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

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

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!

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!

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!