We're going to ASTANA!

We got quite a surprising phone call from our coordinator yesterday. When I saw our agency's number on caller id, I was praying for some good news. I thought it possible that our paperwork had gone through to the next leg of its journey in Kaz. She said, "Your dossier has passed through both Ministries, and you're going to Astana!!!" She went on to explain that as soon as we can be matched with a boy, we'll be expecting our travel dates (Letter of Invitation), and away we'll go. I could not believe my ears. After all of the set backs and extra waiting due to processing delays, we thought surely that this call would not come until fall. In my last entry, I wrote that I hoped against all odds that we would be waiting for our LOI at the one year point. We started this process on July 6, 2007. Now, 11 months later, we are waiting for our travel dates!!! This is amazing. It looks like a summertime trip is a definite possibility again.

My mind is spinning. We have so much to do. We're looking forward to all of it: baby proofing, finishing Justin's room, learning as much as we can about our region, planning for our trip, lining up a pediatrician, making last minute purchases. We've been told that once we get the call with our LOI, we will have only a couple of weeks to gather, notarize, and certify another batch of documents, purchase our plane tickets, and pack for a two-month stay. So, we are trying to get as settled as possible with all else while we have the time. School is out in two weeks, and this should be an exciting summer. Buz will be recording his next CD through the end of the month, and I will happily immerse myself in preparations.

Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan (since 1997). Again, we will be learning as much as we can about the city before we travel. For now, I have attached the following link, because this website had some beautiful pics of Astana.

http://aboutkazakhstan.com/Astana_city.shtml