6pm.
Chris and Christopher slept well after our first meeting. I on the other hand had to attempt to figure out the internet connection. Not being very savvy it took most of the night or is it daytime I am not quite sure at this point. However some how with divine intervention I have connected.
Sveta and Sergey arrived right on time to transport us back to the baby house. We were excited to see our baby girl again. We all wondered how she would react. Christopher was very excited and has finally realized that journaling is not only fun but will be a register of history for this family. He has taken to writing in the morning and has also started sketching different scenes he thinks are important to remember. We are very happy we decided to include him in every part of this adoption. The life lessons he has learned will serve him well later on.
When we arrived at the baby house Sveta took us to Natasha’s room where we were to pick her up. When we walked in she saw us and immediately walked on her own to us smiling. It was absolutely amazing. She stumbled trying to get to us and Christopher caught her. The care givers are amazing women. They must be hand picked by God himself because their love is evident in their body language, and the welcoming way they started talking to us when we came in. Although we cannot understand their spoken word, the eye contact and tone of voice says it all. They LOVE these children. We hope they can also see we will love and protect Natasha as they have since her birth.
Each interaction with the people of Kazakhstan is an experience in and of itself. Not being able to speak the language sharpens the other communication skills we are blessed with and one must be able to speak thru the heart.
After the customary hat is placed on Natasha’s head we are instructed and taken to the outside visiting area. The pictures I post later will tell it all. We are given a stroller and off we go. Natasha is happy and Christopher can hardly contain himself. Each time we see them together we are sure this leap of faith was worth taking.
Natasha is tiny 17 lbs but packed with personality. She can walk holding hands and I am sure on her own but we don’t let go yet. There are 2 other couples here at the moment one from NJ adopting a 4 year old girl and one from Delaware adopting and infant. We just went thru the hellos yesterday as we were the new kids on the block and the other couples have been here for a while.
Our visit was short but good. Natasha had fun being outside and exploring. We each held her and she didn’t object. She looked and touched and smiled. She appears to understand Sveta when she speaks to her. And she loves kisses.
After we returned her to her care givers we were asked to bring pampers in the afternoon and new shoes. Can you say shoe shopping?
We had lunch out at a Chinese Restaurant and the food was absolutely delicious. Then on to shopping then back to the baby house. When we entered the room the care giver said I could put on the pampers and shoes. My turn now at mother hood. It amazing how is all comes back. Natasha does have a rash which Dad noticed on the first visit. It appears to be localized on the inner thighs. We are told it is an allergy however I doubt it. I will be able to look closer tomorrow when I will get to dress her in her own clothes that we provide.We also met with the doctor again and were given her medical history.It is my understanding she has an umbilical hernia. Also they have diagnosed allergies.

Destination Ust Kamenogorsk

We arrived right on time in Ust Kamenogorsk. The flights were not as long as we had anticipated. At both airports AIP staff was there on time to greet us and take us to our apartment. We were given the times they would be back to pick us up and they were there on time. After arriving in Ust at 9:30am the AIP staff collected our baggage and drove us to the apartment to unload the luggage and freshen up. Sveta and Bulat our translator and driver came back at 1:45 to pick us up and off to the baby house we went.
We were met there by Alma our adoption coordinator and were taken in to the baby house to meet with the Director. Upon entering the baby house we observed the cleanliness and felt welcomed. We were interviewed by the Head Physician and a women from the Dept of Education. We were asked what type child we were looking for, questions about us and why we chose Kazakhstan. After answering their questions the physician turned her questions to Christopher. We were so proud of the way he looked directly at her when she spoke and his answers were understood even without translation. She wanted to know if he too wanted a baby sister and would he object to sharing our attention with this young child.His English answer was an immediate YES I AM with a hugh smile. As Christopher has a warm wonderful smile I believe as they made eye contact she could see right into his heart and palpate the sincerity she found there.
After the questions, we were told they had identified a baby that they thought would be good for us and her care giver walked her in. We were 7 people sitting in an office and she walked in curious and confident. As she entered I was wishing I had 46 eyes to see everyones face. I looked at her then at Christopher who had filled up with happy tears then at Chris then back to her. She looked at everyone and the caregiver brought her immediately to me. We had brought a yellow duck puzzle book and Christopher and I enticed her with it. Within minutes of me taking her from the care giver, after a 30 sec fuss she was engaged. I don’t think she new weather she wanted to look at the book or Christopher. We got on the floor and under the watchful eyes of these officials from Kazakhstan we began our relationship with our daughter. She babbled, walked , pointed,played with the puzzle book and looked all around. After we were told of the visiting requirement of 10-12 and 4-6 everyday twice a day for 14 days it was time to leave. I had picked her up and gave her a kiss. She in turn leaned over to kiss her brother. Talk about a defining moment. The time we spent in that office though brief contains memories that will last a lifetime . The word that we use to describe this day is JOY.

Twas the night before Christmas

In our home tonight we feel a celebration beginning. Our miracle is starting to unfold. Our family and friends are acutely aware that something wonderful is about to happen and we feel the presence of God because of their love and support for us.
I headed this post Twas the night before Christmas because the excitement and joy we are experiencing tonight is much like that of child on Christmas Eve.
It truly is by the grace of God that we will be blessed with a precious gift, our daughter. Our prayer is to be worthy of this precious gift. We have been waiting for 14 months for this moment and we know our lives will be forever changed because of an innocent child. We want to share this joy with those who are following our journey via this blog.
Our flight is tomorrow and we will be in Ust Kamenogorsk by Thursday. I will try and post as often as possible.
To those who have gone before us : Chris and Michelle, Steve and Terry, Amy and Anthony, Candy, Jason and Melissa, Tim and Nell, John and Dotty and Marc and Pam. We thank you all for sharing your experiences with us thru your blogs. You have provided the light to guide us on this journey and we will be forever grateful. Although we have never met each of you have become a part of our adoption miracle.