Good Morning

We're Gearing Up

It's hard to believe that it's only been 2 WEEKS since we got home. Kazakhstan seems likes so long ago and if we didn't have all of our pictures and a bit of video Boeden would seem even further away than he is.

Today is day 15.............we made it. Now the legal stuff can resume and we can start making travel plans. Laura has been on the phone with our agency and travel agents, trying to gauge the timing of it all. Since I am not making this trip she has actually been working on it for over 6 weeks. That is to say, she has been looking for a travel partner that is willing and able. We are blessed to have two such people ready to go and depending on the actual dates of travel, one will make the journey.

It looks like they will go around July 8th (arriving July 10th) and stay in country 4 days. At dinner tonight Laura was wondering how she would keep Boeden busy and not wear down. He'll be bigger and beginning the adventure of a lifetime. I don't have the answer but my intuition tells me she will be fine.

Before we left for Kazakhstan some of Laura's friends from work started raising the volume on getting ready for a baby. They started giving us things we would need, had her register and started planning a baby shower. It was last Friday and I must say it was really unbelievable. Now, if the Flyers were in the Stanley Cup Finals my willingness to go may have been diminished. Leaving the Flyers aside, I am grateful that I went and got to be a part of such an outpouring of love, much of which was aimed at me.

Laura's mother came down and I picked her up at the train station. She came with Laura and me. My sister flew in and went with my mom. Those of you that know Laura personally know that she has an almost unshakable commitment to her job. Given the hours, training, travel, phone calls and meetings, that is really saying something. But, anyone that works at GAP or knows someone that works at GAP knows that they take care of their own.

Being there on Friday was a real gift. To witness all of the acknowledgement, the affection, the joy and love that these people have for us; it felt sacred. The gifts were amazing and SO generous, AND, in some way, icing on the cake.

I found myself, again, in a room of women who have been standing for us; standing for Boeden, for a long time. I have the experience of witnessing this global miracle, the climax of which will be us tucking Boeden into his crib, in his new room, sometime in late July.

We are so lucky. We are blessed.

Hello There

Now that we have been home for just over a week the miracle of getting Boeden along with the exhliration of the journey have faded a bit and we feeling lonesome; missing him. Has he taken his first step (he's close)? Are any new teeth cutting through? Does he look for us at 10:00 when other adopting parents come in the baby room to pick up there little ones? It's hard.

The thing that has been great is the outpouring of love from our friends and family. So many have you have been reading our Blog daily. I love it when we get a phone call or email that says, "thanks for sharing about Kazakhstan but can we see more pictures of Boeden"? Thank you all. Hearing how excitied and happy you are for us makes such a HUGE difference.

Day Seven

We've been home for a week now and things seem to be settling. It's hard not being with Boeden but we know he is getting cared for by people he loves and who love him.

It is also day six since we appeared in court. The significance of that is; after you appear in court (presuming all goes well) there is a 15 day waiting period before any of the paperwork can be filed and completed. So, each day, in and of itself, is like a building block that gets us just a bit closer.

Yesterday we picked carpet for his room. I just spoke to a painter and later I'll go look at colors. Laura has registered for all the basics and, with some help from my mom, some not so basics. Suffice to say that things are moving and we have plenty to do.

A few days after we had Boeden a sort of lullaby emerged and we find ourselves singing or humming it all of the time. You may appreciate not hearing it as it is set to the tune of "copa cabana". It came about after we met our first interpreter, Lola. Instead of "her name was Lola.............." We sing, "my name is Boeden, I have a Mama. I have a Papa too, and a brand new tooth.............." There's more but we're still working on the copyright.

More to come.

We Made It!

What a journey.

Our last day was Monday and it started with court. We had been packing the night before so most of our stuff was folded, put away and laying in the many suitcases strewn about the apartment. I had done some food shopping so we were able to have a nice breakfast and talk, each of us sharing how we wanted the morning to go. By 8:40 we were downstairs waiting for Vladimir, our driver.

The docket had us listed at 9:00 but the judge was running a bit late so we weren't called in until close to 9:30. We had arrived before any of the other couples that we're scheduled for court that day, but by the time we had hoped to be called in many others had arrived. Despite having a slot on the docket adn hoping to go first, we watched as the other couples inched their way closer to the entrance of the court house. Laura, the Sinclair's and I have TOTAL faith in our coordinator, Larissa, so we just stood and waited. Our attorney, George, peeked his head out of the court's front doors, Larissa waived to us and we moved like we were jaywalking in New York during Christmas (FAST!).

I kept reminding myself that it was Monday morning, the judge is running late and we are going to be among his first appointments so, if he occurred gruff, I had to remember, most likely it had nothing to do with us. We waited a few minutes outside his chambers and Larissa peeked out. With some urgency she asked who would go first and before any of us could think or answer, Laura was moving and walking into his chambers. So, here we are. On the other side of the planet. All of the paperwork we have done over the last year and a half is going to be scrutinized. Boeden's Doctor is there to offer her thoughts on why we should be allowed to adopt. The Social Worker from the Ministry of Education is there to offer her findings from our interview and make a recommendation in our favor. Our Lawyer is there. Our coodinator. The Prosecutor (state representative) and one other person who was taking notes.

A moment earlier, while we were waiting, I had put a hard candy in my mouth and then we were walking in. In the 30 feet between the hallway and the group of people in the judges chambers I had to figure out how to get rid of this candy as I was going to be the one to speak on our behalf. The only thing I could come up with was to stick it in my suit pocket (which went unnoticed) but then my hand was sticky. I'm thinking, suppose this guy wants to shake my hand. Many other thoughts went through my head as I figured it out. I was then being asked to stand and present myself.

"Good Morning, my name is Geoffrey Horowitz. I am a professional photographer living in Media, Pa. This is my wife Laura......" Then the questions started coming. It went pretty well and lasted only about 15 minutes. I made direct eye contact the whole time. He mostly was looking at the file and talking to the others in the room. His manner was at times abrupt. Very direct and somewhat animated. We could tell that he was making sure that all efforts had been made to contact the birth mother and her family. His questions were answered and we were asked to leave chambers. Then, The Sinclairs were called in. I was a little teary eyed as Laura and I recapped what had just happened. I was so moved by the whole process and so grateful for the care and attention that Kazakhstan gives to the process. I started to breathe a little easier and put my attention on pealing the now embedded hard candy out of my suit pocket. Covered with lint, I thought it might make a great keepsake but ended up wrapping it in tissue and throwing it away. We were then called back in.

Everyone was standing. The Judge began to speak. I heard my name. Then Laura's. Then Boeden's. He was making a formal statement. "On this day........" He was certifying and granting our request to adopt Boeden. It's hard to type this and not cry. In his chambers my eyes welled up and tears ran down my cheeks. Our little boy is our little boy.

This only represents a bit of what happened THAT MORNING. I'll add more later and, for those of you that asked, here are some more pictures.

Our Bags Are Packed And We're Ready To Go.........

Taxi's not waiting, yet. It's been a few day's since our last post; we've been busy. Today is our day in court. We get picked up around 8:40 and expect to appear before the judge anytime between 9:00-9:30 or later.

Then, off to the Baby House to have our party with the Chief Doctor, Director of the Center and our Coordinator. Our party with the caregivers was yesterday and it ranks as one of the most moving, significant, exhilaerating and human experiences I have ever been a part of (I am workgin on a recap to post later).

We will be our of communication for a few days because somewhere around nonn (here) today we start the long journey back. It's hard to think of leaving and not taking Boeden with us. While we know he is well cared for, the thought of leaving him is heart wrenching.

Time to finshing getting ready. Here are some pictures from the last few days.

S A T U R D A Y........Night!

Something you might see around the Baby House

Friday Morning

It's Friday morning and we're just getting the day started. Our routine has Laura taking a bath while I try to blog. Then I shower while she tries (the tub has a shower in it). We are lucky enough to have our own hot water heater. Other couples we know are hooked into the public water heater and have had NO HOT WATER IN WEEKS.

You can see the public hot water system everywhere you drive; big silver and black insulated pipes parallel the streets, occaisionally dipping underground then surfacing along another street. The pipes then splinter and run into builings where I guess they are tapped into by each apartment.

Back to the routine. We then finsih getting ready, brush our teeth using ONLY bottled water (including washing the brush) and look to make breakfast. I haven't found an adequate substitute to Starbucks so I will ususally have hot (boiled bottled) water and Laura has tea. This is accompanied by fresh eggs (we cook) or local bread, pastries and crackers. There is a dramatic difference in basic diet here; a lot of meat, wrapped in dough or pasta. And eveything is cooked daily, not a lot of items cooked with the intent on lasting for days.

We have found, given our intestinal geography and sensativity, that a diet of bread, pastries, pringles, soda and water is a good foundation. If you are coming over don't be concerned that you can't eat the food (you can't drink the water,only bottled). There are MANY restaurants that have great food and ordering is an adventure. It has provided some of the funniest and most memorable moments we have had exploring.

There is a place here call Mario's Pizza, we have heard about from others that have made this trek AND have read about it. There is a big marquee in english that say's - Mario's Pizza. When you go inside you can tell it's a pizza joint, kind of. They don't speak english and the menu is in russian. The first time we went I noticed that the background of the menu has some pictures in it. So with some basic "da and nyet" tweaking, I used the background pictures to take a shot at something that might be familiar. HOME RUN. We got pepperoni and mushroom pizza (a little heavy on the oregano - we now know this is the #18 on page three).

We went there yesterday and my stomach was a little sensative so I figured on stearing clear of cheese. I remembered seeing the employees there eating soup during one of our visits so, as i approcahed the counter I gave my best, "I only speak english smile" and ordered. I put my hands in a cup / bowl like position and slurpped a little, saying "soup?" as if in a question. The cashier smiled and said "da, da". She started to get the menu to show me the options (there are many) but I can't read the menu. So, I do a little funky chicken type flapping and ad some "bok, bok, bok". She laughs a little and says, "da, da". 10 minutes later I got a fresh bowl of chicken noodle soup and two rolls. It was pretty good and my stomach was appreciative.

We have used this technique many times to order food, shop for something or talk with our driver (Vladimir - he speaks NO english). It works to get basic points across and the people here are SO generous in trying to understand us.

Well, I hear the water boiling and it's time to shower. We'll post more later as there is more to say about what's happening over the next couple of days.

Bo with Galeana (his main Nanny)

Bo says hello

The Ministry Of Education

It’s Wednesday night around11: 30 pm here in Karaganda. The time is starting to fly by and each day brings some new development that has us closer to completing this stage; ultimately, closer (fingers crossed) to having Boeden home in Media, PA with us.

Yesterday we had our interview at the Ministry of Education. This is a big deal in the process and one of the milestones that you hear couples talking about. The couples that have just arrived hear about this interview and vaguely remember it, knowing it would happen but are still jet lagged and culture shocked, not to mention the fact that they have just flown around the world and in a moment, picked a baby. The ones that have been here for a little bit know it is coming. Still, others are wondering why hasn’t it happened yet as they listen to the most senior soon to be parents re-hash the details of their experience.

For us, we learned Tuesday morning we would be going Tuesday afternoon. On one hand not a lot of time to prepare. On the other hand not a lot of time to freak out. All the while, our interpreter, Olga, kept saying, “don’t worry, try to relax” (at the tender age of 24 she has taken many couples through this process). So, we took her advice.

Upon arriving we find out that many other American couples have their interview scheduled at the same time. Translation, you have a lot of American’s who haven’t heard ongoing English in a while, standing in corridors and offices yakking away. It’s important to notice these kinds of things because you want to be respectful and not a burden, especially when it comes to meeting with officials. Anyway……….

Our turn comes. We enter the interview room and only want to make a good impression. We sit down and offer a gentle yet deliberate nod and murmur hello. They don’t speak English and we don’t speak Russian so body language and nuance mean a lot AND if you get bold and use the wrong Russian greeting you may insult someone (we have heard stories of this happening). The questions start.

The conversation really flowed and within the first minute (the whole thing lasted about 10 minutes) I realized the person sitting directly across from me was just another human being. In fact, he was someone doing his job. Further, his inquiry was geared toward the well being of our little boy. Here I was across the planet from my normal place of being having a conversation through an interpreter and the context was ‘who am I and what is my commitment for my son’. I found myself very free to answer and Laura was the same. Making eye contact, relaxed, smiling and actually enjoying talking to them (3 not including Olga).

Today we learned that Monday at 9:30 am we will be going to Court. This is the big Kahuna of milestones during this stage. Much of the information gathered during the Ministry Interview, reports on Boeden’s development and recommendations of others will be presented by a prosecutor (state representative) to a Judge. I believe that the judge will use that information, along with our dossier, to conduct another interview. I’m sure we’ll be nervous again but the context is the same and we know who we are for Boeden and what our commitments are; we love him and feel blessed to have him in our lives.

Boeden A Few Days Ago

Boeden

Karaganda Pictures

Here are some pictures.

Karaganda

Its 6:00 am Sunday morning here in Karaganda which, translates to 8:00 pm Saturday night (EST) back in the states. We’re no longer lagged and are running on KZ time.

We typically see Boeden twice a day but will only see him once today as the Baby House staff gets some downtime on Sundays. We learned from Olga, our translator, that Sundays here are big family days with generations gathering, spending the day together catching up and eating (something I remember doing occasionally growing up).

Anyone that has gone through this process will tell you that coming over here is not a really vacation. It is beginning of stage of something that takes between 9 months and 3 years to complete (for us it took 1 and 1/2 years to complete the paperwork and get invited). Some of the variables are; how long it takes to complete your paperwork (the ONE thing you have control over). Has the Country changed the paperwork since you started? Are your Notary Seals current? Has the Country put a freeze on adoption? Are there any babies that are in the range you requested?

It’s a very different process than natural childbirth but I image they are similar in yielding a wide range of emotions, doubts, exhilaration and growth. Once you are here and choose a baby (hopefully) you only get 4 hours a day with him or her. And that is 2, two-hour sessions. So, you are left with quite a bit of time on your hands. Mind you, there is still paperwork to do, Doctors, translators, and others to meet with, but you will have time to explore.

We have gotten to the point where we can shop for anything with ease and in certain instances move like typical northeasterner’s. Within walking distance from our apartment is the opera house (we have been and that could be an update of it’s own), at least 2 baby stores, 2 Malls, The Ministry of Sports (I think), an ice skating rink, an outdoor football (soccer) stadium, an internet café, sporting goods, 3 pharmacy’s, many restaurants, pubs and boutiques.

Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world (3 time the size of Texas) and Karaganda is one of the largest cities here; boasting a population of over 500,000. It’s emerging as a metropolitan type area but still has many agricultural and past generational influences. It is a very different part of the planet than where we are from but our experience is that, people are people, and we have enjoyed getting to know the ones we’ve encountered.

The Caregivers

This has been the most amazing trip. Boeden is wonderful, healthy, bright and happy. He crawls. He laughs. He grabs on to furniture (or people) and pulls himself up to a stand (he is learning to stand for himself!)

The people that care for him are angels. There is really no other way to put it. To give you some context, imagine there is a constant flow of little beings coming in (no different than any other orphanage in any other country). The caregivers prepare all the meals. Change the diapers. Care for sick little ones. Prepare the next meal. Do the wash (no dryers—only clotheslines). Some of them also do the facilities work. The structure is in GREAT shape. Floors, walls, lights, carpet; all of it cleaned everyday and quite impeccable.

The facility itself is 3 stories and has numerous rooms of infants, babies, toddlers and up to 4 year olds. There are a number of outdoor swing sets and sand boxes as well. During our stay we have seen the wrought iron fence repainted a fresh green and yellow. In Boeden’s baby room there are roughly 10-12 total babies ranging in age from 6 months to just over a year (the young ones are not yet eligible for adoption). The Baby Room itself is comprised of many smaller rooms. A sleep room that has 12 cribs and some nice chairs to sit in. A common room where the babies spend some of the waking hours (crawling or in walkers or sleeping in a large custom crib). This common room also has a changing table, and other furniture where all the clothes are kept.

Between the two rooms are a kitchen and a cleaning room. The kitchen is where all the meals are prepared and the cleaning room is for us to wash up before we handle our little bundles of joy (it’s occasionally where little tussies are washed off).

There are about 2 Nannies and 7 caregivers in our room and they seem to rotate a bit. The Nannies run the show but they all care and give tremendously to these little beings. Food, cleaning, comforting, changing; they take care of these babies as if they were there own (Laura and I think they have a particular fancy for Boeden).

Down the hall is where we go to play. That, conveniently, we call the Playroom. It has many toys, a swing, rings, shelves and shelves of toys, matting, and chairs. It’s quite large and can accommodate many families at one time. It also has an air conditioner, which, for the most part we are not allowed to use (despite that restriction, lets just say that room is cooler than most). Our friends The Sinclairs and their son Tristan are in the same Baby Room and Play Room, which is nice (we’ll share more about them later).

Today I was really just going to post some of the MANY pictures I have taken and possibly add a few words about what it’s like for Laura and I here. When I think of the care and attention given to Boeden I have to thank our guardian angels for placing him here. We do our best to honor these women (99.9% of the people working here are women) in every exchange or greeting so they know how appreciative we are. We just wanted to share all of that with you.

Fashion

Fashion here in Kaszkhstan is all the rage and for women, AND, it's all about the shoes. Everywhere you look there is a place to buy them. The range is from stunning to fashionable. Rarely if every do you see sneakers, Berkenstocks, Teva's or anything like them. Men wear mostly leather, square toed or pointy toed shoes.

The first week we were here I went out every morning to explore and take pictures. My usual attire was jeans, sneakers and a Nike vest. I got more looks because of what I was wearing than I did for the big camera in my hand (this all took place in the 7:00 am range - after 9:00 am I dressed in a more socially acceptable way).

Well, enough about that. Here is more of Boeden.

Blogging International on a dial up.....updates to follow