Our Kazakhstan Adoption

New Life...New Blog

2010-08-26T21:24:00.002+06:00

Friend and Family, We are starting a new blog. Our adoption journey is over! Please follow our adventures at: www.letterneaulife.blogspot.com
Can't say enough thank yous for all the love and support posted throughout this adoption blog. THANK YOU!!!

For a rainy, or scorching hot, day!

2010-08-23T07:25:00.000+06:00

Well, it's been very hot here in Orange County these last few weeks and we are running out of things to do in and out of the house. Here are a few things that Ava, Daddy, and I have been up to...

Home made flash cards. This has been a really fun project b/c it requires Ava to cut, glue and draw while practicing her letters and sounds. It is also fun to have homemade flashcards b/c it allows Ava to associate letters with objects or animals that she is actually interested in. Very fun!

Decorate a journal cover. Ava loves her ballerinas right now so we used a ballerina cut out to cover a notebook for her. She loves having her very own notebook and uses it all day long!

Just wanted to share with all those other mommies out there who might be looking for some fun indoor activities on those hot summer day and, soon enough, for those rainy days inside.

Back to Blogging

2010-08-22T10:05:00.001+06:00

Well, another month has come and gone. When we first got home, every month was full of changes and firsts. Now, we can actually say things like, 'Wow, this month flew by'. This being said, I have decided to be more intentional about blogging regularly. No more of this once a month thing. I can't promise it will be every week but that is my goal. I do enjoy it so I'm really going to try to carve out time.

General August Update:

August was a fantastic month. The weather has finally been heating up so we've spent many days at the beach with friends, by the pool, and at SeaWorld Ava is still crazy about arts and crafts and starts every morning by crawling into my bed with her magnetic drawing board. She's learning more and more everyday...it's unbelievable! She is surpassing what we think or assume she can do. Her big accomplishment of the month is that she learned to dress herself. When she successfully dresses herself she does a little happy dance around the room which is too cute for words :-) Well, there is the short and sweet summary of August. Expect more frequent posts throughout the next month.

Fun in the sun and by the water...

Pool

Beach

SeaWorld

Some other special events...

Auntie Erica took Ava to paint pottery. Perfect day for little Ava

The girls went out for teatime to spend some time with Erica before she leaves for another year of teaching overseas in Vietnam.

Wild Animal Park

My favorite Ava photos of the month...

July

2010-08-04T10:22:00.000+06:00

What an amazing month for our family. Every month gets a little smoother and a little easier now. Ava is just so much fun!!! Update time...

Therapy and Progress:
Ava just finished her special needs summer school program. She did great and loved the going each day. She was excited to see her friends and teachers and by the end of the 5 weeks she was practically pushing me out the door when I'd drop her off. Every day when she'd come home from school, she would take her work out of her backpack and put it on the fridge. It was neat to see how proud she was of herself and her hard work. She got great marks on her summer report card and her teachers were very impressed with her progress. She even got a special award for sharing :-)

Ava with her award and a free meal at Claim Jumper!

I LOVE her therapists at CCS (California children services). We are so blessed by the wonderful therapist that have been assigned to Ava. She is working so hard and it's showing! She is getting much better at eating, chewing, and swallowing. Many people have also commented that she is talking so much more. People are even able to pick up words she is trying to say !!! We pray for continued progress in this area every day!

Home life:
Life at home is wonderful! I am still home with Ava everyday and there is no place I'd rather be. Her bond with James and I is so strong and we are so thankful that she's adjusted so beautifully.

Dressing up is one of our favorite activities

Daddy is very popular once he gets home from work

Almost every weekend we head down to San Marcos to visit my parents. Ava loves her Mimi, Papa, and Auntie and she loves going down to the lake!

Special Events:
July 4th It was such a special holiday this year. Ava got to celebrate living in this wonderful country...and boy did she celebrate! She sure looks cute in red, white, and blue

Family Photos: My dad took some great pictures of family while James' family was in town!

Ava with her cousins

James' family! Well, my family too :-)

And, my family...our family :-)

Monterey Trip
James had a business trip to Monterey and Ava and I tagged along. We had a great time!!!

Our 4th Wedding Anniversary:

My Crafts!
Money is still tight as I have decided to stay home with Ava for now. I am trying hard to sell my crafts. I work really hard on them and love doing it at home with Ava! Please pass the word along or order for yourself if you have a gift you need to get!

I hope that you all enjoyed a great month of July!

June Update...

2010-06-30T05:28:00.000+06:00

What an AMAZING month it has been. Ava continues to blend into our family perfectly and now we can't even remember what life was like without her. Here the update break down:

Meeting MORE family and friends:
James' family FINALLY got to meet their newest family member. We have been busy playing with cousins, Grandma, and Auntie Nicole for 3 weeks before they go back to Washington where they live. It's been lots of fun! Ava also loves spending time with her Mimi, Papa and Auntie and continues to develop a sweet bond with them.
Along with introducing Ava to more family members, we also had the last of our four meet and greets. Now I think almost everyone has had the opportunity to meet little Ava. On the 17th, James' work threw us a beautiful meet and greet at his work during lunch. They had decorated in pretty pink colors, and had Princess and Disney galour. Ava was thrilled with her sweet goody bag and we were blessed by his coworkers who attended.
Last weekend we had a get together in Simi Valley where James' extended family and his best friends from high school got to meet Ava at long last. It was another great day filled with celebrating!

Ava with her cousins Kale (3) and Kyleigh (6)

Ava and her Grandma!

Health:
On the 18th of the month Ava had surgery to remove her adinoids and to get tubes put in her ears. The operation went well and the recovery was smooth. She is breathing better through her nose and, we assume, can hear much better. There have now gotten her checked out by several doctors and there are no more major medical concerns for her at this time. YAY!

Little Sweetie after her operation. Mama not happy that her baby isn't happy :-(

Progress/Therapy:
We completed Ava's IEP testing (Individual Education Plan) this month. Ava has qualified for Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy and, best of all, she has been placed in a special day preschool class at the elementary school down the road. Ava has gone for two days already. Mom has cried when dropping her off both times :-( The class is only two hours, four days a week and is intended to get special needs children who are high functioning ready for mainstream Kindergarten. She seems to be having a great time and enjoying the challenges that the classroom setting presents. We are excited for her to have this opportunity and believe she will flourish.
Ava is still not speaking but has a total of 30 signs that she uses all the time! I never feel like I don't understand her. She's great at finding ways to communcate exactally what she needs (and WANTS...she's is pretty darn bossy :-)

Ava in Occupational Therapy

Home Life:
I think we can say that we are officially settled in as a family of three and life is pretty normal (or as normal as it can be with a four year old) No more tears when it's time to brush our teeth or change our clothes. She's one well adjusted California girl. She loves the beach and the pool and anything to do with water and sun! I can't say I blame her after having experienced a true winter in Pavlodar. She is even more affectionate and loving than she was before which we didn't think was possible. She brings light and love to everyone around her. We rarely meet someone who doesn't comment on her beautiful smile and sweet nature. We are blessed!!!

Still loves that drawing board

Ava and Mama go to the park almost every day!

Ava and Jamesy reading before bed time.

Our pretty lady rolling in the grass and soaking up the sunshine!

Special Events
Father's Day: This month we celebrated Father's Day at the beach and had a great time honoring some great Fathers!

Those great Fathers I mentioned :-) Ava's Daddy, my Grandfather, and my Dad.

Ava thinks Auntie Erica is a great place to rest.

Building a sand castle with Papa.

Dance Lessons: Ava is such a little Dancing Queen that we thought we'd sign her up for ballet class. She does a great job following the teachers directions and most importantly, she has a great time.

Buying her the gear

The Ballerina in action. Ava loves this picture

Our Star!

Professional Photos: We wanted to get some professional photos done of Ava before she grows up any more! We were pretty pleased with them

We hope that you had a great month of June. ~The Letterneaus

May ...Our first full month home

2010-05-30T11:18:00.000+06:00

Well, it's been a great month with lots of exciting things to report! We have now been home with Ava for a month and a half and she has been in our custody full time for 2 months now. Now that we've gotten into a routine we can't remember what it was like without her here. Here is the break down of our first full month home with Ava D.

Meeting Family and Friends:
We took it pretty slow when it came to introducing Ava to our loved ones. We read and heard that taking it slow is best for and adopted child as they adjust to their new parents and new surroundings. On May 8th we had a small shower put on by a great friend of mine. It was perfect! Everything was beautiful and we felt so loved and supported. It was wonderful to have people meet Ava. Everyone was so respectful and understanding about giving her space but also enjoyed her company and showed her lots of love.

The following Sunday Ava was able to meet my extended family. I have many wonderful Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins who have been incredibly supportive throughout this adoption and who have been waiting for over a year now to welcome Ava into their family. We had a great day of celebrating but unfortunately I was far too busy chasing around Miss Ava to take pictures. We did get a few from that day:

Health:
On average Ava and I are going to the doctors or specialists about 2 times a week. That will get less after we finish seeing all the specialists that need to be seen. So far we know that Ava will need an operation to get her adnoids removed and tubes put in her ears. They found that her adnoids are blocking about 80% of her nasal passage. Because of this her mouth is almost constantly open because that is the only way she can breath. Poor girl. So we are going to get those removed on the 18th June. The doctor has said that the operation only takes about 5 minutes to preform and that there is not much time needed for recovery. We are excited to get this fixed so our poor baby girl can breath through her nose and so that she can hear better.

Progress:
We are in the middle of getting Ava assessed through our local school district so she can get qualified for therapy. On June 22 we have a meeting to diccusss her plan for therapy. BUT, on her own Ava has grown and learned so much this past month. We go the park almost everyday and she climbs, runs, and WORKS hard! Lucky for us she sees it as play not as work...the girl is so determined to conquer the playground! She is understanding English wonderfully. She is still not speaking but she is definitely understanding us and finding ways to communicate through signs.

Home Life:
James is back at work and Ava and I are home together every week day. I AM LOVING being at home with her. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's certainly challenging and exhausting at times but I love spending this time with her and watching her grow and learn. Ava loves when her Daddy comes home and James has been great about giving me a break when he gets home from work. Here are a few shots from our daily life at home in beautiful Ladera Ranch.

Special Events:
We have done some pretty special things with Ava this past month. We have gone to Sea World, the Beach, and celebrated our first Mother's Day. Sea World was a lot for little Ava to take in. We did get passes so I think the more we go, the more she will enjoy it! Ava loves the beach. She sure is a water baby. She could have played in the water all day if we let her. Mother's Day this year was very special not only b/c it was my first Mother's Day with Ava but because I got to also spend it with my Mother who I missed so much when we were overseas.
Beach:

Sea World:

Mother's Day:

I'm sure I'm forgetting things but at this time of night, it's all I can recall :-) Morning comes quick so I better catch some sleep while I can. Goodbye May, Hello June...Stay tuned for the June update next month.

So BUSY

2010-05-20T10:13:00.000+06:00

Sorry for how very bad I have been at updating since we've been home. I want to commit to updating the blog once a month with information on Ava's health, progress, and all the fun stuff we are up to as a family. I will try to do this at the end of each month. Stay tuned and check back for an extensive update at the end of May.

Week Two

2010-04-30T01:30:00.000+06:00

So, I didn't update for over a week and now I've posted twice s in two days...pretty good. I have some down time b/c unfortunately our little princess is sick with a fever. She is cuddled up on the couch watching her Princess video with no desire to play or go outside. Poor little peanut.
This second week at home has been busy and full of fun (until we got sick)

Zoe and Ava at the dog park. We feel bad for our little pup who is being quite neglected :-( Ava does like going to the dog park with her so it's a treat for both of our babies.

Ava has met my best friend Brandi's son Sawyer. They were fast friends. We took them to the mall to play at the indoor playground and they held hands all on their own! So sweet.

At the mall playground.

She still loves art and still loves her Little Mermaid swim suit...put those two together and this is what you get.
:-)

Ava and Daddy tried out the spa and then return to make a little snack!

Ava has gotten to spend some fun quality time with her Mimi and Papa which is fun for her and for them. They are the best!

My Aunt Jan was in town from Washington with her grandbaby, Liese. We all went to the park together. Cousins are fun!

Ava was real fascinated by the kites at the park. We'll have to get her one soon. Perhaps a Princess one.

Ava's first trip to the pool! She loves the water!

Little water baby! No wonder she likes the Little Mermaid movie so much. She has the opposite problem though...She wishes she had fins!

A lot of this goes on in our house. The Letterneau family is all about cuddles.

My Aunt Jan got Ava this baby doll and baby doll stroller. She actually got a Ava a TON of amazing stuff at a yard sale across the street from my parents. Everything was clean, and in beautiful condition. We're all about great toys for low bucks!

School Girl! We have been working on cutting, pasting, coloring in the lines, counting, letters, and all kinds of fun stuff at home. Ava loves her little desk. I must mention that my talented Mother in Law made Ava this adorable dress. They are available for purchase on our website :-)

She's such a hard worker and doesn't do anything half way! That's our Ava! She loves to show Daddy what she did at "school" when he comes home.

The new parents on the block are hanging in there. We are tired and still have so much to learn but that is nothing compared to the joy of finally being home as a family.

We had a doctors check up and everything looked good. We got blood work done today and are waiting on those results. Tomorrow we go to see her pediatrician and a specialist. Wow, it's been a busy week at the docs. I swear everywhere we go Ava is such a champ. She charms all the nurses and doctors with her sweet smile, cooperative nature, and toughness. Anyways...we will update on medical info and therapy game plan once we hear. Happy Thursday.

Reflections

2010-04-28T22:52:00.003+06:00

Where to start!!! I love updating on Ava and our life with her but I also wanted to really share some reflections on our experience now that we've been home for a couple weeks.

Reflection on Adoption:
When we returned to America and spoke with our agency director he told us that in his 15 years of working in 10 different counties, our adoption was the most difficult one they have ever done. That being said, we would do again in a heart beat knowing how INCREDIBLY worth it it was in the end. I thought I had a passion for adoption before we left for Kaz but after meeting Ava and all the other amazing orphaned children in Pavlodar, my heart for orphans around the world has only grown. I don't know what this will look like in the future for us. We certainly can't afford another adoption at the moment but I know that God will use our heart for adoption to impact the His children in some way.

Spiritual Reflection:
James and I have both had a relationship with Jesus Christ since childhood. We've commited our family to him since the day we were married. This adoption experience shook our faith to the very core. We experienced doubt and anger, confusion, and many emotions towards the Lord that we had never experienced or felt before. This was soooo hard! Through it all we learned many lessons in faith and prayer. Now we are able to see how God worked in Ava's life through the time we were separated from her. He protected her health, kept her safe, and provided her with wonderful caretakers. God also used that time to develop in me my love for creating. Sewing and crafting are talents that God developed during that time and I am excited to have found a hobby that I enjoy so much and that can help a bit with finances for our family as I stay home with Ava. God is good...all the time. Even when we can't see it!

Reflection on Kaz:
It breaks my heart to say this b/c the children in Kazakhstan are so precious and so deserving but I can not recommend adoption from Kazakhstan unless you are ready to deal with the coruption of their government, and complicated process. We do not say this based on our experience alone. We didn't meet a single family in all our time in Kaz who had a smooth journey. I sadly don't think it's possible to have a smooth adoption these days in Kaz. However, we found the people not related to the adoption process very lovely and kind. We felt safe there at all times and enjoyed the experience of living in another country for some time. We pray pray pray that Kaz cleans up and refines their adoption process b/c it's a beautiful country with beautiful people and wonderful children.

Reflections on Ava:
Perfection! With all the special needs she has, the therapy and obstacles that lie ahead for our little one, I still see her as absolute perfection. She has the sweetest spirit and strong will all at the same time. She is funny and caring, respectful, affectionate, beautiful, and smart. I couldn't be more proud of her. She is so much more than everything we hoped and prayed for.

Overall this experience is one we obviously wouldn't trade for the world. It lead us to our precious daughter. It also allowed us to meet friends from all around the world. I know that we will be connected to these wonderful families for life.

Ok, that's enough reflecting for now. I wanted to be sure to get all these thoughts out before the adoption experience is too far removed. I wrote a lot but still could have written more! If anyone in the adoption process has questions for us we are always open to sharing about exactly what we experienced during our adoption. We are an open book!
I'm trying to post pictures of our little lady but I can't seem to get the blog to work at the moment. Those will be up shortly! Love from the Letterneaus :-)

Photos

2010-04-21T20:20:00.000+06:00

My parents came down for a visit with Ava. It was so much fun! We went to the park and did some drawing back here at home. My Dad took some great photos.

The picture overload continues. Here are some pictures that I have taken during Ava's first week home:

Thus far Ava has been introduced to Mimi, Papa, and our friends the Smrekars. We've been keeping visits pretty limited for the first couple of weeks while she adjusts to life here. Thank you all for understanding and giving her time. I know that so many of you are dying to meet her and, trust me, we are dying for her to meet our wonderful family and friends as well. Although her adjustment period at home couldn't be going any better, we don't want to push it or overdo it during these very important first weeks at home. Well, this busy new stay at home mom has no time for captions or stories... so sorry. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-17T01:05:00.000+06:00

Well, we made it! Over this past year there were many times when I feared that this day might never come. It is still surreal having her here with us in the room that has been waiting for her for so long. Here is the recap of our last day in Kazakhstan and our journey home.

Last day in Kaz:
We were so blessed in Almaty by miracle after miracle! First of all, our housing situation. We were trying to avoid using our agency's coordinator because she was too expensive. James was more than familiar with the documentation and we didn't feel that we needed her for that. Our friends, the Issac family, knew a women in Almaty who runs a bed and breakfast and they also knew a driver who would drive us! Dorothy was the name of the women we stayed with and she was wonderful! Her house was clean and safe and we enjoyed her company. Our driver was fantastic and very helpful as well. The Lord provided for us big time with these connections.
We weren't looking forward to having two "do nothing" days in Almaty but there was nothing we could do considering the Embassy is closed on Wednesday. On Tuesday night we got an email from the Embassy saying that they would make an exception and would conduct our exit interview on Wednesday. Great, but we still needed to be sure there was space for us on the Thursday morning plane. Once again, thank you Lord for seats on the early flight home and for the Embassy allowing us to check out on their day off.

Ava's last stroll in Kazakhstan

Flight Home:
To say that Ava was perfect on the flights home is an understatement! She was better than perfect! She slept for about half of both our short and long flight home. When she was awake, she kept herself entertained with coloring, stickers, and cuddles from Mom and Dad! On the 11 hour flight she walked up and down the isles a few times and gave everyone a good smile and giggle. She walked around with her big grin and had to check out what everyone was doing. She was a popular little girl. We got such comments as, "You have the most calm, well behaved child" and, "She is such a beautiful, happy girl", It felt good to show her off to the world and to see others recognize her as the wonderful child that she is.

Do you like how we improvised with Ava's head band to help her earphones stay on?

Arriving:
We were greeted by my wonderful Mom and Dad at the airport! I have never been happier to see their faces! We were so excited to introduce Ava to her Mimi and Papa and for them to finally meet their first grandchild. It is clear already that Ava will have a special relationship with them throughout her life! My parents and James' mom have done so much for us in helping bring Ava home. We couldn't ask for better parents or better grandparents for Ava D. I know that at times this journey was harder on them than it was on us. Congratulations Grandma, Mimi and Papa, your little granddaughter is finally home!

Hello America!

Under normal circumstances I would not allow my picture to be taken after 24 hours of traveling but this is an exception. I am kicking myself now that we didn't get any pictures of Ava with her Mimi and Papa on her first day in America but that's ok, there will be many more opportunities to photograph her with them!

Welcome Home Ava:
Ava was excited about her new home from the moment she walked in. Our dog Zoe was a little excited too which was making Ava nervous at first but after about 20 minutes she was chasing Zoe around the house and would call for her if Zoe wasn't following her from room to room. People said that after we brought Ava home my obsession with my dog would die down...Wrong. I am so happy to be back with my four legged furry child! Ava recognized her name on the wall and was overwhelmed with joy at the sight of all her new things!

Ava next to her name that James painted for her with love before we even met her!

Ava got a new princess dress and crown from Mimi and Papa and wanted to play in it right away. When we had to take her dress off for bath time she cried a little! She really is a little Princess!

April 15, 2010
This is not a made up story I promise! Ask my husband! Two years ago when we were in the application process I was praying for our adoption and for our future child when God gave me a date...April 15th. I told James on that day that there was something important about the day April 15th but I didn't know what it was. I thought, maybe it would be our child's birthday, maybe it would be the day we met her, I wasn't sure but God clearly told me that this date was a big day in our adoption journey. When our flight home was scheduled for the 16th of April I thought to myself, darn that must have been me and not God after all all those years ago. Then, we got the email that the embassy would take us in early and I knew that truly God had prepared my heart two years earlier for this day, April 15th!

Well, this is it...Our adoption journey is over but the journey of our life with Ava is just beginning. We would love to keep all of you updated on Ava's progress and her adjusting period here at home. Keep checking our blog for those updates. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, every single one of you for taking this wild ride with us. To know that you have been following our story has made it seem far less lonely than it would have been without you.

Ava Darina Ballerina...Home at Last

2010-04-16T10:07:00.000+06:00

It didn't take her long to feel right a home. Much to share but too tired right now. It was special day and Ava finally got to meet her grandparents (we missed you Grandma Sheral and can't wait for Ava to meet you soon), and her dog Zoe. They are still unsure about one another right now but I have a feeling they'll be great friends soon. Goodnight from Orange County. We'll update with more stories and pics soon.

Going Home!!!

2010-04-13T21:26:00.001+06:00

We got an email from the American Embassy saying that they would make an exception and conduct our exit interview on Wednesday...Tomorrow. Meaning...we will be leaving on Thursday in the middle of the night and arrive in LA on Thursday afternoon. I really really cannot believe it's all finally over! Once that plane touches down in LA we can finally let out a deep breath for the first time in a whole year! Praise God!

Above are some photos from our days here in Almaty and below are our captions.

Photo 1: Ava and Daddy looking at a map of Kazakhstan

Photo 2: Ava pointing to America as we explain our upcoming flight home

Photo 3: Ava loved this fountain in the Mega center in Almaty! Between the fountain and ridding up and down the escalators, she could have been entertained all day.

Photo 4: We played in a little arcade for about an hour today. It was a little mature for Ava but by the end she was enjoying it. I think the indoor play grounds suit her better right now.

Photo 5: We got a real treat...PIZZA HUT! Real Pizza at last!

Photo 6: Since our first trip I told James that I wanted to buy one special book for Ava in Russian. Nothing struck us until today! We found a Little Mermaid book that was just perfect for her. Little Mermaid is Ava's new obsession. I wish we had started a tally of how many times we've watched it this week. It would be on all day if it was up to her.

Photo 7: That sippie cup is stuck to her like glue. Now that she has the freedom to ask for a drink whenever she is thirsty, she takes full advantage!

Photo 8: Happy!

Photo 9: The playgrounds here in Almaty are a little nicer than in Pavlodar

Photo 10: She's becoming a wonderful climber

Photo 11: It's finally warm enough to retire the pink coat and hat!

Photo 12: America get ready for Ava D. She's coming Home!!!

We have much to share about our time here but we literally found out about our new travel plans an hour ago and are now trying to connect with our driver, email my parents who will be picking us up, and put Ava to bed. We will share more later...from home! Again, prayers for our long flight are appreciated mucho!

Our last few hours in Pavlodar...We're serious this time!

2010-04-11T15:44:00.000+06:00

Since our last post our plans have changed about a zillion times...but we're used to that kind of life! We are leaving Almaty at 10:00 tonight and will check out at the Medical Clinic on Monday and the American Embassy on Thursday. Tuesday is when Ava's final document will be released so we can't finish up in on that day and on Wednesday the American Embassy doesn't conduct interviews. Thus, Monday and Thursday will be the "business" days of our trip and we'll fly out in the middle of the night on Friday (like 12:30 a.m. I think). On Tuesday and Wednesday we hope to see some of Almaty which is considered to be the most beautiful city in all of Kazakhstan. We've heard that there is a Zoo and some other fun centers for children.
Last night we met a great couple who just flew into Pavlodar. We are so bummed that they weren't here earlier so that we could have gotten to know them better.
Anyways, here are a few photos of our last days in Pavlodar. Next stop, Almaty. Next Next stop, HOME!

She is so determined to do anything and everything that all the other children can do. This was a challenge for her and initially even I thought she couldn't make it without falling and tumbling to the bottom. But, as always,she proves us wrong with her spunk and strong will.

Packa Packa Pavlodar! Thanks for being home to our little Ava for all these years!

Our Last Full Day In Pavlodar!

2010-04-06T12:43:00.000+06:00

It's our last day in Pavlodar! WOW WOW WOW! Tomorrow night we leave for Almaty where we will check out at the American Embassy for 2 days! We will then be on our way home to America! Because of the flight schedules we are expecting to arrive at LAX at about noon on the 13th! We can't believe it!
This has been a wonderful first week with Ava. Mornings are a little rough on her for whatever reason. There is a lot more crying in our morning time than in the afternoon. Bedtime has gotten a little better every night. She now goes into her bedroom for night night without any crying. That didn't take her too long! For the most part she is doing better than anyone could ask or expect of her. For most of the day she is happy and full of life.

Ava dancing to the "Get up a Move" Wiggles DVD. I don't think I've ever seen her right arm so high in the air with such an open hand!

She still loves walking and dancing around with a scarf!

Peek-a-boo

This was one of those rough mornings. Ava woke up at 6 and was fussy all morning. At about 9 her and Dada took a little nap. She woke up much happier :-)

Later that day we took a stroll down to the river.

Ava with Pavlodar's Irtish River behind her.

We had a great time and enjoyed the warm(er) weather!

On Easter we celebrated with our friends the Issacs! Here Ava is helping James show pictures of our trip to Europe.

Ava was a very good host

Ava in her Easter best

She loved this dress

Again, dancing to the Wiggles

Between her and our two pets, Mama may never knit again.

Helping prepare the meal

The next day we accidentally stumbled over another indoor playground. I guess these are necessary in places that are covered in snow for 8 months of the year.

We didn't put money in but she didn't know the difference :-)

The ball pit was little scary for her the first time, but this time she enjoyed it very much.

We will update as often as we can from here on out! We are not sure what our internet situation will be in Almaty. We will leave Pavlodar with many emotions. We are BEYOND HAPPY to be coming home at last with Ava D. We will also leave with love in our hearts for the city where our child was born and lived the first 4 1/2 years of her life. There are many people here that we love and that we will keep in our hearts always. Thank you for prayers for our travels! I think traveling this long distance with a little one always requires a little help from above!

Life with the little one

2010-04-02T22:22:00.000+06:00

Everything is great here in Pavlodar. Our paperwork is all coming in right on time (so far) and we are also adjusting well to life with our little one. We still feel like we are living in a dream having her here with us. It is pure joy 100% of the time, even in the midst of exhaustion or temper tantrums (I'm sure most of you parents are rolling your eyes thinking...that wont last long!)
We do have some fun photos of our last two days together. After our photos I would like to take some time to update everyone on Ava's progress. We are so used to her that sometimes we forget to share the reality of having a child with special needs. Since in her pictures you would never know she had a disability I think it's important to explain exactly where she's at before you all meet her so you know a little of what to expect :-) James and I are both positive people in general and are so encouraged by how far she has come that it's hard to even point out her "weaknesses" as weaknesses.
Anyways, it's been a really exciting few days and here are our photos!

Wednesday & Thursday:

Ava is still really loving the kitchen. She sits by the window and observes while we prepare our meal in the world tiniest kitchen. Three people (well, two and a half people) is way too much for that small space huh Emma?

Cute PJ alert! I love this nightgown on her. Yea, I think I'm having a little too much fun dressing her up! She's like my little doll.

Being cooped up inside all day gets a little boring for us all. We decided to clear out some space and have a little tumbling lesson. She was really into exercising and did a great job engaging both arms :-)

Later that day we did some water coloring. Ava painted some Easter paintings of eggs and a cross saying "New Life in Jesus"!

Friday:

Today we went to this amazing indoor playground. We met Belinda and her four year old daughter Elizabeth there to play. Ava was in Heaven.

Is this MY daughter on a trampoline? The same daughter that couldn't take a step on her own just one year ago has the balance to jump on a trampoline. Can you say miraculous?

The face on the left is her, "I'm so excited I can't stand it" face.

What fun!

Taking it all in. I think she could live at this place. We will hopefully go back soon. It was only $2.00 for an hour of play.

Ava and Elizabeth had a lot of fun together. Elizabeth was not used to sharing James and my attention so that was a switch for her. She is about one month younger than Ava and is clearly much taller. She is also very small for her age.   Being with Belinda and Elizabeth was great! Belinda was able to confirm a few things that we have always said about Ava...she has a strong desire to learn and do everything that all the other children are doing.

Ava's Progess:

Physical:
We'll start with her strongest point,...walking! We are so pleased with Ava's walking ability! When she is walking slowly you can hardly notice her limp at all. When she runs or walks fast it is a bit more apparent. She stands flat footed very often but still walks on her right tip toe every now and then. She can even walk up stairs if she is holding onto a rail.
She is using her right arm more and more too. In many photos you can see that it is tight but it is also very often relaxed and open. Even when it is relaxed, she prefers to use her left hand for everything. If there is ever an activities that she wants to do that requires two hands, she finds a way to engage the right hand just enough to make it work. She rarely gives up or avoids activities that requires both hands which is very encouraging.

Speech:
This is going to be Ava's biggest struggle. She is still not saying full words yet but we are encouraged by the different sounds she is putting together. She is great at open mouth sounds and has more trouble with closed mouth sounds. She is great at sounds like "D" and "A". Today she said her name which has the "V" sound. This was the hardest letter that she has said yet! We were very excited. Also, when there is something she wants to communicate to us she always tries to form the word whether it sounds like that word or not. This is also very encouraging. It is typical for children with CP to have trouble swallowing since the muscles in their mouth have a much higher tone than that of the average child (imagine what CP does to Ava's hand, similar things may happen with the muscles in her mouth). She is getting better at swallowing (even in the last few days). I imagine that meals at the orphanage were very rushed and very distracting. During meal time at home we take our time to really make sure she is chewing well and swallowing properly. This will also be something that a speech therapist can help us with. When she is excited or over stimulated she produces excess saliva and has trouble swallowing it all. Again, SPEECH THERAPY!

Communication:
Despite not being able to speak, I feel that we understand her needs and wants very well. She is great at pointing, shaking her head yes or no, and expressing emotion on her face. She is also very affectionate which communicates a lot to us about how she is feeling.

Cognitive Development:
This is where James and I have been so impressed. She is picking up on English quicker than we thought. Today for example I was zipping up her coat and asked her to put her head up and didn't use any gestures. She raised both hands in the air. Head and Hands sound pretty similar and she new I was asking her to raise them up. She also recognizes many shapes, numbers, and letters. Today we noticed that she is recognizing simple words. James wrote Mama on a piece of paper and Ava pointed to me. He wrote Dada and she pointed to him. He wrote Ava and she pointed to herself. She knows how to write her name and is very proud of that I must say!
Her interests also show us that she is pretty on track. She likes dancing, princesses, art, etc. We have seen her interests change from very very basic and "baby like" to toddler appropriate in this past year.

Well, there are the basics. Again, I hate to even highlight these things b/c to us she is just Ava, but I do think it's important for our family and friends to have a little heads up. Research says that for every year a child is in the orphanage they are six months behind developmentally. I would say this is pretty accurate. And on top of that Ava has special needs and was never given individual attention for those needs. It's crazy how much progress we have already seen just in the few days she's been with us at home. We are confident that she will continue to catch up.

When James and I left for Kaz a year ago I would have never dreamed we would be bringing home a child with special needs. Among other things, we have learned this year that God's plans are always bigger, higher, and better than our own. If we had listened to our own plan, we would have missed this precious gift, this child whom we wouldn't trade for the world. People have expressed their admiration for us in adopting a child with these needs but in our hearts we truly truly feel that we have been the blessed ones. We can't believe that God chose us to raise this amazing child that he created. He created her perfectly and with a purpose. Thank you Lord for letting us be a part of your purpose for Ava.

We wish you all a very Happy Easter. Family, we are sorry to be missing the second Easter in a row :-( Just like Ava's craft this week remember that in Jesus their is new life!

How a day with jet lag, a car sick four year old, and our cluelessness was the best ever!

2010-03-31T15:14:00.001+06:00

Phew, the first 24 hours are in the books! It has had it's crazy moments already of course but we are loving every minute! As always, we'll tell our stories through picture and captions!

We hadn't seen Ava in a whole week so we were extra excited to see her on this day. The staff there told us how much she missed us and how glad she would be to have us back. When they brought her down to us, she ran down the hall. Of course I couldn't wait to hug her so I start running towards her as well. She greeted us both with that beautiful smile and lots of hugs. We immediately changed her and started saying our goodbyes.

The moment we left, there was a new adoptive family from Canada coming for their first visit. The director and other staff were occupied with meeting them so we pretty much signed the book, and left! Ava waved goodbye to the orphange and got some big kisses from people there who will miss her very much.

Sweet pictures but a very un-sweet event was about to occur. Ava began looking car sick just about 10 minutes into our drive. We have mentioned before that the drive out to the village is brutal. Many bumps! I thought she was car sick but we had our translator ask her in Russian and she said no. But, she was wrong I guess b/c she vomited all over the car :-( Poor girl. We pulled over and cleaned up the best we could. She was the only one in the car who was all smiles and giggles. She must have felt much better while we were all feeling a little worse. So much for the thank you speech I had planned for our translator and driver...we rushed out of the car and couldn't even give hugs goodbye as we were covered in you know what :-/

So, as you can imagine, the bath was the first on the list of things to do when we got to the apartment. Again, all my plans of slowly introducing Ava to each room in the apartment went completely out the window. She was thrown into the tub and scrubed! Thankfully, she is such a trouper and just loved playing in the tub.

Ahh, all clean! Ava explored the new place with a smile! She danced through the rooms and pointed with excitment at all the things around the apartment that she recognized as her own.

She didn't waist much time before she broke into some toys!

The kitchen is by far her favorite room in the house. She loves watching Daddy cook and she waits so patiently for her meal to be ready.

The washing machine was also quite fascinating!

Already feeling right at home.

She didn't feel up for taking her afternoon nap which is to be expected...so many new things to see and do. By early in the evening she was beginning to get sleepy though.

We took a second bath, purely to establish routine, not to wash, and then changed into our PJs.

We went into the bedroom and got a few (by a few I mean almost all) of the books off the shelf. She did a good job of staying in her room. She too about two hours to fall aleep but eventually she drifted off. James and I were so tired b/c of the jet lag and all the events of the day but it just didn't fall right to sleep! I was so worried she would need us and we wouldn't wake up. Exhaustion took over and we did fall asleep...thankfully she slept through the night and so did we :-) In the morning we woke up to a smiley face!

This picture is for Peggy, Jan and Casper. Ava says thank you for helping us get our visas and getting us safely back to her. She also says that she loves Belgium already and can't wait to visit with us next time.

It was a nice day today so we took a little stroll outside. Look at her strutting her stuff!

Ugh, these playgrounds would never be exceptable by American standards but it's all we've got. Ava didn't seem to mind the squecky sound or icy puddle right beneath her.

With the warm weather, our apartment is a furnace. Here Ava is helping Dada take the tape off all the windows (which we originally used to keep the cold air out, but now we welcome it!).

This is where we sit to watch Daddy cook. Ava helped stir the soup today for lunch.

Overall, we are all doing very well considering. Ava is doing amazingly well...no breakdowns, no visable anxiety. It is strange being thrown into this parenting thing with a four year old. Usually parents can grown and learn with their children but we haven't had that chance. Since I don't have my own mommy here in Kaz to answer my questions, I have been calling Belinda a few times a day to ask silly questions...are we feeding her too much? Too little? How often should I wash her hair? etc. We're figuring it out :-)
Ava's new birth certificate and adoption certificate are in already! We're currently working on her passport (and by we I mean our faithful coordinator, Sveta). Paper work should be complete by Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Then it's off to the American Embassy for two business days before heading home! Can't wait.

We want to thank everyone at home who has graciously donated funds to help with our adoption. We couldn't finish it out without you. We are humbled by your gifts and couldn't thank you enough for helping in our time of need. We also want to thank our friends Peggy, Jan & Casper who took us in for the week, fed us, drove us everywhere and only asked for our friendship in return. Also a big thanks to Chantal, Frank & Emile who drove us to the Kaz embassy in Belgium twice and treated us to the real Belgium waffle.

With Ava

2010-03-30T22:35:00.001+06:00

We just wanted to announce that we've survived our first day with Ava. She just fell asleep at about 10:30. We will post picks and stories tomorrow! She's doing great, we're doing great! We are so in love with her!

Our Daytrip Into Paris!

2010-03-28T18:08:00.000+06:00

We don't have much time before we need to head to the airport to fly back to Kazakhstan, so here's our day trip into Paris in photos. We had so much fun! This week we've been pretty much going from sun up to sun down trying to make the most of this unexpected visa trip. We are exhausted, but had an amazing time with good friends and saw some pretty amazing sights, both in Belgium and Paris!

Our faithful navigators, Peggy & Jan. The trip into Paris was about 4 hours by car, but went so quickly when in good company of dear friends.

We're in France and Paris is on the radar! Thanks to Jan for getting us to and from Paris safely.

We lucked out and found some free parking and the outskirts of Paris. We took the subway into the center to meet our other adoptive friends (more on them below).

Walking to the Eiffel Tower we never seemed to get any closer! As we walked to the Eiffel Tower there was a beautiful building behind us, the Le Ecole Militaire (the military school).

We all know what this is! The line just to buy tickets was about 2 hours long, so since we only had about 6 hours, we just enjoyed from ground zero.

The whole group! Peggy, Jan, Mikael, Katy, Olivia, Kari & James. Katy & Mikael are from a smaller town in France; we met them in Kazkhstan when they were in the process of adopting Olivia.

Olivia is another beautiful Kaz kid, now about 18 months old. She's been with her forever family for about 6 months now. Congratulations Katy & Mikael and thank you so much for making the journey over to Paris. It was so great to see you!

Can you go to the Eiffel Tower without taking this photo?

From the Eiffel Tower we walked past the Hotel des Invalides and the Musee de l'Armee. Under this golden dome is Napoleon's Tomb.

The whole group discussing where to go next.

We took a bridge over the Seine River, heading to Champs Elysees. The view from the bridge was beautiful. On the banks below us we saw a bride getting her photos taken. We saw another wedding party a little later in the day.

A great shot of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine River.

We arrived at the Champs Elysees. This is a well populated street with many shops and restaurants. The Champs Elysees is one of the 12 streets branching off the Arc de Triomphe.

The photo doesn't do it justice, but spring time is coming in Paris and these trees are proof.

The Arc de Triomphe. From here we hopped on a Subway and were headed to The Louvre.

Inside one of the courtyards at the Louvre. I spent a lot of time taking many photos to make a panoramic photo of this courtyard, but little did I know that the next courtyard would be even more magnificent. We would have loved to go inside the Louvre but just didn't have the time. Even looking at it from the outside was the highlight of the trip for most of us.

We were so lucky that it didn't rain in any of the cities that we saw this week. It did however rain while we were in the car, so we lucked out. Peggy was determined to stay dry all day and that included spray from the fountain.

The pyramid is the entrance to the Louvre Museum. I loved this panoramic shot that showcased just how big the museum is. We heard you can buy a 475 page guide book for exploring the Louvre, but that must take many weeks to get through!

Another great shot in the Louvre's courtyard.

The boys: Mikael, Jan & James

We parted ways with Katy, Mikael & Olivia as Olivia was pretty tired and we were starting to head back towards the car. Olivia is such a happy girl and we were happy that the whole family could meet us in Paris. I know it was a long drive for them, but this is a memory we will never forget.

Looking through this arch near the Louvre you look down Champs Elysees and see the Arc de Triomphe in the background.

The final stop before heading home was Montmarte. We had to climb many stairs to get to the top.

Almost there. What a great shot of Peggy & Kari.

Almost to the top. Beautiful panoramic views of Paris. From here we could make-out some of the landmarks that we weren't able to see in our one day trip.

Paris.

This is the Basilique du Sacre Coeur, a famous basilica in the Montmarte district, and the top of the hill with great views of Paris.

There were some street dancers working the crowd. We stopped to enjoy the show.

Besides lunch, the first time we sat down was to enjoy this dancing show! Next, we hopped back on the subway and headed back to the car. This ended a long, successful day in Paris!

I'm sure we left plenty of stuff out, but we are about to load into the car to head to the airport. We'll make updates to this post when we have a little more time to add more photos and/or provide better descriptions.

Ava D. here we come! We miss you baby girl. We'll arrive in Pavlodar at 5:45pm Monday, then pick up Ava from the orphanage on Tuesday morning! Praise the Lord this day has finally come. Join us in saying goodbye to our dear friends in Belgium (and France). We are so thankful for opening their home to us!

Success!

2010-03-27T01:26:00.000+06:00

We got our visas today! This trip has been perfectly smooth and oh so much fun! We have been completely spoiled by Peggy, Jan, and Casper and have seen some incredible sights here in Belgium.

Day One: Peggy and Jan's village and the city of Hasselt

Casper is so big and is doing just amazingly well. We love him and are so happy to see him settled with his forever family!

Those Kaz kids are so happy and sweet!

He loved showing us all of his toys

In this photo we are at Peggy's brother, Kevin's home. Peggy and Jan live in a small, countryside village which is just adorable! Peggy's whole family lives in the same area. On this day we rode our bikes to Kevin's farm.

In the Belgium Countryside!

I hadn't ridden a bike in many years but I had a great time seeing the beautiful sites and enjoying the fresh air We haven't spent much time outside in the last several months!

Most of their homes and buildings here are made of brick.

Casper is very interested in James who is riding behind him

This is a castle in their village. People live here and run a little cafe that serves drinks for those who ride by on bicycle.

Casper feeding the chicken's in the backyard

That night we went to Hasselt which is a smaller city only about 15 minutes from their home.

Beautiful cathedral in Hasselt

Day Two: Kaz embassy in Brussels and visit to the city of Antwerp

We took a train ride to Antwerp to meet Chantal. Chantal is another woman who we met in Pavlodar on our first trip. She is now home with her little boy, Emile. She was a wonderful help to us as she has had much experience in this embassy over the past year.

The Kaz embassy in Brussels...beautiful!!!

Chantal and James are not on their cell phones but they are listening to an audio guided tour through the house of artist P.P. Rubens.

The back of the Ruben's house

The gardens at the Ruben's house

Antwerp

We were treated to real Belgian waffles by Chantal and her husband Frank before we took the train back to Hasselt. They were soooo good!

Frank, Chantal, and Emile!

On this day James and I became the offical parents of Ava! Peggy and Jan met us at the train station and took us to a surprise dinner! They are so supportive and thoughtful. WE LOVE YOU DeBock Family!

Day Three: Brussels

We got our visas to go back to pick up that little girl of ours! It's nice to know that as of this moment she really is OUR little girl. No one can take that away!

"The Atom" in Brussels

When you rub this statue it is said to bring you luck

This is called Butcher street and is one of my favorite things in Belgium! It is a beautiful street with many restaurants and the waiters stand outside and try to get you to come into their place. We didn't eat there b/c everything was little pricey but it was a fun experience to walk through!

Peggy and I in front of the puppet theather

This is a famous statue called the "peeing boy" It was a very popular stop on our tour

James and his "real" Belgian Chocolate

In the middle of beautiful Brussels big market...AMAZING

Resting our feet on these lounge chairs. Not a bad view eh?

James and our tour guide, Peggy, did a great job navigating through the streets of Brussels to make sure we saw everything!

We have been busy form sun up to sun down every day so far this trip and have loved every second! We can't express the hospitality and kindness shown to us by our friends here in Belgium. Tomorrow we will go to Paris and Jan gets to come this time :-) He has been busy working while we all played this week. In Paris we will be joined by another adoptive family, Katy and Mikael. They live in France but are a long drive away from Paris. We are so thankful that they are making the trip. Then on Sunday we head back to Frankfurt and fly back to Kaz. We have missed Ava soooooo much and can't wait to see her and take her home with us. Stay tuned for pictures from Paris and then our trip back to Ava!

Belgium Bound

2010-03-22T15:33:00.000+06:00

We’ll be back to Kaz in a week and when we do, we will be picking up Ava from the orphanage!!!! We decided that it was better for Ava if she stayed at the orphanage for an extra few days rather than having her stay with our friends since they have never met her before. We are so excited to pick her up a week from this Tuesday. We are a few hours from flying out so this will be a quick post. Keep our travels in your prayers and keep Ava in your prayers as we will be apart for one week. She’s so comfortable with her carers that we are sure she’ll be just fine! Next time you hear from us will likely be when we return to Kaz and have Miss Ava with us for good!

Attempt number two at getting Ava's passport photo taken

She was very patient as she waited for her photo shoot

Aww

Then we did some more waiting as the photos were developed

Dada helping Ava sign her name on a card for Peggy, Jan and Casper!

We were invited to a Kaz New Year celebration at the orphanage. Ava was the only child there (besides the children who put on the beautiful production) We were treated to tea and cookies. Ava felt so special. I was presented with a pretty scarf and James got a handkerchief. Ava got extra rolls so she was a pretty happy camper.

Awesome outfits! I want to buy Ava a dress before we leave.

She is learning more every day.

It was Brian's birthday yesterday and we celebrated during Sunday night dinner. Two of his gifts were parmesan cheese and peanut butter. We totally understand why these are such amazing gifts!!!

Doll

James and I celebrating the last time we will ever have a visit with Ava at the orphanage. The next time we are there will be to pick her up and bring her home forever!!

OY YOY YOY

2010-03-19T12:29:00.000+06:00

First of all, nothing is wrong with our actual adoption procedure. Ava is still LEGALLY our daughter on March 25th!!!! Praise God for that. However, just when you thought our adoption couldn’t get any more unusual, random, and difficult… it has! Here is the short and simplified version of the story: Our current visa expires on the 23rd of March and so when we went to get that visa extended, Sveta was informed that a new law has gone into effect as of March 1st which doesn’t allow any personal visas to be extended. We were told we’d have to leave the country and obtain another visa. As they say in Kazakhstan, Oy yoy yoy! So, we have spent the past week exhausting every single possible option to solve this problem. Our plans have ranged from flying to Kyrgyzstan to get a tourist visa to coming home and having Sveta escort Ava to us. It seems that our plans have changed each day. Finally we have reached a decision that seems to be best for everyone involved. James and I will fly to Germany on March 22nd and be picked up by our AMAZING friends Peggy and Jan. They will take us to their home in Belgium where we will stay for a few days. During this time we will pick up our new visa from the Kaz embassy in Belgium and then be back on our way to Ava. This unfortunately means that we will miss being the ones to pick Ava up from the orphanage. We have been dreaming of that day for so long now and now we will never have that moment but that’s ok. Ava will be picked up by Sveta on the 25th and will stay with our friends Brian and Belinda Issac for a couple of nights until we return to the country. Trust me, there have been moments this week that have seemed completely hopeless and we have had many down moments. But in order to get through this incredibly hard process, we HAVE to look at the bright side. SO…here is the bright side.
1) We will have a few days to escape the craziness of Kaz and spend time with our dear friends Peggy and Jan. We thought it would be several years before we got to see them again. Being with them lifts our spirits and encourages us to finish out this adoption strong!
2) We will get to see some of Europe! James and I will not likely have the chance to see Europe together for at least another 20 years so we are getting excited about seeing Belgium, Germany, and possibly France.
3) We have so many people here supporting us! Between Sveta and the Issacs, we are in good hands and so is Ava! Yes, Sveta is working for us and is our coordinator but she has become an amazing friend and part of our family over this past year. She has sacrificed countless hours with her children and husband to answer our zillion questions and wait at offices for our paperwork. She never shows frustration or impatience with us. She is truly a saint.
4) These changes are not delays! This will not extend our trip at all. It will take the same amount of time to complete the adoption regardless if we stayed here in Kaz or exit the country for a few days. The days that we are in Belgium are days needed for Sveta to gather Ava’s new birth certificate and visa.

Unfortuantely, we aren’t total Polyanna’s and there are some major stresses that this issue has caused. You have been with us through the good, the bad, and the ugly and so I wanted to be honest with you about our situation. When we began this process of adoption we never could have anticipated all the time out of country that it would require. When we arrive home in April we would have spent a total of 7 months out of the country this year. We’ve managed financially but this last visa issue has pushed us over the edge a bit. Having to purchase tickets to Europe was not in the budget! We considered James going home now and returning to work but it looks like by the time he can arrange a flight home, I will be only one week behind him. It doesn’t seem to be worth it for me to travel alone. Now, we know that in these difficult economic times no body has extra money to spare but we wanted to share our financial need in case you feel lead to give. Also, if you have any little girls in your life, my dolls are seriously cute! I mean, not to brag or anything J But honestly, they make great gifts and I love making them. Any orders there will help us out as well. Email us with any specific questions about this. Bla…I hate talking about money! But there it is…the ugly!

Now…for some pictures of the little life who makes all this insanity worth it!

Is she photogenic or what? I think she could be a model. Spoken like a true Mama huh?

Sneaking a kiss

More dancing going on in the music room

My lesson with Ava's group went very well. We water colored kites for spring! Ava was soooo excited to have me teach her class. You can see her in the front row clapping her hands in excitement. She was so proud to have us there! By the way, isn't that classroom adorable?

The artist at work

Mrs. Letterneau admiring her students work

I just adore this picture. Look how excited they are about their work. There are two other girls in Ava's group besides her. Can you spot them? I'm not even sure I can. We've got less a week to go before Ava's hair is safe from the orphanage scissors forever!

Getting ready to take Ava to get her passport picture taken.

On our way to get the photo taken. They weren't there so we will try again today.

We will post again before we leave for Europe. Thanks for the prayers and support.

Photos are up...

2010-03-16T11:42:00.000+06:00

Last trip we were so good about posting photos. It seems that this time we are only getting to it once a week. Sorry for that. Here are some pics of Princess Ava Darinka! The 25th is coming quickly. Our countdown is at 9 days...single digits...wow! Tomorrow I teach an art lesson for Ava's group. I will take many pics.

We had way too much fun with this gold wig!

In our CP research we found that teaching a child to drink out of a straw is great for language development. Ava is doing great using a straw and James is doing an equally good job at teaching her and holding her lips together while she sucks the juice.

Rocky the Robot returns! Ava was glad to have her old friend back :-)

Rocky even got a bedtime song

Darling little Hippy Girl

One of the happiest little ones I've ever met...Always smiling!

Ava loves this poncho b/c of the pockets. She always steels Daddy's change and carries it around all day.

Daddy-Daughter love

We got to see Ava's art work displayed in her room! She was very proud...so were we :-)

Dancing Queen

4 year olds rock! What a fun age!

Never gets enough of him!

Too cute or what?

Counting to three before the game of chase begins!

James and I are doing far less coloring these days. Ava D. has been more interested in coloring herself. Her specialty is people.

Family time! I must comment on my hair since it has changed colors from the beginning to the end of this post. Long story short: I brought a box die from home to touch up my roots here in case it was needed. Well, it turned my hair a yellow, orange, gold color (insert my mother saying "I told you so" here) So, I made many atempts at getting rid of that color and adding the blond I was used to which worked temporarily but then the orange came back. So, yesterday my hair dresser (yes I have my own hair dresser in Kaz now) and I decided to go back to my natural light brown color and then I can get highlights in it once I get back home. I am finally happy with the color and is happy to not hear about my hair troubles any longer!

We had quite the dance party at the visit yesterday. Under no circumstances do I usually let Ava wear this dreaded pink suit but we forgot a change of clothes :-( I can't wait to never see this outfit on her again! 9 days :-)

I MISS MY SEWING MACHINE!!!!! I am seriously missing my doll making and other crafts. Please place an order if you have a special event coming up soon and would like a handmade gift from my shop!

Sorry for the lack of updates...

2010-03-15T22:23:00.001+06:00

Hi All! We just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that things are still going smoothly. We still expect to pick up Ava on March 25th. We know we're a little behind on pictures, but Kari will work on that in the morning. So check back soon...

FINALLY!!!!!

2010-03-09T16:24:00.000+06:00

Forget that this is the sixth time we've been to court, or that we first came to Kaz one year ago (March 8th officially marked our one year anniversary of this journey in country), BECAUSE today we were announced the legal parents of Ava Darina Letterneau!!!!!!!!!!! I will save the really emotional, drawn out, post for the day we actually pick her up from the orphanage but we are thrilled beyond belief today! Now for the details on part 3 of our court hearing. Today the weather was pretty warm which meant pretty slushy conditions on the road to Cashiri. I was worried the whole way that everyone would not make it b/c of the bad roads...but, everyone showed up right on time, and by on time I mean within an hour of our scheduled 9:00 hearing. :-) The prosecutor assigned to the case began by expressing his support of our adoption and confirmed that this was in the best interest of the child. Next, the judge asked for any final comments from James and me before he announced his verdict (formally). James stood and confirmed our intentions of adopting Ava and I was pretty much a ball of mush...all I could express was that we love her and that I was thankful that she is a part of our life. The judge then announced that by the Republic of Kazakhstan, Darina _________(have no clue how to spell or pronounce her birth last name) is now Ava Darina Letterneau and that Kari and James Letterneau will appear as the legal parents on her birth certificate and all legal documents from here forward. Since Sveta was translating and was standing between James and me, my first hug was for our lawyer, who was sitting in front of me, then to Sveta, and then to my wonderful husband! WE DID IT!!!
Here are some pictures of our day today and of the last few visits with the little sweetie!

TODAY - March 9th:

Our Team (from left the right) Svetlana (Orphanage Representative), Jana (Lawyer), Saule (Child Welfare Union Rep.), Kari (Ava's Mama), James (Ava's Dada), Sveta (Our wonderful, amazing, patient, coordinator and certified translator)

We would not have initiated this picture ourselves but Sveta asked us to pose in the judges chair and the secretary seat so, we did :-)

Our happy Ava D.

Women's Day - Monday March 8th:

Although today was incredibly exciting, it has been a rather rough week for James and I health wise. I came down with a violent stomach flu on Friday night and didn't get out of bed until Monday (Don't worry, I made sure I was fully recovered before I saw Ava). After I got well, James came down with a fever and is still on the mend. So, on Women's Day it was just us women at the visit while Daddy stayed home to rest.

Ava and I had a pretty relaxing visit. We watched Beauty and the Beast and also played patty cake. Since Ava can't speak yet I am trying to teach her how to do hand motions to songs I sing since she loves music, singing, and dancing so much. This day was very special for me b/c one of Ava's caretakers gave me a Women's Day card which she translated from Russian to English. Since she doesn't speak a lick of English I know this was a big task for her!

Thursday - March 4th - The last day we saw Ava before our sicknesses began!

YES!! We made it through court. Now, the 15 day count down begins!

Good News!

2010-03-05T21:47:00.000+06:00

Good news! Today we had a successful court hearing and the judge has
expressed that his ruling is in our favor. With that said, due to
upcoming holidays and non-working days, he chose to record the
official verdict on Tuesday. This means that whether we hear the
official verdict today or on Tuesday will make no difference on the
date when we can pick up Ava (which is tentatively March 25th). It's
so nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel; thank you all for
going on this journey with us, we're almost there.

Of course, we'll update you once more when the official verdict is
recorded on Tuesday.

This week in photos...

2010-03-04T13:24:00.000+06:00

Ava hasn't been much for changing her clothes these past few days so we let her stay in her fashionable clothes provided by the orphanage. That girl is cute, regardless of what she's wearing. Lately when playing chase, Ava will back up to the wall and pretend to count "1, 2, 3.. go!" It's so cute that she's holding up her fingers while trying to count.

So we found these sticks in the corner and Ava loves playing with them. She likes to put them in the corner, walk around with then and put them on the floor to jump over. As much as we never thought we'd say this, we think Ava might actually be bored of coloring ALL day! With that said, we do still color a little bit each visit. =)

What mommy has been waiting for! Ava is rocking her doll Olivia as we sing different songs. Ava wasn't too interested in dolls during the first trip, so you can imagine how happy mommy is that she is starting to play with them this trip. In between Ava rocking her doll, she asked us to wrap her (Ava) up and rock her like a baby as we sing. We're more than happy to give Ava life experiences that she never got growing up.

Oh yea, dancing has only gotten better. Ava has mastered the twirling and I think this photo is good proof.

One of many, many kisses from mommy during our visits.

This one was taken while we were rocking and singing to Ava.

On Monday we had a short visit with Ava before the hearing. Ava first recognized daddy's tie, and know something was up. Our coordinator, Sveta, also stopped in for a short time and Ava greeted her with warm hugs and many smiles. Ava must remember Sveta from when Sveta visited her while mommy and daddy had to be at home between visits.

Since our visits have switched from mornings to afternoons, we get to see a beautiful sunset everyday on the way home. This photo was taken out the window at 120 km/hr.

Self-portraits in the car on the way back to the city.

March 8th is "Women's Day", which is a big holiday here in KAZ. It is kind of like our Mother's Day but celebrates all women. The kids in the schools and orphanages have been practicing songs and choreographed dances for weeks. Kari was invited to go see Elizabeth's performance (Elizabeth is the youngest daughter of the Issac family, our good friends here). Since there are so many kids, they break up the performances by the different grade levels into different days.

Elizabeth is on the right. Kari really enjoyed the nearly one hour performance by Elizabeth's class. There was dancing, singing, games and even parental involvement. Afterwords everyone enjoyed snacks and tea in Elizabeth's classroom. We hear that these performances are really big here, and there's usually the of them throughout the year. The older girls even get their hair professionally done for these events!

==========================================

So today is what we've dubbed "court's eve." Please join us in prayer that the second hearing will go well and that all those required will be present. We are so thankful for our friends and family lifting us up from all over the world! We are eager to put this step behind us and look forward to delivering good news tomorrow!

Good, But Not Great

2010-03-01T23:14:00.001+06:00

Well we mostly have good news to report, with one minor hiccup.
Everything went very well today at court, with the exception that the
doctor who needed to be there got ill today. Considering the doctor
wasn't there, our court session went about as good as it could have
gone. The judge was very nice and showed his support for our case. We
have a second court hearing scheduled for Friday at 9am, and the
doctor has already confirmed she can make it. If for some reason she
cannot attend (say she's still sick) the judge is willing to accept a
written transcript of her testimony. So either way we should have a
verdict on Friday.

Thank you all for your continued support and we look forward to
sharing even better news on Friday. But, let us praise God for this
minor victory today! We are one step closer to the end of this long
and trying adoption journey.

Court Tomorrow!

2010-02-28T20:30:00.001+06:00

It's the night before court and we're feeling good :-) We touched
base with Sveta tonight and everything is still set for a court
hearing at 11:00 am tomorrow morning. The judge kindly moved this
date up for us so that, if we need to do the hearing in two parts, we
can do them both this week. Don't panic or be discouraged if we need
to do the hearing in two meetings. This judge has expressed that he
will be very thorough with our case to insure that we have NO problems
down the line! We get to see Ava tomorrow morning before court
...yay! On Sundays we miss her so much! PLEASE pray for us. We have
been waiting nearly one year for this date to arrive and we are sooooo
happy it's finally here!

Our Week in Review

2010-02-27T18:12:00.000+06:00

Musical Court Dates, Twister Party, and Dancing Princesses...it's been a wild week for us in Kaz...

Tuesday:
Tuesday was a strange day all around. In the morning at our visit we were informed that our visits would be changed from the morning to the afternoon. When your life revolves around visitation times, this is pretty earth shattering news! The reason for this is, a new bathing schedule is being up put in place for the kids. You wouldn't think this would cause such a commotion but I guess when you have to rotate 65 plus kids in and out of one shower room, it's a pretty big deal. We also found out on Tuesday night that court would not be on Thursday but we didn't know when the new date would be...stress!!

Wednesday:
Wednesday was our first day at our new visitation time. Miss Ava didn't like the schedule change at first but she adapted quickly as she always does. We also found out that our court date would be held on Tuesday! HIP HIP HOORAY for a quick solution. We brought Ava a new DVD called "Twelve Dancing Princesses" To say it was hit is an understatement. Dancing like the ballerinas on the video is her new favorite pass time. I mean seriously...it's replaced coloring!!! Who would have ever thunk! Later that night we had tacos with the Issacs and played a few fun rounds of Twister.

Thursday:
All geared up for our new court date and visitation time, we set out for the long drive to Cashiri. I feel the need to take a picture every time we end our journey b/c it still feels like such an accomplishment. Ava continued her ballet dancing...this time a boa and wand were added to the mix.

Is it the pregnant man and pregnant four year old? Nope, just Ava and James having fun with balloons!!!

Friday:
On Friday James and I were feeling a little sick of dancing princesses and tried to introduce a new movie. Ava is too smart for us...she found her princess DVD and her boa and picked up were she left off the day before. Today she added they fun sticks to her dance routine. On Friday we also found out that court has been moved to MONDAY!!!!!! Is it possible that someone out there is actually thinking of what's best and easiest for us?? It seems so. In the village it is very common to have two court dates. The judge is going to try to do ours in one session but in case he needs to do it in two, he wants to see us on Monday so that we can get our second hearing in before the end of the week. Yay for an awesome Judge! So, court will be MONDAY at 11:00 am for us. If you are awake , say a little prayer for us at that time.

Saturday:
Today Ava was not into changing her outfit and we didn't feel like forcing it so the lovely outfit you see below was not our doing. Almost every day we are stopped by a parade of horses and I can never get my camera out in time. Today we got lucky! Ava was great today. We wont see her tomorrow and we'll hopefully be able to see her after court on Monday.

The classic Ava and Dada pose

Cutest game of hide of hide and seek I've ever seen.

We'll post with some good news on Monday. Have a great weekend!

A minor gliche...

2010-02-24T21:45:00.001+06:00

We found out today that our court hearing has been pushed back from
this Thursday (tomorrow) to next Tuesday. Apparently a couple of the
representatives that need to be present are not available until
Tuesday. This is not a huge delay and we're happy to have a new court
date in sight. We have been told that everyone will be available on
Tuesday.

Please join us in praying that everyone can make it on Tuesday and
that we have a smooth court hearing. Thank you all for your support!

2010-02-22T21:04:00.000+06:00

I wont have much to write for this blog since I uploaded a zillion pictures and it's almost my bed time. Court is Thursday. We aren't feeling too nervous about it. Life is good :-)

Daddy and his Sweet Pea - Saturday and Monday:

They are so cute!

That looks like it might hurt Dada (which Ava said today by the way..."Dada")

She also really loved the feel of his none shaven face.

Mama and her Angel - Saturday and Monday:

Ava really liked her flashcard on Saturday. She is very into pretending that she can read :-)

Rolling :-)

The three of us:

She is smiling...but you'd never know...silly girl

Just Miss Ava D.:

Relaxin

Cute story behind this one: Often at the orphanage they ask us to take pictures and develop them for them. Today they asked us to take a head shot of one little girl for her passport. Ava saw this and as soon as the little girl left she quickly took the same spot against the wall, looked right at the camera, and gave this pretty smile. What a stinker...she would never do that for Mama!

Our beauty in black in white wishes you all a great week! We miss all our loved ones and special friends who are following our journey. You mean the world to us. xoxoxo

Ava Darina Ballerina

2010-02-19T15:35:00.006+06:00

Visiting on Wednesday:

Visiting on Thursday:

Ava racing Mama

Ava's new love is the cell phone! By the way, look how great she is standing flat footed!!! Can you believe a year ago she couldn't even walk?

At Classic Pizza!

Visiting on Friday:

This picture is for my best friend Brandi. Bea, in this photo we are watching the Lion King together. An important moment in every child's life right!

Ava and the cell phone have been inseparable

And she learned how to take pictures with it :-)

Most parents probably don't see this as a Kodak moment but I thought it was cute b/c she was imitating James who really does have a cold!

Some info, stories, and fun facts that we wanted to share:
- The director at the orphange gave me permission to teach an art lesson with Ava's group. I am so excited!!!! I might teach to some other groups depending on how well I do with the four year olds :-)
- When we return to the states I will be continuing to fill orders on my website. It will no longer be considered fundraising for the adoption but I will be continuing it b/c I LOVE IT! If you want to get any orders in now, you will be first to receive it once I get home and get crafting!
- James and I are on the fourth season of "The Pretender". Anyone remember that little gem from 1996?
- The Olympic coverage here is not great which is very upsetting but today I was so excited to see the Men's free skate on TV! I had already seen online that the American won gold and I was so excited! I began watching and saw a man from Spain, and Italy compete. Knowing that the "good people" wouldn't be on until later, I left the room. I came back in the middle of a performance and I could just hear a difference in the voices of the announcers. Although I had no clue what they were saying, I knew that something was different in about what they were saying than it had been when I watched the previous men skate. I thought to myself, this guy must be from Kazakhstan. I could just tell there was pride, excitement, and anxiety in the way they were speaking. Sure enough, I was right. It was a really beautiful moment to be in Kaz and to hear local announcers commentate about one of their athletes. He skated very well and I too, was bursting with pride! Kaz did win their first medal of the games yesterday!

A picture of us from Erica's camera!

Court Date!!!

2010-02-17T19:23:00.000+06:00

Yup...we got a court date today. We will be in a court a week from tomorrow...next Thursday...February 25th at 10:00am! We are so excited. We expected a quick court date but deep down I feared it would be for two or three weeks out! Thank you Lord. We are excited about heading into phase II off mission, Bring Ava Home!

My sister left two days ago and is actually in the air on her final stretch right now. We had so much fun with her and are so grateful that she was able to visit Ava in her home country.
The weather is warming up and we are sooooo excited!! It has been in the positive degrees for the last two days. It no longer hurts to breathe, I can look straight, instead of down when I walk...awww, lovely.

Our last visit with Erica:

"Mom, I only have one more day to color with Auntie. Please stop bugging me with these photos!"

XOXOXO...We'll miss you Erica!

Ava really loved this book we borrowed called, God Made you from your Nose to your Toes.

Finally a picture of her looking up! She sure does have beautiful eyes!

Ava was cute on this day and was dancing up a storm. I have no pictures of the dancing b/c I was taking video. We'll post that video next post along with some others from our trip.

Cuddle Bug

The blue wall in this visitation room is just so awful in pictures. At least the walls can't ruin the black and white photos.

Much love and thanks for your prayers as we mentally, physically, spiritually prepare for court again!

2010-02-13T19:33:00.000+06:00

Friday Fun with Ava D:

Erica only has one more visit with us before she goes back home. I know someone who will be very disappointed.

We brought some birthday balloons for James to the visit but Ava was not too impressed :-(

James' Birthday Celebration with the Issacs:

We love you James!! Happy Birthday!

The boys team on birthday bowling night

Sister sister

The Issac girls! Kayla, the older one, is actually over right now for a sleepover. How blessed we have been to have such great friends here in Kaz.

My Birthday Boy. We also learned that Friday was the Kaz President's wife's birthday and the orphanage celebrated her on that day with dancing and singing!

Saturday with the girly girl:

Two of my very favorite people

She's off with Mama's hat and Daddy's boots. Looking like a true Kazakhstan girl with her fur jacket and large hat!

Play time with Auntie and Daddy

Precious

Our court date cannot be given yet b/c we are still waiting on one document to arrive from Astana. Since the mail here is not too reliable, Sveta will be going on the train to pick it up in person. This means, we will for sure have it by Monday and will hopefully get our date on Tuesday. Sveta says she thinks court will be a week from whenever we get that final paper to the judge. Prayers, prayers, prayers!
Well, I am needed in the other room to work on puzzles and watch Scooby Doo with our guest. Have a great weekend everyone!

Our Past Few Days In Pictures

2010-02-11T17:55:00.000+06:00

I feel like I have lots of pictures with Ava sitting on James' lap looking at his face but she does it all the time and it's so darn cute. I am clearly not the only girl in love with him!

Aunt Erica and Ava continued to bond! Ava loved to brush her long pretty hair!

Thanks to our friend Belinda, we had another Russian food cooking lesson. This time we made Monte. It was better than the last dish we made.

California dreaming on such a winters day! This week their is an unofficial holiday in which the locals say goodbye to winter and hello to spring. This is not what spring is supposed to look like!!! This week has been some of the coldest weather we've had. Each day we say a little prayer that the roads out to see Ava will be open. So far, so good!

Today Ava ran to all three of with hugs when she arrived to the visitation room. How fun that she already loves her Aunt so much!

Ava has been choosing the DVD Sleeping Beauty as her choice, but the only problem is that she finds it very boring once it's in...we all do! She must just like the cover b/c she always picks it!

Ava and James ran around the room on these horses for a good long while today. Erica and I had fun taking pics of her cute face and hearing her laugh as Daddy chased her.

Today our lawyer met with the judge in hopes of getting a court date. We have yet to hear the results of that meeting.
Today is my beautiful Mommy's birthday and tomorrow is my wonderful Hubby's birthday! We wish we were at home to celebrate with you Mimi but we sent you a special b-day surprise via email :-)

Post by Auntie Erica

2010-02-09T18:46:00.001+06:00

The days leading up to my trip to Kazakhstan were filled with excitement and anxiety. How would my little niece take to her auntie? Will she be shy or will she see that I maybe look like momma and feel comfortable around me? After two days of traveling, my questions were answered. I arrived in Pavlodar at 4 pm and had a very warm greeting from Kari and James. We went out to eat and talked about what to expect the following morning. My anxiety peaked and I fell asleep going over different scenarios of how the morning would play out, in my head.

We woke up bright and early and made our way out to the orphanage. The hour long ride seemed to last forever. I kept repeating out loud, "I really hope she doesn't hate me." I obviously knew she wasn't going to hate me but I was definitely expecting her to shy away from me, even though I was praying she wouldn't.

When we pulled in I was shaking, not just from the cold but from the anxiety that was building up. James lead us to the room where we would spend our time and we took our seats and waited for someone to bring Ava down. About ten minutes later, as I sat with my coloring book for Ava, her care taker brought her in. She came in with such a huge smile that faded for only a second when she saw me. I guess I can understand that she wasn't expecting a new face but she brightened up again and gave hugs to mom and dad. Before Kari and James changed her I gave her the coloring book and received a huge smile. That's when I knew I was in.

The rest of the time was spent coloring with Ava on my lap. We had a buddy system where she would pick out a marker and hand it to me so I could color her book. Occasionally, she would look up and give me the huge grin I had been waiting so long to see in person. Trying to hold back tears as we colored, I soaked up every moment. When we left, I was completely reassured that little Ava D and auntie had a bond that's never going to be broken.

Ava showing me where to color

Ava taking a turn coloring

Team Ava D and Auntie Erica

A visit from a previous day. Father and daughter love

Some important people to Miss Ava...and to us

2010-02-07T13:08:00.001+06:00

We thought we'd take some time to introduce you to some people who we see everyday here in Kaz and who have been important in Ava's life as well as ours.
In court news...we found out that Sundays do not count towards bonding so we ended bonding on Friday and will apply to court on Monday. It may take a few days to get a court date.

This is Dina. She is our translator and has a heart of gold. We really enjoy spending time with her. She is supportive and kind and really cares about Ava and our family. Here Ava is enjoying playing with the strings on her sweater.

This is Ultmina. She is one of Ava's caretakers. She is always smiling and is happy to update us on how Ava is doing in her group.

Saule is the Child union welfare representative. She come every other day to watch us play with Ava. She colors for Ava and always laughs at whatever silly show we are playing on the DVD player for her. She has a two year old herself at home!

This is Ava's best friend. I am not remembering her name right now. I wish I could have gotten a better picture of Ava but I thought it would be great to leave this with her friend. Is she not a gorgeous girl!! Kaz sure has beautiful people in it!

And...one more very special person will soon be showing up in our pictures. Auntie Erica (my sister) is coming to visit! She is on a vacation from her teaching in Vietnam and decided to spend it with us. We are so excited!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-04T18:52:00.000+06:00

Thanks for participating in our little questionaire. That was fun! Here are the answers!
Who does Ava prefer when...
1) she wants to get away with something she knows she's not supposed to do?
Mom: I know this might change once I'm the one home with her during the days but right now James is definitely the rule follower and I'm the softie!
2) she wants someone to draw her a picture other than a flower, or letters of the alphabet?
Dad: For those of you who don't know, James is a wonderful artist! Ava really likes to watch his drawings unfold. Sometimes I start drawing a shape or writing her name and she turns the page and shakes her head at me.
3) she wants a hug?
Both: When Ava comes into our visit sometimes she goes and hugs James first and some days she comes to me first. I guess she loves us both :-)
4) she wants to play chase?
Dad: The giggle she gets when she wants James to chase her around the room has got to be the cutest sound on the planet!
5) she wants a lap to sit on while drawing?
Both or Mom: Lately my lap has been her preferred lap to sit on while we draw but we will also accept the answer, both :-)
6) she wants to go to lunch?
Neither: When her caretaker comes to get her for lunch she is very ready to go eat. We try to steal hugs and kisses but we are lucky when we get a wave. The girl likes her food and is very obedient to her schedule.
7) she wants to put her play make up on someone?
Mom: Sorry to disappoint. I know most of you wanted to see James as the answer for this one. I will say that he is a close second. He usually gets out of it by taking pictures. I'll try to sneak one and post it.

That's a little window into our growing relationship with Ava D.

Above: Getting a decent family photo
Below: Attempting to get a decent family photo

Ok, this is one of Ava's cutest moments to date. She was so into reading this book BY HERSELF. I tried to read it to her but she wanted to do it alone. She pointed to the words and tried reading with expression and everything. Her teacher mother is very proud.

Ready to get the visitation party started!

Her fine motor skills are getting amazing! Everything she draws has two eyes, a mouth, and hair. Sometimes they get a nose too.

Making our hands glow with the flashlight.

James sleeping on the way to Cashiri and Iliya (our driver) sleeping at Cashiri. We're all glad this isn't reversed!

Who Does Ava Prefer When...

2010-02-02T18:04:00.001+06:00

We are enjoying getting to know the personality of 4 year old Ava more and more every day. It's also fun to watch her get to know our personalities better. We thought we'd play a little game on our blog called, "Who does Ava prefer when..." The answers to the following questions are Daddy, Mommy, Both, or Neither. The answers will be revealed next post.
Who does Ava prefer when...
1) she wants to get away with something she knows she's not supposed to do?
2) she wants someone to draw her a picture other than a flower, or letters of the alphabet?
3) she wants a hug?
4) she wants to play chase?
5) she wants a lap to sit on while drawing?
6) she wants to go to lunch?
7) she wants to put her play make up on someone?
So...type your guesses into the comments or make a mental note and we'll share the answers in our next post!

Bonding ends tomorrow and we'll also be applying to court tomorrow. We'll obviously post with any news of a court date.

James and Ava:

Daddy taught her how to color with three crayons at once!

Ava really thought her Dad was funny on this day. She just looked at him and smiled all day long

She discovered the strings on James' hood and that was pretty much all we did for the remainder of the visit.

Kari and Ava:

Fun with the flashlight

This is Saule who is the child welfare rep that will be representing us in court and confirming the strong bond between Ava and us. She's really sweet and Ava likes her :-)

She doesn't seem to mind that I give her a zillion kisses a day!

This is a bakery that we often stop by before getting in the car for the long ride back to the city.

My parents (and their dog Jake) are watching our puppy, Zoe, while we are away. They sent us a picture of one of their walks. It's tough being an animal lover here in Kaz b/c there are so many stray dogs out in the cold! I want to take them all in but then we'll be here for an additional three months trying to adopt the dog!

Mama Needs a Chil Pill

2010-01-30T20:15:00.001+06:00

Yes, Friday was bit stressful for me (I’m not being serious here…just being silly) We showed up and Ava was in an adorable sweater provided by the orphanage. This was the first time I had ever approved of the clothes they brought her to us in. I was thrilled to not use up one of the sweaters we brought from home. But, when Ava found the poncho I packed, she also wanted that over her sweater. Ok, she’s four…it doesn’t look cute but I’ll let her have her way. Then I went to do Ava’s hair and put on her cute little head band. Aww, much better. Nope, Ava sees another head band in the bag and decides she wants two head bands on. Next came Daddy’s scarf and my Ugg boots, that went up to her hips, and before I knew it my little super model was looking more like a little rag muffin. So, there were few pictures that came out of Friday that I approved of but boy did we have some good laughs! She is a funny one.

Tonight we had a great hour and a half long skype chat with Peggy and Jan! Oh we miss them but it almost felt like they were back here with us for that short time. We even played celebrity (a Charades type game) with them like old times.

In other more serious news, our bonding end on Wednesday! We are applying to court that day and hope to be in court within in a week or two at most. We have heard that this judge is very supportive of our case and is in favor of getting us in a quickly as he can. PLEASE pray for a quick date. What a blessing it would be to get court behind us and head into the final stages of our trip.

This is how she came to us. What a cute little sweater huh?

These boots are made for walkin

Talking with Dad

Dreaming of going outside again one day :-) I told her that in California there is no such thing as "too cold" for outside time.

We bought her a new coloring book today so there were lots of smiles!

Ava ended the visit today by uniting all of our hands together. She's such a love.

Bonding Continues

2010-01-28T17:27:00.000+06:00

Bonding should be over any day now. We still don't know the exact day it began since we first visited Ava at the hospital and not the orphanage. But...either way it will be ending here shortly and we'll be applying for court. Sveta is actually coming over later tonight to talk about some court details with us. Not much to report other than that. Here is our last few days in pictures:

This trip Ava has been more into books. Last trip she just wanted to color in them.

Two hands! Ava playing with her playdough

Wednesday was too cold and the roads out to the orphanage were closed so Belinda invited us over to learn how to make Palamini from her local friend.

We also hung around the apartment and went crazy! This is where we are staying. Well, the kitchen and living room at least.

Ava was happy to see us again today.

Don't know why but I just think she looks so pretty in this picture!

Some of the different faces of Ava. 1) Answering the question, "Where are Ava's eyes?" 2) Just happy to be with Mom and Dad 3) Something is funny 4) Hard at work creating a picture or watching someone color for her.

We will update as soon as we hear about bonding ending and we apply to court. Of coarse we'll also be sharing lots of photos along the way.

2010-01-25T17:52:00.003+06:00

Ava pulled Daddy's face in real close. She's a sweetie.

A little blurry, but an adorable photo.

Sorry our blog has been giving us trouble again so we are a bit behind on the updates. All is well on our end. Today we were a little late for our visit with Ava and when she came to us she had wet eyes. I guess the caretakers told her we would be there at 10 and when we were about 10 minutes late she started getting upset. Poor baby. But she was all smiles once she saw us. She is doing really great. We don't have many pictures of her walking around since we are in a small room and can't go outside but she is walking great and rarely falls anymore. She is really into mimicking right now which is WONDERFUL. Today she was copying shapes that I drew for her. She's got circle down and is now working on perfecting the square!

Last night we had dinner with our friends the Issacs who live here in Pavlodar. It was great to spend some time with them now that we have settled in and adjusted to the time here. They have two young girls who really twisted my arm (not) until I played High School Musical with them on the Wii. It was a fun night! On that note however we are really missing our adoptive family friends!!! We are the only family here right now and it's very difficult. Peggy and Jan offered to play a game with us via Skype so that is sure to cheer us up but we really are missing having them and the others here in the flesh! But of coarse we are thrilled that they are home safe with their children by now.

Compliments of our boot camp crew, we have been reading through a book called, The Connected Child. This has been and will continue to be helpful as we integrate Ava into family life and life in America. If you are an adoptive family we would suggest this book. If you aren't an adoptive parent but are looking for ways to connect with your biological child or better understand someone close to you who has adopted , it's a small book with great things to say. Right now we are specifically learning about how to reduce stress and fear in her life through the way we speak to her, look at her, discipline her, etc.

I could write all day about Ava and all that she is doing and learning but the pictures of our time really best explain what we do during the day and how everyone is. The smile on her face really says it all!

Daddy made a lego airplane and explained our upcoming journey home.

Ava's polite way of telling us, "no pictures please."

Drinking water out of her sippie.

Using Daddy as a bench; fun times for all (and an ab exercise for Daddy).

Ava and Daddy Time = Swinging around with lots of playing and giggling.

Ava and Mommy Time = Reading books, cuddling and mimicking elephants.

Matching the animals in the book to the correct sound.

Ready to shop with her faux-animal furr purse!

Smooth Sailing

2010-01-22T17:00:00.001+06:00

So far everything in Pavlodar is going great. We are being treated very well by everyone we meet and are seeing miraculous things happening in the life of Ava and in the our circumstances with personel and procedures here. God is definitely watching out for us and guiding our steps. We know that it's His response to all those prayers that our friends and family have been offering up.
Ava is back out at her orphanage in Cashiri village. We met three of her caretakers yesterday and today and they are just about the sweetest women you'd ever wish to meet. This is another huge answer to prayer! Those 6 months at home I was worried sick about Ava transfering to this orphanage and it turns out God placed her in a group with gentle, kind, and loving caretakers...even more attentive to her needs than at the baby home!
The weather here is still pretty darn cold and we are missing being able to walk places around the city. The city, however, is gorgeous all covered in white snow.
We will be looking forward to warmer months ahead.
Enjoy some pictures from our last few visits

On our way to the village. Yes, this is how we have to dress even in the car!

This girl is only up for candid shots. Still not too fond of planned family photos!

Exploring our new visitation room

Look how great she is holding her crayon!

I'm ready for my nap but ...must-keep-coloring...

Fun with the mirror!

Angel!

The lighting in this room was not great hence the black and whites ...I will have to look into this :-)

Catching up on photos.

2010-01-20T12:13:00.002+06:00

Well, we kind of figured out how to post pictures here but we aren't able to add captions for the time being. James has been working on this for hours so a big thanks to my hubby! There's a few different blog updates below with photos; hope you enjoy!

Finally some pictures of our Kaz princess...

2010-01-20T12:13:00.001+06:00

Let us start by saying that Ava is doing unbelievably well! It's so fun to see how she has grown and matured. She is your typical four year old girl…like to play with Mama's make up and wear my scarves and other accessories that she can get her hands on.

Last night James and I were both able to spend the night with her at the hospital and we had a great time as a family. We said a prayer together before bed and Ava held our hand like she had been saying bedtime prayers with us her whole life! She is such a joy and makes everyone around her happy with her big smile and adorable laugh.

She was released from the hospital on Monday but b/c of the weather we haven't been able to get out to Cashiri. Today is supposed to be a little warmer and we should get her back out there today.

Photos from the First Two Visits and Ava's Sleep Over with Mommy

2010-01-20T11:29:00.001+06:00

En Route to Kazakhtsan

2010-01-20T11:24:00.001+06:00

Here are some photos from our travel days...

Picture #1: Brandi ana Sawyer drove us to the airport. Thanks Smrekars!

Picture #2: Saying goodbye. Thanks for the ride Sawyer!

Picture #3: At the airport and in the airplane. Here we come Ava!

Picture #4: Cold... but beautiful! View from our apartment.

A Quick Update

2010-01-18T07:44:00.000+06:00

Well we've had a fun first few days here in Pavlodar. It's been great to see little Ava again. Every visit she becomes more and more like the Ava we knew 6 months ago. She has such a contagious smile and laugh. We're not yet in our normal routine and we're waiting to see if Ava will go back to the orphanage today. The weather could play a part in getting Ava back to the orphanage, but either way we'll continue to see her. It has been SO cold; it was -30F yesterday, and on Tuesday we're expecting -40F. We have a meeting this morning that will kick off our bonding period. We'll update you on that later.

We're having some issue getting full access to our blog. Currently we are unable to upload photos. We should be able to find a fix later today, so hold tight for photos. If you're on facebook you can see some photos there, but we'll get our blog up-and-running soon.

I had a great time at my hospital sleep over with Ava. She didn't go to bed until 1:00 a.m. that little stinker! But, once she fell asleep she stayed asleep until morning. I didn't get much sleep that night but it was a fun experience that I wont soon forget.

Thank you all for your continued prayers! We are so thankful for you all.

We're here!

2010-01-16T12:32:00.000+06:00

First off, I know you are all awaiting some pictures of Miss Ava but yesterday was our first time seeing her and we spent that time doing lots of hugging, cuddling, and trying to re establish our bond. We wanted her to feel safe and comfortable so we didn't bombard her with photos. But don't worry, the bombarding will be happening soon!

Here's the quick story of our journey here and our first day in Pavlodar:

Travel:
Our flights were just about as perfect as could be! All of them were on time and the flights themselves were smooth. I love the first flight to Frankfurt b/c there are people on it who are going to so many different parts of the world as their final destination. Last time we sat next to a women traveling to Iran to care for her mother and this time we sat next to a mother traveling with her daughter to Italy to plan a destination wedding! So fun!

Arriving:
We arrived in Pavlodar at 8:15 in the morning and it was still very dark. The sun comes up at about 8:30 or 9:00 in the winter I guess. The weather yesterday was FREEZING and today it's -22F. We haven't been outside yet and I'm guessing we wont be spending much time out there till it warms up. Our American friends (the Issacs) who live in Pavlodar are going ice skating outside today but we WONT be joining them.

Settling in:
We are staying at Emma's families apartment in Pavlodar as they are at home for the next few months visiting family. It's great to be in a familiar place! Belinda (Issac) met us here yesterday with homemade coffee cake and a fridge stocked with goodies. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends here! Emma and her husband also welcomed their third child, Charlotte, to the family a few weeks ago. CONGRATS!

Seeing our Ava:
When we arrived Sveta told us that Ava was in Pavlodar city getting a check up at the doctor's. At first this worried us b/c we didn't get to see her last trip when she went to the Doctor. But, Sveta said we could see her and that she was closer to us so that worked out great! Walking into the hospital we were so nervous and overwhelmed with emotion. When we first saw Ava she had just woken up from a nap and was weepy but after about a half hour of rubbing her back and allowing her to wake up, she was smiling that gorgeous smile and ready to color. I have never seen a child like any ONE thing like this girl likes drawing! By the end of the night she was cuddling with us and accepting LOTS of hugs and kisses from both James and I. YAY! We also noticed improvement in her fine motor skills...she was holding her crayon correctly and was even able to color in really small spaces. YAY, that was encouraging. They also say she is speaking some Kazakh words now.
We left that night with many emotions...it is a little heart breaking knowing how confused she must be but we know that time will heal and bring us back to the place we were before we left nearly 6 months ago. She cried when we left which was a good sign but again, heartbreaking to leave her before we establish a routine. She is probably wondering if we are going to disappear again. NOPE, never again!!!
The nurses at the hospital were very kind to us and said that I could spend the night with her if I wanted to. I decided that I needed a good night sleep and time to wind down with James but I'll be spending the night with her tonight. We will drive back to the orphanage with her on Monday in Iliya's car...another first for the three of us...driving in a car!
We will post some pictures tomorrow and I will report on the adventure of sleeping overnight at this children's hospital with Ava.
Thanks for the prayers and love. We're feeling it :-)
xoxoxo,
Kari and James

We're Off

2010-01-13T21:46:00.000+06:00

Leaving today on the 2:00 plane from LAX. We'll arrive in Pavlodar on Friday morning at 8:15. That's 6:15 on Thursday night here in the states. Our next post will hopefully have some new pictures of Miss Ava. We love our friends and family! Thanks for, once again, going on this journey with us :-)

Passports (w/ Visas) on the way! We're leaving Wednesday!

2010-01-12T06:53:00.001+06:00

So we have confirmation from FedEx that we can pick up our visas tomorrow! We'll be running around like crazy trying to get ready to fly out Wednesday.

The day has finally come to go back for our sweet Ava. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

I'm not sure if we'll be able to post again before we leave on Wednesday, so for our next post we'll either be en-route or in Pavlodar. Praise the Lord.

2010-01-08T22:46:00.000+06:00

Soon...

We are counting the days! We arrive in Pavlodar at 8:15 on Friday morning and asked Sveta if we could drop off our bags, shower, and then go straight to see Ava! That car ride out to Cashiri is going to be the longest hour of our lives!

Quicker Update

2010-01-08T05:54:00.001+06:00

We've been told Visas will go in the mail Monday and we'll get them on Tuesday. We have flight reservations for Wednesday (1/13/10) and we'll be off to our sweet AVA!! Please continue to pray that the passports can get to us on Tuesday and FedEx operates smoothly.

Quick Update

2010-01-05T21:32:00.001+06:00

Well our passports are at the KAZ embassy in Washington DC waiting for the visas. We should have them in our hands towards the end of the week, or beginning of next. This puts us heading back to KAZ late next week. We'll let you know when we have a FedEx tracking number and confirmed flight arrangements.

Thanks for your prayers! Keep them coming.

Our Christmas Miracle!

2009-12-26T01:00:00.001+06:00

Yesterday night, after a lovely Christmas Eve dinner, we called Sveta and she gave us the best gift yet. We found out that the registration number for our visas was issued! This means that we are officially out of Kazakhstan in terms of getting back to Ava. All that is left is for the embassy in Washington DC to issue our visas. We're expecting this to happen the first week in January, which means we'll be off the 1st or 2nd week in January. Thank you all for your persistence in praying for our little Ava in this long and complicated journey to bring her home.

Sweet Ava Darina, mommy and daddy are coming back to you so very soon! We love you so much!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and we hope it is a special time with your family to reflect on God's greatest gift to us, Jesus.

Almost There...

2009-12-20T04:56:00.000+06:00

Well the last and final step is for Astana to transmit our LOI registration number to Washington DC so our visas can be issued. This past week we fought some holidays in KAZ and we're uncertain about the productivity of the KAZ embassy in DC during our upcoming holidays. There's still a chance we get our visas this coming week if Astana does what they need to do on Monday or Tuesday. Please join us in praying for the upcoming week! Thank you all for your support.

Ava Update: Sveta was able to see Ava yesterday and reports that she is doing well. She is the favorite among her new caretakers because she's the best listener. What a good little girl we have!

Finally

2009-12-13T07:22:00.000+06:00

We finally got the signature we had been waiting weeks for and it looks like we will be leaving within a day or two before or after Christmas.

Oh how we can't wait to hold you sweet Ava!

2009-12-07T02:09:00.001+06:00

Next week should be the week that we get our visas. Pray Please. As always, we'll update as soon as we have news.

2009-11-21T00:55:00.001+06:00

Well, we have no visas YET but things are still moving in the right direction for us and we are guessing that we'll be leaving some time the week after next.
In the meantime I am getting ready for Christmas! I am making presents for my family and preparing some things to bring to Kaz for Ava D. Next week I will not be teaching so I am here to make orders if you have any! I made these little dolls for Ava and I just LOVE them! Check out my other blog to see some new things I have posted.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day with your loved ones. Even in this time of extreme stress we have so much to be thankful for!

Moving Forward

2009-11-12T22:08:00.001+06:00

Things are finally moving ahead with our case! It should just be a matter of days before we can book those plane tickets. God provided us with a little getway this weekend which we are very excited about. We will use the time to enjoy our last childless vacation and to spiritually and mentally prepare for another trip to Kaz. Keep the prayers coming as we don't have visas in hand yet! We will update soon :-)
It will be serious hat and coat weather when we arrive in Kaz.

2009-11-01T21:56:00.000+06:00

No we haven't dropped off the face of the earth. We are still here awaiting visa news. We will update just as soon as we hear anything...well, anything positive :-)

Stuck

2009-10-15T22:55:00.000+06:00

Getting Back to Kaz Update:
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. It's been a stressful time for us. We seem to be stuck at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sveta is working hard on getting those visas pushed through. Since our case is so unusual we are encountering problems that aren't typical. Your prayers are important at this time and as soon as we have good news we'll be sure to post it. Ava is well. Can't wait to kiss that little face!

Quick Update.

2009-10-13T00:16:00.000+06:00

Now we pretty much hear this every day, but we were told today that our LOI will be all ready tomorrow! Please pray that the LOI can be completed and our visas can be issued! Hopefully we can have good news tomorrow.

Sorry!

2009-10-02T11:21:00.000+06:00

We are sorry that we've been so bad about updating. We are still waiting for those visas to arrive. They really should be issued any day now. There is actually a lot going on in our lives right now and we can update you all in time but...we are so excited to see our Ava D. and the Lord is lifting our spirits and preparing us for the trip ahead. Pray that this time next week will be on our way (or at least have our tickets booked :-)

2009-09-21T20:43:00.000+06:00

Our visa is just waiting to be shipped to the US and this step seems to be taking way longer than expected. That is the story of our adoption...Longer than expected. But...Luba (Sveta's Mother) is there in Astana and isn't leaving until our visa is shipped. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told her that they have no problems with our visa and WILL send it to the US for the final step. This is good news b/c you just never know what they are going to have problems with. Big thanks to Luba for waiting this one out for us. Our agency told us to plan on leaving a week from Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sure hope so.
Some GREAT news...Once we arrive in Kaz, we don't have to go through any interviews or obtain any signatures!!!!!!!!!!!! We get to go straight to the Orphanage which is wonderful news and saves us at least a week of sitting around and waiting for signatures.
September 17th was Ava's 4th Birthday...Happy Birthday to our little Kaz Princess! Can't wait to see you soon!
Hopefully tomorrow we will report that our visa is on it's way to the US.
Fundraising has been going really well so thank you to everyone who has supported us. I wanted to let everyone know that this is my last week and half to make and ship things so get your orders in if you are interested. We should be getting back with Ava right before Christmas so, if you want to order any Christmas presents, order those now :-)

Another friend or ours was at the concert with Ava and took some darling little pictures. Gaby and her husband are waiting to return home with the 3 boys that they adopted from the baby home! 3 boys! Twin boys and their little brother. Blessings to this family and especially to their 3 year old daughter who has 3 new brothers!

Our Beautiful Little Lady!

2009-09-12T21:29:00.000+06:00

So we woke up this morning to a very nice surprise from our friends Katy and Mikuel, pictures of our oh so adorable little Ava. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Katy and Mikuel successfully adopted a little baby girl, Olivia Fatima from Pavlodar. A few days ago, they returned home to France as a family of three! Congratulations Katy and Mik!

And here are a few pictures from our walk by the beach in San Clemente last night. It was a very pretty sunset. It would have been even better if Ava was with us. We miss you sweetie!

On another note, we are still waiting for our LOI to be registered in Astana before our entry visas can be issued. Please join us in praying that this happens early next week.

2009-09-11T03:56:00.001+06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Ava has been moved out to Kashiri orphanage and we have been updated that she is adjusting well and is her same happy self.
We are still waiting for our visa to be officially issued which should be any day now.

A little bit of everything...

2009-09-04T05:15:00.000+06:00

Some never before seen videos from Kaz, fundraising, and update on our friends in Pavlodar:

Video: To be honest, it's been a little difficult to watch video or go through pictures since our return to the states. Now that we KNOW we'll be seeing Ava soon, we've gone through some old video and thought we'd share them with you.

Here a video of Ava walking outside. We are so proud of her progress :-)

In this video Ava is eating her messy snack. She really loves snack time.

Ava and her group outside playing

Peggy...don't kill me. Here is a video of us playing games with Jan and Peggy.

Friends In Pavlodar:We are thrilled to let you all know that Peggy, Jan, and Casper are back in Belgium!!!! It will be so hard to be there without them but we are so glad that they've finally made it home with their baby. Our other friends, Linda and Dave, from Canada are also home with their 4 year old boy, Logan!!!! YIPPEE! The other adoptive families that we met, are either home or close to being home which is so wonderful and encouraging for us...I guess adopting from Pavlodar is possible after all :-)

Fundraising: We are so thankful for everyone who has ordered items. Still feel free to email me if you are interested in anything. Through the wonderful world wide web, I have been able to develop a relationship with Amanda. Amanda and her husband are about the same age as James and I and are in the process of adopting from Korea. She lives in Kentucky and is friends with my best friend, Jennifer. Anyways... Amanda has a website where she sells her beautiful jewelry! She has graciously offered to donate 50% of her sales to James and I over the next week or two so if you order from her you will be supporting both of our adoptions! Her website is: http://www.wix.com/amandamay24/jewelry

Also, here is one more project I've been working on this week:

Here are some button hair clips for little girls! Super cute. I wish I had Ava to model them on.

Yay

2009-09-02T23:48:00.000+06:00

Got our Letter of Invitation signed today. Should be leaving again in about 10 days!

No LOI Yet

2009-09-02T06:52:00.000+06:00

Apparently, school started in Pavlodar today and so the Director of Ed. was not in her office to sign our letter of invitation. At this point, we expect to NOT hear anything so we are pleasantly surprised if we do. It goes without saying that we are ready to be back with Ava and ready for the beginning of the end of this journey. We will update when we get an LOI and estimated departure date. We REALLY REALLY miss our girl.
Here's what we've been up to:

We attended a good friend's wedding which was at an awesome venue! There were Zebra's and White Tigers there (not too close to the ceremony though).

Here are a few new things I've done with some of the orders I've received.

- I did a few Elephants in very "baby" fabrics. There are little jingle bells inside so they are like little rattles.

- I made some PJ Bags out of Red and Black Fabrics so they resemble actual Lady Bugs a little bit more.

- I am making Bed Bugs for my Mom's Second/Third grade students. She is going to use them to encourge her kids to read before they go to bed at night...Read to your Bed Bug! Hawaii is the theme of her classroom so these are the girls Hawaiin themed Bugs.

NO SIGNATURE

2009-08-28T00:29:00.000+06:00

No Signature today. The director of education is still looking through our new dossier. We'll hope for tomorrow and let you know.

8/29 Update: Still no signature. There's another meeting Tuesday between the Director and our staff. Pray for a signature AND that the LOI has us going back ASAP.

27th

2009-08-26T08:09:00.001+06:00

Well, we are now waiting for our LOI (Letter of Invitation) to be signed. Since we had to do our entire dossier over again, it was a lot of paper work for the Director of education to look through and she is busy preparing for their school year. Our lawyer and Sveta are going to meet with her on Thursday to go through the dossier and we will hopefully get a signature that day as well. So...pray that we will get a signature on the 27th and that, shortly thereafter, we'll be on our way back to Kaz.
James will not return to Kaz until we have a court date. I will be traveling with my mother in law who has graciously offered to join me for the first 3 weeks of the trip.
Emma and her family have had to return to Australia due to some complications with her pregnancy. She told Ava that next time she sees her will be in California when she comes to visit. Since no one will be staying at Emma's apartment, we will be staying there. Such a blessing!
Thanks for keeping up with our journey during this down time. We are hoping to be back with Ava so soon.

Both Of Our Angels

2009-08-19T23:00:00.001+06:00

Ava and Emma...

Picture from a friend in Kaz

2009-08-18T22:40:00.000+06:00

Today our friend sent us a picture that she took of Ava outside yesterday. It was both wonderful and tough to see the pictures. We miss her so very much and can't believe how much bigger she looks.

>

Another Miscommunication

2009-08-18T07:50:00.000+06:00

We were able to talk to Sveta today and she informed us that we are starting over. Our director didn't know all the facts and I guess there was a miscommunication. We are now waiting for our new Letter of Invitation (LOI) so we can go back to see our baby. We are praying we can be back by the end of the month, so please pray hard that the LOI is signed in time. When we return in September we'll have about a 6 - 8 week trip where we will do the "bonding" period, apply to court, go to court, serve the 15-day appeal period, spend about a week gathering documents, then finally come home. There is plenty of room for delay in there, so please pray for a quick trip. We were dissapointed to hear this news, but are now happy to atleast have a direction. We'll keep you posted on the LOI.

I Hate Goodbyes!!

2009-08-17T06:55:00.000+06:00

Along with missing Ava there is now another family member to miss. My little sister leaves tomorrow night for a 9 month teaching job in Vietnam.
Everyone who knows my family well has to chuckle a little at the world traveling that Erica and I are signing up for. Erica was the four year old who would run down the street after my parents car when they'd leave us with a sitter for only a few hours. And I was the 6th grader who cried for nearly 5 months BEFORE 6th grade camp at the thought of leaving home for a whole 5 days! We've come a long way since then but the thought of not seeing each other for an extended period of time is still very hard.
Erica already loves her little niece and is so sad that she wont be able to be here for her homecoming. In the car ride home James and I were saying how strange it is that the next time we see Erica we'll be standing at the airport with little Ava who will proudly be holding a "Welcome Home Auntie" sign.
In Ava news, we are holding our breathe, waiting for any news from the Regional Court. We are in prayer still that we'd hear great news but are prepared to begin the process again if that is the news we get. Of course we will post as soon as we hear anything.

Here are some pictures from Erica's send off today:

My Dad, our family photographer, and a picture of the 5 of us.

Er saying goodbye to Mom and Dad.

My Cousin lives in Pasadena and he came to send Erica off as well. James and I will miss our sis so very much. Love you!!!!!!

Paper Work Was Submitted

2009-08-14T21:39:00.000+06:00

The paper work showing that Ava was offered to local families was presented to the Regional Court on Friday. We haven't heard feedback from the lawyer on how the meeting went but Sveta said she wasn't expecting that they would give an answer today. They will likely take time to look over the paper work and then call our lawyer with their decision. Hopefully we will get an answer by Monday or Tuesday. We're praying hard. Have a great weekend and we'll post some news on Monday or Tuesday.

Local Families are Done!

2009-08-13T21:52:00.000+06:00

All three local families have seen Ava and signed off that they don't wish to adopt her. Sveta says they will take the paper work to the Regional Court tomorrow. I am still guessing it wont happen tomorrow but we will be praying hard that it does and that we get some amazing news. If you could pray with us for that miracle we would appreciate it.