Friday, July 29, 2005

Greetings from Kazakhstan July 29, 2005

Hello again everyone!

We hope that this note finds everyone well, despite the heat wave that we have heard about there in NC. It is still really warm here in Almaty as well, but without as much humidity as NC. Ivan continues to be a delight and we can hardly believe that he is really ours! What a blessing we have received.

With each passing day Ivan shows us a little bit more of who he is and what type of personality he has. He has really started to assert himself with us and let us know his likes and dislikes. It appears that he has already figured out who is the softy in the house and who has the iron fist. It’s amazing how quickly he has picked up on things. Perhaps Sherman sent him some information ahead of time about how things run in the T household.

Ivan’s appetite has been increasing as he continues to feel more comfortable with us and as he learns that he has choices. At the orphanage he got what he got and that was that. When you are trying to get 15 children fed at one time, there is no time for choices.

Tuesday morning we had our medical appointment for the Embassy. Ivan couldn’t stand it! He screamed while he was weighed and measured and squirmed the entire time that the Dr. was listening to his heart and lungs. We were thrilled to hear that Ivan’s lungs are clear (even though he still has a slight cold) and that he is in fine health for travelling to the US. He has gained a little over half a pound and grown an inch since the middle of June. We were very excited to hear that as well. He has a lot of weight to gain, but with his new found appetite and plenty of time to eat, we are confident that he will catch-up in no time.

We moved our appointment at the Embassy from Thursday to Wednesday so that we could go on a tour of the city with our translator and coordinator on Thursday. We did not actually go to the Embassy itself; we went to the Consulate’s office where we had our "exit interview". We received a packet of information that included a translated copy of our court transcripts and most importantly, Ivan’s Kazak passport with his IR-3 visa in it. The IR-3 visa allows Ivan to enter the US and become an American citizen when we touch down in the US. This was our final adoption task!! Now, we are just waiting to get on a plane and come home!

Speaking of which, the Lord has been gracious once again! We leave Almaty at 3:20 AM on Saturday! So, we will be home two days before we thought we would! Once again, thank you all for your prayers.

Thursday morning we went on a tour of Almaty. We went to many of the war memorials that they have here. Then we went to the Natural History Museum, where we learned a lot more about Kazak history from our translator. The museum would have been interesting with out Sonya’s help, but she really helped the exhibits come alive for us. It was great. Ivan rode on Dad’s chest in the Bjorn the entire time and even managed to get a little nap in while we walked around.

Today we will be busy packing and trying to figure out what we will need for a 24-hour trip home with Ivan. We are taking a couple of extra outfits for Ivan and ourselves and plenty of food and toys to occupy our little guy. The most challenging part of the trip will likely be the 7-hour layover in Frankfurt. What does one do with a 16-month-old in an airport terminal for 7 hours? We’ll let you know.

We plan to send a final update once we get home and settled into our new life as a family of four. Once again we want to thank you all for your love, prayers and support. Not just for the time that we have been travelling, but throughout the whole process. As you all know, it has been a long (sometimes hard) road to get to this point, but we can assure you that it has been worth it! We can’t imagine our family without Ivan, our Kazak Prince.

TTFN and we’ll see you all soon!

Charlotte, Joe and Ivan (soon to be American Citizen)

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