Hello again everyone!!! I wanted to post some pics of our apartment and the area.  We are having lots of fun, had our first dinner out last night and will be leaving for the BH again in a couple hours to spend more time with Hannah!!  She is wonderful though, very healthy looking, very alert, and of course, very cute!  The apartment is very nice, 2 bedrooms, breakfast nook, kitchen, bathroom, living room.  We are supposed to get internet today, for now we are at Adress, a cafe near where we live.  Everyone in Kaz is kind of laid back, they eat a lot of greasy food and like to shop. I might live here forever, lol. The peace corps girls we met met up with are WONDERFUL!! Cipra and Becca, they have shown us around, we are having them over for dinner and they are taking us swimming. It feels like a vacation!!  The city is very cool, lots of shops and last night we visited the college and spoke with a group of women who are learning English to become translators and teachers. They were SO COOL. OUr driver and translators are nice as well, I think we may road trip to an ancient city next week with them.   Now to say more about what everone is waiting for..Hannah!!!
yesterday we went to the MOE for a pre-court thing, which was easy, just signing paper and some questions about the home study.  Then we went in the baby house, which is being renovated right now. We waiting a few minutes and I saw a couple babies briefly in passing, they seemed happy and smiley and well taken care of ( well as much as you can be in a baby house.)  I was filled with trepidation and some self doubt, and I was thinking, What am I doing?  What if I dont connect with this child. I tell myself I am doing a good thing, saving a child.   Then they brought Hannah in and passed her to me, and she gave me a look like she definitely knew I was Mom, but a look that clearly says, WHERE have you been? WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!  It was funny! I knew immediately this child was my child.  We stared at each other for a while, and then a tiny smile and what can I say, I fell for the kid. There are no accidents. I have saved a child, but I am the lucky one, not her.  She has saved me right back.

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FW: Everything is wonderful!!

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We are here! The trip was wild, ended up taking a train from Almaty due to weather and traveled 60 hours straight, but it was worth it to have Hannah in my arms.  She is very alert and not very delayed that I can tell.  Shymkent is AMAZING and so much fun. Today we are with our peace corps friends, we went to the mall, dinner, and to a womens group meeting at a local college.  Tomorrow is more Hannah!!  Everyone here is so nice and cool!  Erin

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We are off!

After snowstorms, visa delays, and a wonderful bon voyage party at El Mariachi (the official restaurant of Orient Way)  we are finally on our way to Kazakhstan.  Yipee!!  Hopefully our luggage will also be arriving in Kazakhstan and will be under the weight limit. Want to send a quick shout-out to all the friends and family who have helped me along the way, especially Shauna, who was the first Kaz mom I ever met way back in November of last year when I started this process. Shauna, even though you told me you were positive my baby would be a boy and I spent the entire year buying blue, I LOVE YOU ANYWAY!!! LOL!! You are the best.  Also to my friend Kim, who has answered many adoption questions for me along the way, I owe you a big THANK YOU.  I hope my daughter is as loving and spirited as Nate :-)  Of course I want to thank my neighbors and family, who have had to listen to me complain for a whole year about things like consulates, LOIs, I171Hs and other phrases that only mean anything to  PAPs...thanks for putting up with it.  There will be some excellent souveniers headed your way!  And to those of you following along who I have only recently met through blog-world,  thanks for following along and good luck on your journies as well!! Hope to meet some of you in person someday soon. Love, Erin

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THE WAIT IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am overjoyed to announce that I have a referral and will be leaving for Kazland in less than 1 month!!!! It is a girl, she is 6.5 months old and BEAUTIFUL!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

The endless in-between

No LOI yet... My facilitator has promised me a Spring or sooner travel date, though, and although I have my region assignment, I can't say much more than that..for now..due to agency policy. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season.

May 2010 be a "10" for all of us!

~Erin

Getting closer!

I am happy to report that my dossier is where it needs to be in Kaz and I am just waiting for THE CALL!! I had paid my final fees (except for what needs to be paid in Kaz), received my travel guide, prepared my travel documents, and I am ready to go. For those waiting families who are reading this, some encouragement: once it hit the New York consulate, my paperwork flew through the ministries in less than 3 months. I wanted to post this update, however, because Elizabeth and I learned something important this past week. Attention all travelers: make sure you have Visa pages left in your passport!!! If you are out, allow at least a few weeks to get more, unless you want to have to call a senator, fight with the embassy, or find a passport office you can get to (ours is 5 hours away in Chicago). Needless to say, lesson learned.
Also, totally off topic, but for those of you on Facebook, please help!! My dog Roxi is a top ten contestant in a beauty contest and she needs your vote!! Please search for CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER on facebook. Become a fan, then scroll down to the photo group that says ROYAL PETS. Click on the picture of the beautiful boxer dressed like a fairy and CLICK LIKE. The winner gets a free membership to the museum center, which includes the children's museum, the history museum, the science museum, and the Omnimax. Thanks everyone, have a great Thanksgiving, and I will post again as soon as I hear something :-) Erin