Where to begin?

It's 2008! This is the year we will travel to Kazakhstan to become a family of three.

We are the McGraths...Buz and Dawn. This blog is our way of sharing our adoption journey with friends, family, or anyone interested in learning about adoption.

We are adopting a baby boy from Kazakhstan. His age could be anywhere from 9 months to one year (approximate, of course). We don 't know too much yet. Still, it is amazing how little you can know, but love so much.

Actually, we are 6 months into the process. Our official application was filed with our agency back in July 2007. Since then, we've completed our home study and waded through a mountain of paperwork to compile our dossier. This seemed impossible at times. Now, we are literally one document away from completing the requirements for our dossier.

Boiled down to the basics, the process continues like this:

Next, our dossier is sent to the Consulate of Kazakhstan in New York. And the waiting continues. Then, our pages travel to the country of Kazakhstan, where they go through a few more channels. And the waiting continues. Finally, we will receive a "Letter of Invitation." Then, we hop on a plane, and off we go to meet our son. After we meet him, we will have the opportunity to officially declare that we want to adopt this child.

Buz and I will live in Kazakhstan for a minimum of one month. During this time, we will go to court and file the required paperwork in country. Then, we have the option of coming home for 3 weeks to return for approximately 7 days at which time we will bring Justin home. Or (more likely) we can stay in country for the entire 8 weeks. In this scenario, Justin will stay with us for the last few weeks at our apartment in Kazakhstan, before bringing him home to the U.S..

While exciting, this process can be complicated and overwhelming. I have been reluctant to start this blog, as putting it all into words seemed just as overwhelming. Of course, I have that irrational fear that as soon as I post this something will go wrong. There are no words to describe how emotionally connected we are to a child we haven't met yet. The waiting, though expected, is difficult. I don't think I ever truly relax anymore. Thank God for Buz, my constant, calming resource.

In starting this blog, we enter the next phase of our journey. We will continue to share here as we move on through this process. However, we are most excited for the moment we will introduce you to our son, as we post pictures and videos of Justin when we travel.

Thanks for reading!