King James the First had it all wrong..

You see, James-baby is attributed with originating the phrase "No news is good news" (or at least, some old English version of it).. And I just don't agree.. I emailed my agency today, looking for an update-- knowing of course, that it was in vain because if there was something to tell me they would have.. And this is what I got: no we haven't heard anything, as far as we know your file is still at the beginning stages of the MFA, maybe more news next week.. So, no James-- no news isn't good news!!

It's like a day at the spa: Virgin Atlantic-- Upper Class, of course!

Yesterday, I handed off my visa application to the travel agent who will be helping with my travel arrangements. When I was in her office, we started discussing some options for the plane flights and Katerina recommended flying Virgin Atlantic. My sister has frequent flyer miles I hoped to use on at least one flight, so I started to do a little research and I found the heaven of all air travel. Even before you get on the plane, Virgin offers a chauffered car service to deliver you to and from the airport.. Every first class (or "upper class" as they call it with a cheery British accent) passenger actually gets a little "suite" to call their own.. The seat flips over and converts to a fully-flat bed, which comes complete with a turn-down service (probably a mint, too!) And then there smaller amenities like gourmet meals, personal in-flight entertainment, complimentary cocktails. And the piece de resistance: spa services on the plane! Girlfriend can get a manicure and a massage on her way to Kaz! It doesn't get better than that..
The bad news? I probably won't ever even see "upper class".. Ann only has enough miles to get me as far as London. Because I will actually be dealing with 2 airline carriers, I will need more miles than usual-- 90k for Virgin, plus however many miles the other airline requires (I couldn't even figure that one out.)

The Long Awaited Update!

I had an email from my agency this morning (acutally dated Friday-- kudos to them for beating the deadline I set without even knowing it!) This is the story: the agency coordinator in Kaz met with an official of the Ministry of Education last week and reports that the Karaganda region will be "opening" on adoption in a week.. At that point, files should start to move, and the coordinator is encouraged that families will start to travel.. What does that mean to me? I still don't know.. It all depends on what's been happening with my file for the past two months.. I've reached out the agency to see if they know if I am still at the starting point (which is where I was at the end of July, a month after my dossier was submitted), nearing the end or somewhere in between.. I'll keep you posted!

If only getting the "green light" to travel was the only thing on my mind...

I am actually breathing a sigh of relief these days when it comes to some of the ancillary issues related to bringing home a baby. Like most other working parents, child care is an issue that has weighed heavily on me. And being me, I have avoided the issue for a long time, opting instead to deal with other important things, like choosing bedding and choosing names :)! I don't want to jinx it, but this week I found some really viable options to choose from once the baby is home. My 1st choice is a woman from my neighborhood who will come take care of the baby in my house. She is the mother of a woman my sister works with, she lives around the corner from me, and is reasonably priced.. Even better: though she has recently dropped down to part-time hours with her last little charge (he's going to pre-school), she is not going to look another job right now and will be available in January (when I think I will need her). A few weeks ago, I had also talked with a woman who runs a babysitting service out of her home. She came highly recommended by a parent in my sister's school (it's a good resource-- all those kids and parents running around!).. And this past weekend, I went to visit a daycare center down the street.. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I am definitely comfortable with it as an option, particularly for when the baby is a little older. So, the research continues, but I feel better knowing I already have some options.
I also selected the adoption specialist that I will consult with from Kaz.. Her name is Dr. Gail Farber, and she and her team are affiliated with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition to Dr. Farber, there is another pediatrician on staff as well as two occupational therapists. Prior to travel, I will have a phone consultation with them so they can advise me on what questions to ask and what to look for when I meet the children. I will also be emailing them photos and video, along with copies of the baby's medical records from Kaz for their evaluation. We will consult again via telephone while I am in Kaz about what they find in those records and pictures.. The goal, of course, is try to determine if the baby is healthy or, if he/she is not, the extent & implications of any health problems. There is the potential that the information could make my decision harder, but hopefully it will make it easier.

My "patience" is killing me!

I desperately want to bug my agency today, to see what's up with my file, but I am trying to remain patient. If there was anything to tell me (like my file is at MOE), I know that they would-- so instead of emailing the agency, I am writing this post.. Other parents waiting to travel have reported being told that another vacation period has slowed up files and one parent (thank you, Sonya) has heard some possibly encouraging news that the slowdown is due to MOE officials focusing on the upcoming school year, slated to start in another week or two.. In all cases, the parents say they are told things should get moving soon.. From their lips to somebody in Kaz's ear!

Applying for a visa-- am I going to be able to charge with this one??

More from the paperwork front-- I have started the process to apply for a visa to travel to Kazakhstan. No, that doesn't my travel is imminent, but I am getting all of my ducks in a row.. Katarina from Panorama Travel in NYC is helping me out. I have to give her my application for my visa, my original passport (a little scary), a picture and a check (of course). She will hold all until I receive my Letter of Invitation (LOI) to travel. This is the real thing-- I have to be able to tell Katarina if anyone will be traveling with me (no) and how many trips I will be taking (right now, its 2 but I change my mind every day!).

Children at Heart Annual Picnic

This past Saturday was my agency's annual picnic for all of the past and future adoptive families. Ann, Ronan & I packed up the car (with way too much stuff we didn't need, like chairs and blankets) and drove (and drove) to Halfmoon, NY (just north of Albany) for the limited purposes of: eating, playing and getting as much information as possible out of the experienced parents. Well, we accomplished two of our three objectives-- there was no real "picnic" at our picnic. We hit crazy amounts of traffic, so we decided to stop on the way at the McDonald's rest stop to eat and let Ronan stretch a little.. Bad decision--it added an extra hour onto our trip.. But we still got there in plenty of time to play with the kids (Ronan's sole objective) and talk to some people. I met a few parents who I had been emailing recently-- they were incredibly nice and had some encouraging things to say. I didn't get to talk to everyone-- it was too overwhelming. At first, I wasn't even sure how I was going to talk to anyone, but eventually, I just went up to people and started asking questions. If nothing else, we have all now put a face with a name and I know that when I have more questions, the parents I met will be more than willing to help me out. I also got to meet my coordinator, Kathy, face to face-- again, nice because she has done so much for me during this process. And the kids were all over the place! They ranged in age from about 8 months to teenagers, and were from not only Kazakhstan, but Russia as well and maybe a few other places.. While I know some do have some medical issues, in general, the kids all appeared very healthy, and they were all just beautiful. It was very easy to imagine my child playing among the others this time next year-- and I'll be the parent dispensing advice!