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I left for Astana on January 25, 2010, I flew from Philadelphia to Frankfort, then had long 5 hour layover in in Germay followed by a 6 hour flight to Astana. The plane rides were comfortable and pleasant. Lufthansa takes good care of their passengers. I arrived in Astana after midnight on January 27th and was met by Dina, my coordinator and her husband Arman. It was cold, but not horrible as we wlaked to their car. I was happy to see two large gallon bottles of water sitting on the seat! Dina had thought of my needs and taken care of everything! My apartment is nice and well kept, over looking the river. I have a great view and a lovely sunset each evening.
'Dina told me to be ready at 11 am on Thursday to go to the baby house. At 11 am she called and said we would go at 3.....more waiting! She actually picked me up at 1 and w ewent grocery shopping. WE bought bread and chocolate butter, which is delicious! It is literally as good as a croissat at the hotel hershey! It was finally time to go the baby house,. WE went tothe Department of Educatyio to pick up a representative who was to accompany us....we waited in the parking lot for 15 minutes for her! The finally drove off to the baby house. When we arrived, the woman from the DOE went into the Drirector's and was in there for 30 minutes before we were called in! Dina and I sat in the lobbby and waited some more! Fially it was time to go in. I was introduced, asked some questions, asked about Annika, showed everyone her pictures, they said she was a beautiful girl, and finally they began looking at their lists of babies. after a few minutes, they had seemed to have decided on 3. The first baby was beautiful....looked to be about 9 months but was actually 18 nmonths, so she had some special needs that i knew we could not handle. The second baby was a girl and also had needs we were not equipped to handle. The third baby was a healthy boy, but i looked at hime and knew he was not my son. The baby house staff talked some mopre...it seemed serious...it went on for a while. Would I be going home without a baby i wondered? hen they mentioned Tansholpan...and when she appeared in the room, I knew she was the one! She is 9 months and her birthday is April 10, 2009. Just after convention! Her name, Tansholpan means morning star. She is a big baby....not sure of her weight, but she is big! Definitely not wearing 9-12 month clothing! She wass quiet at yesterday's visit, but today she opened up and was silly and talked baby talk and laughed. She is a thumb sucker, just like her biug sister! The baby house workers tell me she is a good eater and a good sleeper!
So that is it for now...th ebaby house visits are great but the rest of the day is long and lonely!
The letter of invitation has been processed, the "number" is in the "system" and my Visa has been processed and in the Fedex box waiting to be delivered to me tomorrow morning! I am finally going! I leave tomorrow night and arrive in Kazakhstan Wednesday, then am hopefully off to meet my little on on Thursday! I am excited, apprehensive, and and happy. This is going to be quite a week!
Finally, after 7 trips to the Ministry of Education by my coordinator, my Letter of Invitation has finally been signed! I am tentatively scheduled to leave this weekend, but that is dependant on getting my Visa in time! I am excited, nervous, happy...all at the same time!
So Little One, it is Thursday and our Letter of Invitation has not yet been signed! Poor Dina is going every day to try and get a signature, but it is not working! Libby calls me every morning and tells me the bad news and I know i need to wait another 24 hours to know our plans. I am trying to be patient, but it is hard. It is hard for Annika , to, who runs out of school every day and asks did Libby call? WE have just gone into this mode of existence that involves waiting for 10 AM every day hoping for good news. I had hoped to see you next week, but it looks like we'll be waiting a little longer.Love, Mommy
Hi there, Little One, we are getting closer to meeting! Libby says we will get my Letter of Invitation next week. I think I am supposed to wait for her to call me, but I cannot see how I can wait much past Monday morning to wait for her call! I am just too excited. I'll have to call her Monday morning after our morning meeting! I am going to fill out my Visa application this weekend so we can be ready to send it off as soon as we get the LOI. Annika and I went shopping to night and bought you some very cute clothes....little brown pants and a pink ruffle sweater! I have no idea how old you are or how big your, but I am bringing a few things in different sizes. I got you socks and onesies, a teething toy, a crab rattle, and a few other things. Annika was a big help choosing everything. She can't wait to see your picture!
Well, Little One, as 2009 ends, I know we are getting close to being together! 2009 was a good year, but it was a long year waiting for you. I really thought you would be home by now. We are ready for you! I am ready to be your mommy! I am almost ready to come to Kazakhstan. I have finished your second dossier, I have been to the travel clinic and gotten all my shots and vaccines, I have bought everything I need to travel (I think) and I have gotten all my work for convention done early so I can come and meet you. Now I just need to be invited to travel. I call Libby every week and ask her "is it time yet and she tells me not yet...but soon! Your sister is ready too! Everywhere we go she tells everyone she is going to be a big sister. She can't wait to hold you, to help you with your bottle and to play with you. She is disappointed she is not coming to Kazakhstan with me to meet you. but she has begun to understand that this may be for the best. She just can't wait until your home. She tells me that as soon as i leave for Kazakhstan she will become a big sister!So you can see, we are very excited to have you home, are waiting very IMPATIENTLY, and have big plans for when you arrive home! As I write this, you have already celebrated New Years in Kazakhstan! I think you may be too young to know it, but I still want to wish you a happy day!We are so looking forward to seeing what 2010 has in store for us! I hope to see you soon little one!Love, Mommy
I haven't had any firm news on travel yet, but on the advice of my coordinator, the blog will be private until after the baby comes home, just to be on the safe side. I would be glad to invite anyone who has been following to join us privately, so please let me know if you'd like to continue on the journey with us!
