Wednesday, January 30, 2008

12 weeks later

I realized tomorrow will be 12 weeks since we have been home. It has been a very hectic time for us and I do not want to go into too much detail, mainly because I speak to most of you.
We are well, yes still tired but working on that. Nika is so happy in her new home. The two sisters are great together and I get such joy knowing they have each other. If I said much more it would become epic so I keep it short and sweet.
Let the pictures speak for how we are and maybe I will come around to bloggging again sometime soon.

6 comments:

Matthew Ruley said...

Yeah! An update! Both daughters are gorgeous! So nice to talk to you tonight on the phone!

Amy said...

Looks like everyone is doing well!! So good to hear.

Karen said...

It looks as though your daughters have been sisters since day one. Beautiful.

Catalina said...

Welcome back to the blogging! Very cute pictures of the two sisters :)!

Stephanie and Gary said...

Hi there -- I recently came across your blog thanks to Catalina. I am also from Brooklyn, still in the inspiration stage. We have two biological daughters and are looking to expand to our family with a little boy from Kaz. You can check out my blog at www.ourjourneyto5.blogspot.com.
I tried emailing you but it seems you hadn't gotten my email. Please feel free to get in touch -- nice to know some other Brooklyn folks on the same journey. Best to yoU!
Steph
StephUSA@aol.com
www.ourjourneyto5.blogspot.com

Jason and Rebecca said...

I'm late in replying but I'm so happy to see new pictures! They are both so beautiful! I'll have to e-mail or call you soon. Take care!


Timeline

11/08/07 Left Kazakhstan on route home to NYC
10/22/07 Left Arkalyk for Almaty
10/03/07 Court Day - Petition for Adoption Accepted!
9/15/07 First day in Arkalyk at orphanage, met Veronika
9/12/07 Departing NYC on route to Kazakhstan
9/04/07 LOI - arrived today!
8/24/07 Heard from Agency with information about children, region and some details about trip. (1 week to gather info while caseworker on vacation)
7/27/07 Began process of updating FBI clearance and medical forms
7/03/07 Dossier arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan at the MFA
6/27/07 Approved by Kaz Embassy in DC and shipped to
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana, Kazakhstan (MFA is the 1st ministry to review dossier)
6/22/07 Dossier shipped to Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington, DC
6/01/07 Dossier fully translated and awaiting to be sent to Kaz Embassy.
5/21/07 Agency submitted dossier for translation.
5/15/07 Dossier complete / sent to adoption agency
5/09/07 I-171H Approval letter forwarded by INS to US Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan
5/01/07 Notarize, Authenticate, Apostille and copy of all documents
4/24/07 INS fingerprinting
4/08/07 Paper work hell...........working to gather all that is needed to complete dossier
3/12/07 Received notice of FBI clearance from US Department of Justice
3/11/07 Second home study visit
3/04/07 First home study visit
3/02/07 Had fingerprints taken for FBI clearance
2/28/07 I600A - Application filed with BCIS (Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services ) for I-171H
2/21/07 Applied for home study review and began collecting documents for dossier
2/20/07 Signed with Adoption Agency - Adoption Ark