Getting Ready

We had our "travel meeting" via three way call today with Kristen(our adoption coordinator). She shared with us some very good information about our schedule while in country. I feel like I've read so many people's experiences and information about how it all goes that there wasn't much left for me to know, but she really did share some things I didn't know yet and gave us a good picture of how our court appointment will go.
Also we been in contact with a few families who have adopted from Pavlodar, with our agency, within the past year and their answers to our questions and information they've offered has been invaluable!
We were emailed today by the travel agency in NYC that are entry visas and passports should arrive tomorrow!!
The picture I posted with this message is of two teddy bears we bought when we first felt led to adopt. I had found them on a web site and saw that they had a front pocket and thought we could put a picture of Dave and I there so that once we meet our children we could give them the bears and they could keep them when we were going through bonding with them and before they would be able to come home with us. I can't believe we finally get to bring them!

Have Tickets Will Travel!!

We bought our plane tickets to Kazakhstan! I don't think we did too bad considering. We were directed to a travel agency in NY by our adoption agency, but the quote they gave us was more than what we'd found online, so we went ahead and bought the tickets we found.

That same NY agency is who will be processing our entry visas! We FED-EXed our applications and passports(scary) to them today and will prayfully be getting our visas back with our precious passports next week!

Dave has had a long day! He met Daniel and Malorie near Nashville. They picked up Josh in Ohio where he was on a mission trip helping out a small church there and Nashville is half-way between us and them. It was so very gracious of them to help us by doing that! He had to come home early because he has to get fingerprinted for immigration and be added to some important paperwork with them since he turned 18 this is required. We hated to cut his trip short, but we had to.

Things are coming together! Thanks once again for keeping us in your prayers!

We have our date!!

We finally received our confirmation number and appointment date at the Ministry of Education in Kazakhstan!
We aren't yet sure of the day we'll be flying out, but our appointment is in mid August(if you want our exact date feel free to email or call us)! We are so very excited! We now apply for visa entries, finish up paperwork, and pack!
It's all feeling a bit surreal right now. Thank you for praying, loving, and supporting us! We are very thankful for wonderful friends and family who have been with us and will be with us through the rest of our journey to our child or ,God willing, children.

Paperwork Update

Yay, our new home study addendum made it to the immigration office just before the deadline!
Now we are waiting for our appointment date for Josh to get his fingerprints and our update will be finished!
Then we just need to pray we get that new important piece of paperwork in the mail before we leave!
Not to mention having the time to get every piece of paper left certified and apostilled!

We also have our appointment this week for Josh to get his medical exam done and Dave and I will also get our updated medicals done. It looks like our doctor is coming in early a day next week so we can get those done! We owe her many thanks for going out of her way now a few times for us!

We are hoping to get our confirmation number this week so we can go ahead and get our passports in the mail to get our entry visas! Oh yeah and an appointment date would be nice so we can book our plane tickets!

Thanks everyone for your continued prayers on our behalf. I love the verse Doctor Jody used this morning Isaiah 14:27 "For the Lord of Hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?"