Belgium Bound

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

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...

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...

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!!!!!

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!