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.