Week Two

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

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

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

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.