Leaving on a jet plane!!

Today we received our visas and tickets for our flights! We are leaving on Friday, 3/28 at 5:29pm for Minneapolis, MN, will fly to Amsterdam, Netherlands, then Almaty, Kazakhstan, and finally Karaganda. We should arrive in Almaty on Sunday morning, then take our final flight to Karaganda sometime Sunday afternoon or evening. Will update soon, just wanted you to know that the plans are now final!!

Nauryz Delay!!

Zhanna meets the Easter Bunny (again)!!

Nauryz, the Kazakhstan celebration of Spring is being celebrated this weekend, so the consulate (and everything else) will be closed. Our visa and other paperwork will not be able to be completed before next Tuesday, so we will be leaving on Friday, March 28. That gives us a bit more time to pack as well as panic!! Meanwhile, Zhanna has spent so much time with the Easter Bunny and had so many meals with him that she probably thinks he is a relative!! This is a photo of her at the Colonie Elks Club, where we had breakfast with many of her friends in the area who were also adopted from the same orphanage in Karaganda, Kazakhstan!!

Thanks for all the comments--they mean a great deal--and will mean a great deal more when we are overseas!!

Moving right along!!

Just got a call from Kathy at Children at Heart, that the orphanage would like us to ARRIVE by March 29, so we may be in the air by next Tuesday! The paper work and visas may not be able to be ready that quickly, but we need to prepare anyway. Will keep you updated!!

LOI information here!!

Photos from my first trip--this is the Karaganda airport--and Kazakhstan from the air. Memories!!

I received the call!!! My visa application and passport have all been sent to the consulate via Fed Ex for an anticipated travel date around March 29---two weeks to pack!! My travel agent, Katarina, is making all of the final preparations. Yikes!! Zhanna and I have been playing with her Little People airplane-just to see how to sit in the seats for take off and landing. Will reserve the big facts-- two back to back 8 hour flights with a layover in either Amsterdam or Frankfurt-the whole trip, with time changes will be approximately 3 days. A bit daunting for a 2 1/2 year old, actually, more than a bit daunting for a 44 year old and her mom as well!!