While I know that around the country there have been all kinds of weather related extremes occurring this month, it has been downright beautiful here in Maine. We are really loving our new location here in Boothbay, and have been enjoying daytime highs in the 60's and 70's with nights in the 40's and 50's. It seems an early fall, though there is destined to ba a little more heat left in this summer. With wild blueberries in full season, fresh lobster on the waterfront, and a little wood in the fireplace, what's not to love.
On the adoption front, we find ourselves in a strange phase. On the one hand we are finding that we are having to recreate and update nearly all of our adoption paperwork as its 12 month lifespan will be exceeded as we move into the fall, and on the other hand we already have a new travel date for returning to Astana to meet our daughter. It is as if we are re-living the last year on a greatly abreviated timescale.
So when is our new travel date? We are hearing we should be prepared to be in Astana by 01 November, but official dates will only come after our LOI (Letter of Invitation) is issued by the Ministry of Education. With that date in mind, we would expect to fly out of Boston (again!) in the evening of the 27th or 28th of October, and arrive in Astana in the early afternoon two days later. It does help to know the routine. I imagine that preparing to depart this time around will be a much more casual and stress free time. Okay, maybe not stress free, but you get the idea. Take Care.
24 August 2007
16 August 2007
So we have been home just more than a month now. As happens in everyone's lives, a lot happens in a month. Much of the first week was spent just processing what had happened.
KJ's parents Susan and Hugh had graciously been looking after our dogs while we were gone and had helped us out quite a bit in the week leading up to our departure. They had, of course, driven out from Illinois expecting to be here all summer, so suddenly our return upended their plans as well. After our return, they stayed a few days longer and then made their way back across the country, offering again to come out and look after the dogs when the time comes. Family is good!
KJ and I continued to look towards the good that would come of returning so soon. We could be here to get ready for the move, and in fact complete the move before our daughter arrived. KJ could begin her new job in Boothbay and get to know the people and systems there before we left. We could actually enjoy a few nights in the house we had spent all those long weeks this spring getting spruced up to sell. Okay, so maybe they start to run a little thin about there, but all in all, being home this past month has been good for us.
Before KJ began work, we took several days and went to Cape Cod to spend a few days together with most of my family, and really found it quite relaxing which is always a good thing.
So then it was time for KJ to begin work in Boothbay, but we still wouldn't take possession of our house there for a couple of weeks. What do you do? Well you get out your trusty tent and sleeping bag and take along a flashlight and the new Harry Potter of course. So there she was - doctor by day, camper by night. She loved it, finished the book, and even made time for s'mores.
Back in Lovell, I was putting some finishing touches on the house and preparing for the move. We had done so much to prepare for the move that the actual move was really quite simple. Most everything was boxed and moved to storage well before we went to Kaz, so the actual move involved renting a big truck and making several trips between Lovell and Boothbay. Between Sunday and Wed, we made three trips with the truck, and two with my car. I have since returned for one more load of my car and trailer, and apart from my larger woodworking machines, we are pretty much done.
As you can see from the photo, it was a big a truck, and I'm not too proud to say, that KJ was far more comfortable driving it than I was, and so she ended up doing about 700 miles of driving to my 3 (I drove it to the store to buy a Mountain Dew). She fearlessly drove through both small towns and highways at night and in the the rain, and I dare say, she loved it.
Boothbay is wonderful and the dogs are really taking to their new house quite well. As of last week, they now have just over 2 acres of space to roam inside their new electric dog fence. As the fence is a familiar boundary to them, getting them adjusted to it has been easy. Within a few days they were out on their own exploring the grass and woods, and thusfar we have seen no evidence that any of them have had any issue with the boundaries. So during the days, the doors to the house remain wide open and the dogs come and go as they please. It couldn't be better for them. From the house they hear the occassional car or truck, but you can't see the road, and so their distractions are very limited.
Yes we love our boys. Our house hunt was really more of a search to find the right property for the dogs, though we certainly all won with the house we ended up with here in Boothbay. The town is so full of things to do, and sitting as it's name implies, beside a bay, the water is all around us. Fresh seafood, lobster, and this time of year, blueberries, keep any self- respecting Mainer happy. It is easy to assume that you know what a blueberry tastes like, but unless you've had wild Maine blueberries, you've been fooled.
There is plenty of room here, so if you find yourself passing through - perhaps on the way to New Brunswick or Newfoundland to see family - let us know. Take Care.
KJ's parents Susan and Hugh had graciously been looking after our dogs while we were gone and had helped us out quite a bit in the week leading up to our departure. They had, of course, driven out from Illinois expecting to be here all summer, so suddenly our return upended their plans as well. After our return, they stayed a few days longer and then made their way back across the country, offering again to come out and look after the dogs when the time comes. Family is good!
KJ and I continued to look towards the good that would come of returning so soon. We could be here to get ready for the move, and in fact complete the move before our daughter arrived. KJ could begin her new job in Boothbay and get to know the people and systems there before we left. We could actually enjoy a few nights in the house we had spent all those long weeks this spring getting spruced up to sell. Okay, so maybe they start to run a little thin about there, but all in all, being home this past month has been good for us.
Before KJ began work, we took several days and went to Cape Cod to spend a few days together with most of my family, and really found it quite relaxing which is always a good thing.
So then it was time for KJ to begin work in Boothbay, but we still wouldn't take possession of our house there for a couple of weeks. What do you do? Well you get out your trusty tent and sleeping bag and take along a flashlight and the new Harry Potter of course. So there she was - doctor by day, camper by night. She loved it, finished the book, and even made time for s'mores.
Back in Lovell, I was putting some finishing touches on the house and preparing for the move. We had done so much to prepare for the move that the actual move was really quite simple. Most everything was boxed and moved to storage well before we went to Kaz, so the actual move involved renting a big truck and making several trips between Lovell and Boothbay. Between Sunday and Wed, we made three trips with the truck, and two with my car. I have since returned for one more load of my car and trailer, and apart from my larger woodworking machines, we are pretty much done.
As you can see from the photo, it was a big a truck, and I'm not too proud to say, that KJ was far more comfortable driving it than I was, and so she ended up doing about 700 miles of driving to my 3 (I drove it to the store to buy a Mountain Dew). She fearlessly drove through both small towns and highways at night and in the the rain, and I dare say, she loved it.
Boothbay is wonderful and the dogs are really taking to their new house quite well. As of last week, they now have just over 2 acres of space to roam inside their new electric dog fence. As the fence is a familiar boundary to them, getting them adjusted to it has been easy. Within a few days they were out on their own exploring the grass and woods, and thusfar we have seen no evidence that any of them have had any issue with the boundaries. So during the days, the doors to the house remain wide open and the dogs come and go as they please. It couldn't be better for them. From the house they hear the occassional car or truck, but you can't see the road, and so their distractions are very limited.
Yes we love our boys. Our house hunt was really more of a search to find the right property for the dogs, though we certainly all won with the house we ended up with here in Boothbay. The town is so full of things to do, and sitting as it's name implies, beside a bay, the water is all around us. Fresh seafood, lobster, and this time of year, blueberries, keep any self- respecting Mainer happy. It is easy to assume that you know what a blueberry tastes like, but unless you've had wild Maine blueberries, you've been fooled.
There is plenty of room here, so if you find yourself passing through - perhaps on the way to New Brunswick or Newfoundland to see family - let us know. Take Care.
Amazing how time flies when you're moving! I didn't mean to leave off for so long after the end of the last posting, especially with the rather abrupt 'ending' of the last post. It just seemed I was getting beyond the length I imagine most people would stick around for and decided to inject a stopping point.
I left off with us in Astana having decided we would return home. Really once we made that decision the healing process and personal recovery began. I will say that even all these weeks later, we are still in the recovery mode to some extent, but the road towards looking at our situation in a positive light began with accepting that we would go home and return to Astana in the future.
From time to time I find it important to remind myself that KJ and I are not the only ones affected by this process, our daughter is as well, as this whole story is actually the story of her adoption. Every step of the process is part of the genesis of our family, and as such, there is no regret.
So let me fill out a little timeline.
We left Maine on Monday afternoon for a night flight out of Boston. Monday and Tuesday nights were spent on the plane. We arrived in Almaty(KAZ) around 4:30 am Wednesday, spent several hours at the airport awaiting our flight to Astana, then arrived in Astana just after noon. We were met by our in country coordinator and driver, driven to our apartment and given 30 minutes to shower and get ready to go to the Baby House. We arrived at the baby house around 3pm and shortly thereafter were told that their were presently no children available.
We returned to our Apartment, where I mentioned earlier we had locked ourselves out of the bedroom, and spent that night on the couch trying to comprehend what was happening. We did get out for a bit of a walk that evening, and really liked the location of our apartment and the immediate surroundings. Astana is a very comfortable city, especially in the summer when everything is green and the streets are full of people. It will no doubt be quite different by the time we return again.
Thursday morning we again went to the Baby House, only to hear again that there was nothing to wait for, and that our best option was really to head home and return at a later date. That afternoon we got out to an email place and had the opportunity to check in with folks and let them know what was happening. Our adoption agency contacted our travel agent and filled her in and had her call us at the apartment to work out the return. As mentioned in a previous post we were able to get confirmed flights for the middle of the next week, but could only get stand-by before that. We decided that our best option was to fly to Almaty as soon as we could and be prepared to jump on any of the standby options if they became available. Thus we spent Thursday night at the apartment, this time on a bed.
It just happened that Friday was a huge celebration throughout the city marking it's tenth year as the capital of Kazakhstan, and conveniently, was also the president's birthday(we heard). As a result, it was a fascinating time to be in Astana. The photos of children dancing and drawing on the sidewalks are not simply daily occurrences, but were just small parts of the celebrations going on all around town. It was a beautiful day and with so many people out and about, you really got a sense of the ethnic diversity that is Kaz. Being as far north as it is, there was daylight until quite late and in fact, the photo of the Gas and Oil building was taken at 9:30PM.
We went back to the apartment, watched the fireworks while we packed, and were on a flight to Almaty around midnight. Before we left for the airport, our travel agent called and said we were now confirmed for a flight out at 5am Sunday, and that after going through Amsterdam and Minneapolis, would have us back in Boston Sunday night.
And so it was, we arrived home in Maine early Monday morning just inside a week after we left. Take Care.
I left off with us in Astana having decided we would return home. Really once we made that decision the healing process and personal recovery began. I will say that even all these weeks later, we are still in the recovery mode to some extent, but the road towards looking at our situation in a positive light began with accepting that we would go home and return to Astana in the future.
From time to time I find it important to remind myself that KJ and I are not the only ones affected by this process, our daughter is as well, as this whole story is actually the story of her adoption. Every step of the process is part of the genesis of our family, and as such, there is no regret.
So let me fill out a little timeline.
We left Maine on Monday afternoon for a night flight out of Boston. Monday and Tuesday nights were spent on the plane. We arrived in Almaty(KAZ) around 4:30 am Wednesday, spent several hours at the airport awaiting our flight to Astana, then arrived in Astana just after noon. We were met by our in country coordinator and driver, driven to our apartment and given 30 minutes to shower and get ready to go to the Baby House. We arrived at the baby house around 3pm and shortly thereafter were told that their were presently no children available.
We returned to our Apartment, where I mentioned earlier we had locked ourselves out of the bedroom, and spent that night on the couch trying to comprehend what was happening. We did get out for a bit of a walk that evening, and really liked the location of our apartment and the immediate surroundings. Astana is a very comfortable city, especially in the summer when everything is green and the streets are full of people. It will no doubt be quite different by the time we return again.
Thursday morning we again went to the Baby House, only to hear again that there was nothing to wait for, and that our best option was really to head home and return at a later date. That afternoon we got out to an email place and had the opportunity to check in with folks and let them know what was happening. Our adoption agency contacted our travel agent and filled her in and had her call us at the apartment to work out the return. As mentioned in a previous post we were able to get confirmed flights for the middle of the next week, but could only get stand-by before that. We decided that our best option was to fly to Almaty as soon as we could and be prepared to jump on any of the standby options if they became available. Thus we spent Thursday night at the apartment, this time on a bed.
It just happened that Friday was a huge celebration throughout the city marking it's tenth year as the capital of Kazakhstan, and conveniently, was also the president's birthday(we heard). As a result, it was a fascinating time to be in Astana. The photos of children dancing and drawing on the sidewalks are not simply daily occurrences, but were just small parts of the celebrations going on all around town. It was a beautiful day and with so many people out and about, you really got a sense of the ethnic diversity that is Kaz. Being as far north as it is, there was daylight until quite late and in fact, the photo of the Gas and Oil building was taken at 9:30PM.
We went back to the apartment, watched the fireworks while we packed, and were on a flight to Almaty around midnight. Before we left for the airport, our travel agent called and said we were now confirmed for a flight out at 5am Sunday, and that after going through Amsterdam and Minneapolis, would have us back in Boston Sunday night.
And so it was, we arrived home in Maine early Monday morning just inside a week after we left. Take Care.
02 August 2007
Here are some more photos from Astana. The first is of the Gas and Oil ministry building on the day of the 10th anniversary of Astana becoming the country's capital. All throughout the city there were events staged and people out everywhere, and at night there were fireworks along the riverfront. Though we were only Kaz for a few nights, we did get to experience this big celebration and to see the city at the height of the summer with its long days and and its residents out and about enjoying the sunshine.
Well this is certainly long overdue. Thank you to all who have sent kind notes and emails and who have followed our journey thusfar. I want to let you know that it has meant a lot to Kjersten and me to know that so many care.
First of all, I want to reiterate that while we no doubt sufferd a setback in July, we remain commited to adopting our daughter through Kazakhstan, and have every confidence that our agency will help this happen in the right way. We have been home now just over three weeks and while we still do not have a definite date for returning to Kazakhstan, we continue to be told that our return is likely in October.
In spite of only being in Kaz 4 nights, our trip in July wasn't all disapointing. I'll save out some of the details but attempt to give a rough outline of our abreviated journey - our dry run as it were.
As most of you know, the weeks leading up to our departure were a mad scramble of house projects, house packing, and goodbyes, as we prepared to be gone for two months. As planned, we would move to our new house on the coast of Maine upon our return and would be attempting to sell our present house while we were gone. Additionally KJ was to begin working at a new hospital after we got back with our daughter, so there were lots of major adjustments to prepare for as we readied ourselves for our flight.
We were both exhausted, and had really looked forward to getting on the plane as a time when nothing more could be done and we could just relax and focus on the adoption. It bears stating that up to that point, the excitement of the adoption had been greatly overshadowed by other elements of our life, and so as we sat on the runway in Boston we continued to point out all the 'lasts', saying things like 'the next time we touch down in the US we will have a daughter' and things of that nature.
Our flights would take us from Boston to Amsterdam, then on to Almaty. From Almaty we would have one more flight within Kazakhstan to Astana and the complete journey would take just over 30 hours. As we would have from 8am-6pm in Amsterdam, we had planned to meet up with a friend of mine who lives in Aachen Germany and was willing to take the train up to meet us in town.
Kjersten and I got into Amsterdam ahead of Katie and followed Katie's recommendation of taking several of the free ferries that leave from the backside of the train station. It was a great recommendation and a great way to see some of the waterways and town for free.
As Kjersten and I had a great deal of carry on luggage with us (electronics mostly), we decided to not try and do anything too adventurous when we joined up with Katie. The day was spent walking around some of the highlights in the city center and stopping in various places to eat, talk, and get out of the rain. It was a terrific way to spend a layover and we are grateful that Katie could join us.
Getting back on the plane we were finally on our way to Kaz. As Kaz is roughly 10-12 hours ahead of the US, planning which segments of the flight to sleep and which to remain awake can help in the time zone transition. While there is no getting around jetlag, its effects can certainly be minimized. We arrived in Almaty around 5am and proceeded to spend well over an hour getting through customs. It wasn't that our paperwork was troublesome, just that the process took a while for everyone and the lines were very long and vaguely formed.
Once clear of customs we met our first agency rep (Eugene) who handed us our incountry flight tickets and made sure we were all set with some local currency and a place to wait out our next flight that was to leave around 10am. All went well and we were pleasantly surprised with the local airline, Air Astana. The planes were new, clean, and well run.
Arriving in Astana just after noon, we met our bags (everything made it the whole way without loss, damage or delay - hooraay!) and then met our in country driver and coordinator. Going from the airport to our apartment we learned that we would be going to the orphanage that afternoon, and so would have about a half hour to shower and clean up before heading off.
Our apartment was really very nice, and we hope to have the same one when we return in the fall. It is on the 15th floor of a 16 story apartment building overlooking the river and surounding city. It is the tallest thing in the area, and as such offers wide views looking out across the newly developed city. New construction is happening all around the city and large cranes abound. The amount of space given to parks, fountains, sculpture, and other public uses is astounding. Astana is solely a post-soviet creation and as such, is surprisingly modern and architecturally interesting, if not a hint garrish.
Within that brief 30 minute window that we had to prepare for our first visit to the baby house, we managed to not only short out the electricity to the whole apartment, but we also allowed the bedroom door to blow shut after opening a number of windows. At first it was not obvious that this was not good, but we soon found that not only was the bedroom door now locked, but we had no key to open it. Furthermore, Kjersten had already put all of her luggage in the room, and so was quickly showering only to put her same travel clothes back on. As a side note, the apartment owner did not open the bedroom door until the next night so we spent the first night in our apartment on the couch.
So now we arrive at the meat of the process. We are on our way with our coordinator and driver to the Baby House. Kjersten and I are tired, wired, excited, anxious, everything you could imagine. After many months of paperwork and lots of preparation, the moment of truth was upon us. We now stood a few walls away from our daughter - or so we thought!
The next hour or so is somewhat blurry. There was crying, confusion, frustration, misunderstanding, and disbelief. What were we hearing? What did it mean? How could this happen? Essentially we were told that the birthmother of the child that the Baby House had in mind for us had come to the Baby House a day or so before and that the child was no longer available. Beyond that we were told that there were no other available children that met our criteria - female, young as possible, healthy as possible.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion about what we should have or could have done, but in the end we were advised by our agency that the best option seemed to be to return to the US and await another child, and that is what we have decided to do. This was an unexpected and certainly unusual outcome and in meeting with our agency since coming home, we have been told that in the 10+ years and 250+ adoptions they have handled in Kaz, ours was the first case in which they ever advised a family to return without a child.
This is getting long and so I will stop here for now and hope to pick up again soon. I also hope to add a few photos soon of our brief journey. Take Care.
First of all, I want to reiterate that while we no doubt sufferd a setback in July, we remain commited to adopting our daughter through Kazakhstan, and have every confidence that our agency will help this happen in the right way. We have been home now just over three weeks and while we still do not have a definite date for returning to Kazakhstan, we continue to be told that our return is likely in October.
In spite of only being in Kaz 4 nights, our trip in July wasn't all disapointing. I'll save out some of the details but attempt to give a rough outline of our abreviated journey - our dry run as it were.
As most of you know, the weeks leading up to our departure were a mad scramble of house projects, house packing, and goodbyes, as we prepared to be gone for two months. As planned, we would move to our new house on the coast of Maine upon our return and would be attempting to sell our present house while we were gone. Additionally KJ was to begin working at a new hospital after we got back with our daughter, so there were lots of major adjustments to prepare for as we readied ourselves for our flight.
We were both exhausted, and had really looked forward to getting on the plane as a time when nothing more could be done and we could just relax and focus on the adoption. It bears stating that up to that point, the excitement of the adoption had been greatly overshadowed by other elements of our life, and so as we sat on the runway in Boston we continued to point out all the 'lasts', saying things like 'the next time we touch down in the US we will have a daughter' and things of that nature.
Our flights would take us from Boston to Amsterdam, then on to Almaty. From Almaty we would have one more flight within Kazakhstan to Astana and the complete journey would take just over 30 hours. As we would have from 8am-6pm in Amsterdam, we had planned to meet up with a friend of mine who lives in Aachen Germany and was willing to take the train up to meet us in town.
Kjersten and I got into Amsterdam ahead of Katie and followed Katie's recommendation of taking several of the free ferries that leave from the backside of the train station. It was a great recommendation and a great way to see some of the waterways and town for free.
As Kjersten and I had a great deal of carry on luggage with us (electronics mostly), we decided to not try and do anything too adventurous when we joined up with Katie. The day was spent walking around some of the highlights in the city center and stopping in various places to eat, talk, and get out of the rain. It was a terrific way to spend a layover and we are grateful that Katie could join us.
Getting back on the plane we were finally on our way to Kaz. As Kaz is roughly 10-12 hours ahead of the US, planning which segments of the flight to sleep and which to remain awake can help in the time zone transition. While there is no getting around jetlag, its effects can certainly be minimized. We arrived in Almaty around 5am and proceeded to spend well over an hour getting through customs. It wasn't that our paperwork was troublesome, just that the process took a while for everyone and the lines were very long and vaguely formed.
Once clear of customs we met our first agency rep (Eugene) who handed us our incountry flight tickets and made sure we were all set with some local currency and a place to wait out our next flight that was to leave around 10am. All went well and we were pleasantly surprised with the local airline, Air Astana. The planes were new, clean, and well run.
Arriving in Astana just after noon, we met our bags (everything made it the whole way without loss, damage or delay - hooraay!) and then met our in country driver and coordinator. Going from the airport to our apartment we learned that we would be going to the orphanage that afternoon, and so would have about a half hour to shower and clean up before heading off.
Our apartment was really very nice, and we hope to have the same one when we return in the fall. It is on the 15th floor of a 16 story apartment building overlooking the river and surounding city. It is the tallest thing in the area, and as such offers wide views looking out across the newly developed city. New construction is happening all around the city and large cranes abound. The amount of space given to parks, fountains, sculpture, and other public uses is astounding. Astana is solely a post-soviet creation and as such, is surprisingly modern and architecturally interesting, if not a hint garrish.
Within that brief 30 minute window that we had to prepare for our first visit to the baby house, we managed to not only short out the electricity to the whole apartment, but we also allowed the bedroom door to blow shut after opening a number of windows. At first it was not obvious that this was not good, but we soon found that not only was the bedroom door now locked, but we had no key to open it. Furthermore, Kjersten had already put all of her luggage in the room, and so was quickly showering only to put her same travel clothes back on. As a side note, the apartment owner did not open the bedroom door until the next night so we spent the first night in our apartment on the couch.
So now we arrive at the meat of the process. We are on our way with our coordinator and driver to the Baby House. Kjersten and I are tired, wired, excited, anxious, everything you could imagine. After many months of paperwork and lots of preparation, the moment of truth was upon us. We now stood a few walls away from our daughter - or so we thought!
The next hour or so is somewhat blurry. There was crying, confusion, frustration, misunderstanding, and disbelief. What were we hearing? What did it mean? How could this happen? Essentially we were told that the birthmother of the child that the Baby House had in mind for us had come to the Baby House a day or so before and that the child was no longer available. Beyond that we were told that there were no other available children that met our criteria - female, young as possible, healthy as possible.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion about what we should have or could have done, but in the end we were advised by our agency that the best option seemed to be to return to the US and await another child, and that is what we have decided to do. This was an unexpected and certainly unusual outcome and in meeting with our agency since coming home, we have been told that in the 10+ years and 250+ adoptions they have handled in Kaz, ours was the first case in which they ever advised a family to return without a child.
This is getting long and so I will stop here for now and hope to pick up again soon. I also hope to add a few photos soon of our brief journey. Take Care.
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