NO SIGNATURE

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

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

Ava and Emma...

Picture from a friend in Kaz

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.


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Another Miscommunication

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!!

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

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!

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.

Sweet Dress for our Sweet Girl and Quick Update

Talked with Sveta today and here's the update. The third family SHOULD be at the baby house on Thursday this week and the paper work SHOULD be taken to Regional Court on Friday. My guess is that the family will get into the baby house on Thursday but the paper work wont be taken to the court until Monday or Tuesday next week. August is thankfully flying by and it seems we will be back with our sweetie in no time at all. For those of you who have been keeping us and Ava in prayer...thank you! We would appreciate for those prayers to keep coming :-)

Ava's Reversible HAND MADE dress:

This is my favorite side and I think the color will look so cute on her.


I am loving learning how to sew and have been trying to stock up on some things in hopes of holding another craft fair this December.
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While I wish I could be working hard like my awesome husband, I am trying to enjoy the summer and this time to myself before I have a three year old with me full time:

We went to Palm Desert with my parents this past weekend and only took this one picture. Here we are on a golf cart and my Dad is on the phone with my sister Erica who is training in Pasadena for her upcoming trip to teach in Vietnam. We missed you Er.

I went to the pool with my best friend Brandi and her baby, Sawyer. It was nice to get my baby fix in. The three of us were talking about how excited we are for Ava to join us soon.

I printed some of my favorite pictures from our trip and framed them in Ava's room. We can't wait to see her in person in couple of weeks.

A Little Bit of Kaz in California

Today James and I had lunch with our great friends from Kaz! Brian and Simon (Emma's husband)are in LA for a conference and they met us for lunch in San Juan Capistrano. I wish they brought Ava with them but it was just wonderful to see them here and strange thinking we will see them in few weeks on the other side of the world.

2 Down 1 To Go

We talked with Sveta this morning and heard that one more local family has seen Ava and signed that they don't wish to adopt her. The third and final family will see her by the end of the week or beginning of next week. After the third family sees her, they will take our paper work to the Regional Court to see if this can be finalized or if we will need to begin the process again. Keep praying for our miracle! Emma continues to visit Ava and updates us regularly. She no longer cries when Emma leaves her which is very comforting for us and helps Emma as well.

Things are getting a little easier for us here in California. James is back at work and keeping busy. I am going a little crazy at home but am definitely relaxing so I can't complain. Last weekend we went to a wedding in Beverly Hills. James' dear friend Ali was married and we enjoyed a great evening spending time with friends and celebrating.

We hope to have more news by the end of week or the beginning of next week.