May 4, 2008

Final Day of Bonding Period

Today was a big day.  Part of the adoption process in Kazakhstan requires a 14 day bonding period.  This is a time where you learn about the children and they learn about you.  It is for you to become comfortable with each other and make sure it is a good family match.  Today was the “official” last day and both orphanages have agreed for us to go forward with the adoption.  The process now is to apply for a court date and appear before the Judge for final approval.  That usually takes one week so we are hoping to have our court date set for May 12 or 13.  Nick and I would then spend a few more days in Petropovlovsk finishing any paperwork before going to Almaty.  We will spend a few days in Almaty and then return home.  The children will be escorted to Florida about one month after the court date, if everything goes smoothly.  We feel this is a big step towards getting all of our family united.

We are very thankful for Mariya as she is very diligent and always on top of everything.  She has taken us through this every step of the way.  She even reminds us we need to take pictures of the day as they will be presented to the Judge in court.

This morning Nick and I ventured out on our own to go buy shoes and a shirt for Kristina and get some lunch.  We had measured Kristina’s foot and showed that to the shop owner to determine the appropriate size.  We were successful and then enjoyed a nice lunch at the mall.  We headed back to the apartment for Mariya and Sasha to pick us up at 2:00 so we could take Alyona shopping.

We took Alyona to a mall that had several shops that were slightly larger than the shops at the market.  There was more selection and we were able to get shoes and clothes for Alyona.  As I mentioned in an earlier update, there are no overweight people here.  Most of the women are actually very thin. The shops buy clothes to fit most of the people (I would NEVER be able to find clothes to fit!) and maybe a few larger sizes.  Alyona is not large at all, but she is larger than many of the women here so it is difficult for her to find clothes to fit.  We only need enough for her to travel with and then we can get her taken care of in Florida.

I am at quite a loss shopping for a 16 year old girl.  I had no idea when we left Florida that we would adopt a 16 year old girl so I have not paid much attention to what they are wearing these days, and it has been a long time since I have been there! 

In our spare time Nick and I watch TV with no sound.  It is all in Russian so we turn the sound off since we don’t understand it.  We have watched a lot of soccer games, Animal Planet, sports channel, and Russian MTV.  I did catch a Justin Timberlake concert on TV last night so I watched that.  They do play some American videos on MTV so we listen to those.  We will also download our pictures for the day, write our blog, catch up with family on email or try to get some work done.  The internet and email are always a challenge as we have a dial up connection, so when we do connect it is very slow.  Of course we follow the Orlando Magic on line and get updates from my brother.  GO MAGIC!  We also check our website each day as we love reading the messages.

Today ended on a perfect note as my family called and we were able to speak with my brother Steve, my mom, and Alex and Ben.

We did not get very many pictures of people today so I will post a few I took of the bookstore we shopped at and a typical street with shops.

The Hrenko Family

Adoption Journey to Kazakhstan

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Book Store

Julie, Nick, & Alyona

Street with Shops