Monday, May 28, 2007

10 days and counting

We got to see Az today but it wasn’t until 3:00 in the afternoon because Tanya had an exam in the morning. So, we decided to clean the apartment to waist some time. Normally they want us to let them know it needs cleaning and they will bring someone in to clean, but we did it just to do something. It made us feel better for the floors, bathroom and kitchen to be cleaned, and for the sheets to be changed. It felt good to do something besides watching TV.

3pm rolled around pretty fast and the visit was a really good one. Az had just got up from his nap (1-3pm). Directly after their naps, they get a snack. Since we had come to visit they quickly put on another layer of clothing and sat him down for his snack, which included a piece of coffee cake and a cup of apple juice. He had a death grip on the tea cup he was drinking from and sucked the juice down in under a minute. We were surprised he didn’t choke himself. Amy and the caretaker had to pry it from his hands. After he had his juice it was on to the cake which he thoroughly enjoyed. By the time he finished, he had it all over himself and the table. Just something we have to look forward to.

We decided to stay inside and were treated to more sounds than we have heard before. He is definitely ready to roll after a nap. We successfully destroyed every corner of the room. He found new ways of making noise and was very impressed with himself over the fact that he could raise the two stacking toys above his head. While he raised the toys above his head, he made a great sound as he thought, something like a wow or ta-dah. He was so proud of himself and his accomplishment. He also liked to bang the toys on the table making as much noise as possible. He would get very excited when Amy would spin the round disks on the table. He would shake his hands back and forth and hand Amy the disk to repeat the action. Then he would try to get the disk to spin by dropping it onto the table. He had a grand time playing.

We really had a good time. After our visit we stopped by the store for a few supplies and went home for dinner. Trying to find anything out of our current routine of vegetables or pasta, we decided to pop some popcorn and settle in for a movie.

Unfortunately we will not see Az tomorrow but are looking forward to Wednesday.

Talk to you all soon,
Love, David and Amy

Sunday, May 27, 2007

11 days and counting

This was a day spent watching the rain. It rained all day. We had not checked the weather in a few days and were not expecting it. We had planned to go back to the park but that was out of the question. So we basically spent the day reading, watching VH1 or CNN and movies. Amy also started an extremely difficult puzzle of a castle set in a wooded area. She didn’t finish it until Monday afternoon.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

12 days and counting

Today we were not able to get to the baby house to see Az. So we decided to go run some errands. We exchanged some money for food and souvenirs at the Tsum, which is one of our favorite shopping spots. After buying some things we decided to go to the park at the end of the street that Yakov’s apartment is on. This is the park that Bobby and Kim went to last year.

We really had a great time at the park. They have a ferris wheel that will give you a good view of Pavlodar. We did not go up because it was packed with people wanting to ride. There are several other rides for children. There are several vendors set up along the walk way selling drinks, popcorn, ice cream, and cotton candy. We didn’t try the cotton candy but we vowed to get some next Saturday. Amy can’t wait. Then, we checked out some other places and found a stage where there were musicians setting up. It was a group of about 15 people ready to play. This must be a regular event because there were several people there to listen including a group of older Russian women between 60-70 years old. We found a bench in the shade to enjoy the music. To our surprise all the older Russians started dancing when the music started. There were only 2 men dancing and probably about 12 women. Most of the pairs were women, who had set partners and were having a grand time dancing. Amy and I were enjoying the music and the scene when at the beginning of the second song we had another surprise. Amy was rocking and swaying to the music when one lady spotted her. She pointed to Amy wanting her to get up and dance. We were completely caught off guard, embarrassed, and did not get up. Only the large group of women was dancing and all the younger people were sitting and watching. Maybe next time we will dance. We sat and listened for a little longer hoping that the lady who had motioned for Amy to dance would not come over and get her to dance.

After our trip to the park and the mall, we went back home and got ready to go to dinner. We decided we would go to the Irish Pub. I got the cayenne steak and potatoes and Amy got a grilled chicken salad. Both dishes were great. The pub seems to be our favorite dinner spot, but it doesn’t compare to our favorite spots in Memphis.

Paka,
Love, David and Amy

Friday, May 25, 2007

13 days and counting

Going to see Az today. He was in a great mood this morning. We had to stay inside because many of the children have small colds and the docs don’t want them outside. This was fine with us. He was very vocal today saying what we think is momma and poppa. We would ask him to say “momma”, but his response would be “poppa” every time. Today was full of firsts for Az. Not only did he start saying words he also had his first oreos. He gobbled them up as fast as he could and started to get upset when they were gone. We also found out his official weight and height. He is 20lbs and 31 inches tall. A little below average on US growth charts but I don’t think we will have a problem putting a little weight on him.

After our great visit, Tanya took us to the mall to walk around and search for some souvenirs and a toy for Az. We couldn’t find either of what we wanted. As we were about to leave, David stopped to buy a fried pastry with chicken and cheese in it. He said it was pretty good. The rest of the afternoon and evening was filled with movies and snacks. Unfortunately we will not be able to see Az tomorrow. Tanya is in the middle of final exams and is very busy. Hopefully we will get to see Az Monday. Talk to everyone soon.

Paka,
Love Amy and David

Thursday, May 24, 2007

14 days and counting

Today really felt like a Sunday but without pancakes. We are really in the dumps today because we could not see Az today. We wanted to go to the mall and just look around and maybe get something to eat. We called Lena because Tanya was busy. Tanya ended up calling us and telling us that she could not go and would be glad to go tomorrow.

So we are looking forward to that tomorrow. We went to the river instead. We spent some time down there until the wind was just unbearable. It was really windy and the wind was picking up sand from the beach. Get pelted by sand doing about 40mph’s and you will go home.

We are looking forward to tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

15 days and counting

We are still really excited about the court day and we were ready to see Az. He was in a good mood today. We stayed indoors because it was a little chilly. We decided to bring along some clothes to see how they would fit. We took a pair of sweat pants and a pair of track pants. We also took a onsie. The track pants swallowed him. There were too long and they fell right off him. The sweat pants were a little better. Amy rolled them on the top and bottom. They were just a little long, but seemed to fit him better. The t-shirt onsie fit him really well. It looked comfortable and a little roomy. We have to get some experience dressing an active little boy. He complained a little while we were changing him but he is a trooper.

After the clothes, we played with blocks, trucks and everything else. He is really making a lot of noises. It is kind of hard to explain but it was kind of like a dog’s bark that was a whisper. He also babbled quite a bit. It was a good visit.

After the visit we found out that we would not get to go to the baby house tomorrow. We met up with Svetlana and she said that Tanya needed some study time and that we probably didn’t want to go everyday to the babyhouse. We were upset. We tried to get our point across that this was the whole reason we were here but it didn’t matter. Instructions were given and we have no choice.

The rest of the day was spent with Jack Bauer in 24. We are really excited to have gotten our package last night before we went to see Shrek 3rd in Russian. The movie was great but we missed all the subtle jokes that come with those movies. We are looking forward to seeing it at home.

We want to thank everyone for helping with the care package. It really made court day even better.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Court Day

Well we have been waiting on this day for a long time.

The past few days we have had trouble sleeping, at least I have. Amy is sleeping but tossing and turning at night. We have just been waiting on a day that sometimes we thought would never get here. We both woke early this morning. Amy decided to exercise to waste some time and to help with all the sweets we have been eating. We had a quick breakfast of oatmeal and a banana. We were dressed in our suits and ready to roll at 9:30 this morning. Sergei and Svetlana picked us up and we met Lena at Svetlana’s office go over the particulars of the court date.

We got to the court house right before 11:00 and waited on the judge to finish a previous case and we started at 11:20. We walked into a small court room with the judge’s bench up front, a podium in the middle and benches on either side of the podium. The judge was already seated when we walked into the courtroom. The plan was that I would speak first about our reasons to adopt, why we came to Kaz, why we chose Azamat, and our bonding process. Instead of the judge addressing me first, she addressed Amy. This totally blew everything that we had prepared and startled both of us. But Ams stepped in like a trooper and took the lead. The judge asked us about our decision to adopt from Kazakhstan, about the bonding period, and the first time that we saw Azamat. After the judge was finished asking questions the prosecutor asked us about our income. Everything went great. Then, Nina (lady from the Guardianship of Care) and Dr. Hope (Azamat’s doctor from the baby house) both testified about Azamat, his history and how they both thought that we were a good match and suggested the judge grant our full petition for adoption. The prosecutor had just a couple of questions and he also approved of the petition based upon our home study and the testimony provided today. The judge took a 25 minute recess and came back with the ruling. The ruling was that she approved our petition for adoption. She also approved our petition to move his birth city to Pavlodar and to change his name to William Rama Azamat Hall. Also, she said that her decision would be in full authority on June the 6th. This is the typical 15 day waiting period for appeals. No need to appeal this decision.

We had a few pictures taken in front of the orphanage with our lawyer Svetlana, translator Lena, Dr. Hope and Nina. It was a great morning. After court we went to Svetlana’s office to discuss the second half of the period and our plans to return home. The entire process took about 2 hours. Not too bad. I slipped next door and bought a bottle of champagne and some candy to celebrate the wonderful occassion. Svetlana set out some really good candy from France. They toasted us and we thanked them for all their hard work. We would not have made it through this without them. They were both wonderful.

It was truly a great beginning to the end of our adoption process.

To continue the celebrations we are going with Tanya and her boyfriend to see Shrek 3, in Russian, and to enjoy some caramel popcorn and the laughs.

Thanks to everyone who has kept us in your prayers or thought about us over this long journey. We are finally seeing a large light, that looks like Memphis, at the end of our tunnel. We also could not have made it through this without our faith in God. He has truly blessed us in so many ways.

We will visit with Az everyday until we come home and it looks like we will be coming home around Fathers Day Weekend. What a great present.

With much Love, David, Amy and William Rama Azamat Hall

Monday, May 21, 2007

Day Before Court

We awoke this morning to a light rain, which was nice. As usual we went to spend an hour with Azamat. Because of the weather we stayed inside and played with the bikes and stacking toys. He was in a very serious mood. He took his time investigating everything about each toy that he picked up. He wants to know how everything works. I am sure one day we will find our video camera or some other electronic device completely taken apart. I won’t mind as long as he can put it back together in working order. We did get a few laughs out of him near the end. By 11:15 he was ready to chow down and play with his friends.

We had originally planned to meet with Svetlana after the bonding period to discuss the court procedures but she was very busy with paperwork and wanted to meet with us Tuesday morning around 9:30. We were a little nervous because we did feel that we were going to be prepared. We tried to keep in mind that Svetlana is a wonderful lawyer and has everything in line. If she thinks an hour before court is enough time to prepare, she is probably right.

After we played with Az we returned to the apartment for a normal afternoon of relaxing, snacking, and movies. We did experience our first hail storm in Pavlodar. It hailed for only about 10 minutes. The hail was no larger than pea size so it wasn’t too bad of a storm. Nothing else out of the ordinary happened. We ended the evening with popcorn and Van Helsing.

We hope that we will be able to get some sleep tonight but we will probably be too nervous about court.

Thanks to everyone who is thinking about us and praying for our court session. We can’t wait for it to be finished so we can see more light at the end of the tunnel.

Paka,
Love David and Amy

A litte different Format

As all of you know we have been having a daily diary of sorts posted on this blog. We have decided to forgo the daily entries for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Not that these three days here have not offered new jewels that must be shared with everyone just that our daily routine has not changed. As all of you know we are anxiously waiting on Tuesday to get here and our daily routine is the same.

These last two visits with Az have been very good. He has been playing very well with the toy trucks. Not only does he roll the trucks on the ground but on the wall also. He has learned to play hide and seek, which he thinks is very funny. Az is becoming more vocal each day. He hasn't said any words but does babble on. We also noticed that he is getting a new tooth on the bottom left side. Maybe this is why he was so cranky Thursday.

We also had a surprise visitor to the apartment Friday. When we got home from our visit there was a yellow parakeet out our living room window. We had the window cracked thinking he would not come inside, but to our surprise he hopped in. We hurriedly closed the curtains so he couldn't fly through the apartment. With him contained we were able to shoo him back outside.

We have shared some pictures with the mothers and they loved them at first sight. I know that they have shared them with others so we have decided to post more pictures on this entry to share our story. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words!" So instead of a thousand words here is our picture story.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

For the last couple days we have not had any hot water. We have been told that the hot water is shut off in the summers. We are wondering why you would want to cut the hot water off in the first place.

Since we had not had the hot water since Tuesday, we decided to fill the tub full of water last night to see if it would be any warmer this morning. We were hoping for room temperature, but no luck. So we did the same thing that our grandparents and family before that did. Boiled enough water to get the temperature comfortable, it wasn’t 100 degrees or anything but it was ok. It was like water in a swimming pool. We got our baths in a hurry and went on to visit Az. Tanya told us that the hot water should be back on in a couple of days.

We got to the baby house and his group was already outside. We found them and Az was riding in a stroller while all the other kids walked. His caregiver picked him up and set him on the ground and once he saw us he came running for us. But this little boy had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He did not want to walk with us or play with us. He wanted to lay in that stroller. So after his little fit and the caregiver trying to calm him down he was put back in the stroller. All was well again. So she suggested that we get another stroller so we could walk with him.

After we got the other stroller and started walking, he wanted to be with his group. So we ended up spending more time with the group than with just him. He sat in the stroller the entire visit. He would act like he wanted to get out and walk but he would immediately fuss to get back in the stroller. The whole time we were out there all of the children were being fussy. Plus we heard plenty of babies crying in the house today. The weather is a little cooler today than yesterday so we thinking it might be something in the air.

After our visit with King Azamat, Amy had an appointment to get her hair cut. I got mine cut a little over a week ago. She decided to get hers cut so we did that right after our visit. She was a little nervous at first but the hairstylist did a great job. The only pictures you will see on this day will be of Amy’s new hair due because we did not get any pictures of Az today because of his fits. Amy got her hair washed, cut, and styled for about $5.50. What a deal? I wish hair cuts in Memphis were this cheap.

We are planning on spending the rest of the day reading or watching movies. We hope all of you are doing well and thanks again for all the great comments on the blog. We look forward to those every morning.

Paka
Love, Dave and Amy

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Ok, we have to share with all of you a story about our “Classic” pizza for dinner. Tanya, our translator suggested that we try the Classic pizza. She described it as having vegetables and several kinds of meat. We were told that several American families liked it and even ordered it more than once. We were also told that it was a favorite among Pavlodarians. So we decided to give it a try. Well, brothers and sisters let me tell you, just because someone else likes it, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a surprise at the end of the rainbow. The delivery driver got here right on time last night. We paid him and were ready to dig in. The pizza smelled great before we even opened the box. We were both thinking, “This is going to be one of the best dinners we have had in a while!”

Surprise Surprise, we opened the box only to find a “Fried Egg” in the middle of our pizza. Now I am sure that some of you are thinking, “eugggghhhhhh, a fried egg?” (Tanya had said nothing of about eggs.) Trust me when I tell you that after seeing it we were not so ready to introduce pizza with fried eggs to our watering taste buds.

So with any new adventure you have that moment of uncertainty and doubt before you dive in. Any of you that have been with us to Heber Springs, Ar, and jumped off the 50 foot cliffs, knows what I am talking about. Your guts turn upside down and you’re asking yourself “what was I thinking?” Hesitantly, we decided to go ahead and dive in.

After the first bites, we were pleasantly surprised that the egg tasted pretty good. The pizza also had strips of ham, mushrooms, and a few black olives. We wondered where the veggies and different types of meat were. Although we were hesitant at the beginning we were able to polish it off with no problems and then resumed our daily activities.

So besides the pizza, everything else is going great. We had another great visit with Azamat today. We played a lot outside. He has discovered dirt and sand and loves to pick it up and throw it. We started out playing by ourselves but he really wanted to find his group, so we went on a hunt. We found them playing in a nice play area. All around the baby house are play areas that are sectioned off by tall shrubs. These areas have a grassy area to play and a covered porch area. The porch has a large playpen and benches. Surprise, surprise Az wanted to play in the dirt. He was using a shovel to smooth the dirt out. He would also scoop up the dirt and fling it everywhere. Once he tried to eat the dirt, leaving a ring of dirt around his mouth. By the end of the visit both Az and mom were very dirty. We dusted off and followed his group in to get cleaned up and ready for lunch.

We have been asked what we plan on naming him. His official name on his birth certificate, adoption papers and passport will be William Rama Azamat Hall. We have called him Will, Az and Azamat. Our plan is to keep calling him Azamat or Az until we get home. Once we are home we will call him Azamat,William. This was the suggestion given to us by other couples. Just to try and make William familiar until he recognizes it. At some point we will call him William or Will. We will still use Az on some occasions but that will probably stay between the three of us as he gets older. He will know that he was adopted and he will get to see this blog some day when he is ready to read it. We are also bringing home souvenirs from the country to place in his room. Just to keep some resemblance of where he was born and lived.

After our visit the rest of the day went very well. We made a trip to exchange more money and stopped to pick up a few supplies. The weather has been really good this week, giving us more of a chance to get out and walk.

Tomorrow we look forward to spending more time with Az and taking as many pictures as possible.

We have everyone is doing well and have a great week.

Love, Dave and Amy

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Az and his group were ready to go out and play again today. He was ready when we got there and we snatched him up and we went on outside. It is very nice here today, probably in the low to mid 70’s.

We walked around and went over to the playground. He is getting used to going there and is very comfortable outside. We rode the merry go round, swung on the swing and played around the small house. He has discovered the use of sand and dirt. Pick it up and throw it in the house. He was having a lot of fun.

We had a really good visit with him today. We are counting down the days to our court date next week. We are hoping that this week goes quickly so we can get to the court and get that behind us.

I think we are going to stay in the apartment today and catch up with our favorite books and order a pizza. On our last trip we tried a chicken pizza but weren’t impressed, so this time we are trying the “classic.” Hopefully it will be good. We hope everyone is doing ok and we will talk soon.

Paka
Love, David and Amy