Today was the big day! We started off at the courthouse again at 10:00 for the meeting with the judge. All of the same people that were present yesterday were there again today, but today our coordinator was there as well.
The judge asked us a few questions, but mostly it was the same stuff as we talked about yesterday. I felt like perhaps I should answer the questions a little differently or with more detail, but I figured yesterday seemed to go well enough, and if she wanted more information she would ask for it. At about 10:45, the judge said we were done with this part, and she didn’t see any reason why she should not grant the adoption. Then we were off to the baby house.
The doctor brought Symbat to us in an office where everyone was. There were so many people and she was tense and nervous. After a few minutes, we were told to go to the music room, so Kara, Symbat, and I went there. Once we were there, Symbat loosened up and was her usual smiley self. We played for about 15 minutes, and the full contingent of people walked in. They saw us playing with her and stayed for just a few minutes. From the judge’s smiles (and everyone else’s), it seemed that the session went well. The court contingent left, and we stayed for another 15 minutes or so, then headed back to court ourselves.
Back in court, the judge reminded us of her medical conditions and asked us if we wanted to reconsider the adoption. Of course, we said no. She then asked me to make a final statement. I wasn’t quite ready for this, so I basically reiterated some of the stuff I said earlier about us always wanting to adopt, why we chose Kazakhstan, and that we would take good care of Symbat. When I was done, she asked Kara to make a final statement as well. I could tell that it took Kara by surprise, but she added a few words of why we wanted to adopt Symbat as well. The judge then asked if wanted to keep her birth date, which we did, and then she asked if we wanted to change her name to Docter Alina Symbat. We said yes, and we were basically done. The judge said she would have a verdict at 5:00, and we were free to go. That was at about 1:00.
We grabbed some lunch and headed back to the baby house at 3 to play with Symbat. We were in the music room with the Robey’s, and it was very hot in there even with the little window air conditioner they have. It was raining outside so we couldn’t go out. At 5:00, we took the kids back to their groups and headed back to the hotel.
Only our coordinator needed to go back to the court to hear the verdict. We still haven’t heard it yet, but we’re waiting patiently. We haven’t heard anything negative yet; the court has all of the necessary paperwork, our answers appeared to satisfy the judge, and our visit went well. So we hope for the best. In the meantime, we’ll sit in our hotel room and enjoy the air conditioner!
(Note: it's now 7:30 PM and we still haven't heard anything yet. We don't have any reason to believe the decision was not favorable, but not knowing for sure is still tough. We'll update when we know more!)
Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas. ~Paula Poundstone
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Shopping Today!
Quentin told me before we left that I could do a bit more shopping this trip=) I took him up on the offer today since we no longer feel like we need to go to bed at 3 in the afternoon. After lunch at Aral we headed to Tsum (the Bazaar is closed on Mondays). We bought some cute and sparkly handheld fans for our two older daughters, a gift for my mother, and some souvenirs at the first couple of shops. I found some wooden Kazakh dolls that will go well with the wooden doll I have from Japan, and when Quentin wasn’t looking I bought a Barbie doll dressed up in traditional Kazakh clothes=) We headed upstairs to the shop with the Kazakh clothing, but they were closed for lunch (many shops close from 1-2 for lunch). Across from the shop I found a sewing shop that had ribbon that looked like it was used for the Kazakh clothing, so I bought a whole roll of it. I am hoping to be able to sew up some traditional dresses for our girls, and I will use some of the ribbon for the dresses.
We are hoping to go to the Bazaar on Wednesday. I want to look for a blanket there. They have beautiful hand pieced patchwork blankets. I will include a picture if I happen to find one!
We are hoping to go to the Bazaar on Wednesday. I want to look for a blanket there. They have beautiful hand pieced patchwork blankets. I will include a picture if I happen to find one!
Court Day 1
First, let me start off by saying how very hot it is. Yesterday is was 38 degrees Celsius (over 100 Fahrenheit) and today it’s 34 outside. We’re very glad that we spent our longest trip here when it was a bit cooler.
Our first day of court was today! We had heard many different things about how court could be so we weren’t totally sure what to expect. I will outline the process here in the hopes that it might help someone else coming to Taraz later.
We went to the courthouse, which was pretty packed with people. When it was our time we were escorted into a small court room with a few benches and a small desk for the judge. After waiting a few minutes, we were escorted into another court room which was slightly bigger. The judge would arrive in a few minutes. The whole thing reminded us of waiting in the doctor’s office and then getting called back into one of the little exam rooms. When the doctor is ready, they come in. Kind of the same thing here.
We all stood for the judge when she came in. All said, there was the judge, her secretary, the prosecutor, us and our translator, the doctor from the orphanage, the MOE lady, and one of the ladies from the Guardianship Council. We were told that any time we answered a question for the judge we needed to stand.
The judge made some brief opening remarks. She said this was just a day to talk and to get to know us, kind of like a preliminary procedure. The “real” court procedure would be later. I was asked to stand, and the judge started asking me questions. There wasn’t anything that I hadn’t expected, just the typical stuff. Why are you adopting, why Kazakhstan, do I make enough to support the family, who will watch the kids, what about religion, why the child we chose, did we know her medical problems, and stuff like that. When you answer the questions, be sure to face the judge and not your translator!
After I was done, the judge asked the others if there were any questions. The prosecutor stood up and asked why we wanted another girl when we already had three. I answered, and everyone seemed okay with it. On a side note, when we hear the term “prosecutor” we tend to get a bit nervous I think. This prosecutor was a thin girl, maybe 21 years old, and it would appear that this wasn’t her dream job. I am sure there are others that may be more aggressive, but this one didn’t have a lot to ask. I think her role is to represent the state, and as she has no real vested interest she didn’t feel the need to press us. My whole point is, don’t worry about it.
I was asked to sit and Kara to stand, and she was asked just a few questions. After Kara was done, the doctor made her statements, followed by the MOE lady and the Guardianship Council lady. Then we were pretty much done.
Tomorrow we meet again for a second court date. We go to the court at 10:00, and then to the baby house at 11:00 with the judge and all of the people that were present today. The judge will watch us interact with Symbat. (We’re told that she will watch us for all of about 2 minutes… we’ll see.) After that we go back to the courthouse, wait for 30 minutes, and the judge will deliver her verdict. We are hoping she grants our adoption!
The process overall has been somewhat nerve-wracking, but the judge here seems favorable to international adoptions. She was nice enough in our meeting today. You can tell that she is strict and insists that everyone follow the rules (she chewed her secretary out for mixing up our paperwork with the Robey’s), but she was polite and professional to us. I don’t see any reason to get too nervous about being in front of her, as long as you have your answers ready and know why you’re here. The prosecutor may ask questions, but her presence almost seemed like a formality, that she had to be there. (They have other prosecutors as well, so it may be random as to who you get.) Everyone else in the room is there on your side.
Tomorrow will be the big day! Hopefully by this time tomorrow we’ll know that the little Kazakh girl we’ve come to know and love will be our little girl!
Our first day of court was today! We had heard many different things about how court could be so we weren’t totally sure what to expect. I will outline the process here in the hopes that it might help someone else coming to Taraz later.
We went to the courthouse, which was pretty packed with people. When it was our time we were escorted into a small court room with a few benches and a small desk for the judge. After waiting a few minutes, we were escorted into another court room which was slightly bigger. The judge would arrive in a few minutes. The whole thing reminded us of waiting in the doctor’s office and then getting called back into one of the little exam rooms. When the doctor is ready, they come in. Kind of the same thing here.
We all stood for the judge when she came in. All said, there was the judge, her secretary, the prosecutor, us and our translator, the doctor from the orphanage, the MOE lady, and one of the ladies from the Guardianship Council. We were told that any time we answered a question for the judge we needed to stand.
The judge made some brief opening remarks. She said this was just a day to talk and to get to know us, kind of like a preliminary procedure. The “real” court procedure would be later. I was asked to stand, and the judge started asking me questions. There wasn’t anything that I hadn’t expected, just the typical stuff. Why are you adopting, why Kazakhstan, do I make enough to support the family, who will watch the kids, what about religion, why the child we chose, did we know her medical problems, and stuff like that. When you answer the questions, be sure to face the judge and not your translator!
After I was done, the judge asked the others if there were any questions. The prosecutor stood up and asked why we wanted another girl when we already had three. I answered, and everyone seemed okay with it. On a side note, when we hear the term “prosecutor” we tend to get a bit nervous I think. This prosecutor was a thin girl, maybe 21 years old, and it would appear that this wasn’t her dream job. I am sure there are others that may be more aggressive, but this one didn’t have a lot to ask. I think her role is to represent the state, and as she has no real vested interest she didn’t feel the need to press us. My whole point is, don’t worry about it.
I was asked to sit and Kara to stand, and she was asked just a few questions. After Kara was done, the doctor made her statements, followed by the MOE lady and the Guardianship Council lady. Then we were pretty much done.
Tomorrow we meet again for a second court date. We go to the court at 10:00, and then to the baby house at 11:00 with the judge and all of the people that were present today. The judge will watch us interact with Symbat. (We’re told that she will watch us for all of about 2 minutes… we’ll see.) After that we go back to the courthouse, wait for 30 minutes, and the judge will deliver her verdict. We are hoping she grants our adoption!
The process overall has been somewhat nerve-wracking, but the judge here seems favorable to international adoptions. She was nice enough in our meeting today. You can tell that she is strict and insists that everyone follow the rules (she chewed her secretary out for mixing up our paperwork with the Robey’s), but she was polite and professional to us. I don’t see any reason to get too nervous about being in front of her, as long as you have your answers ready and know why you’re here. The prosecutor may ask questions, but her presence almost seemed like a formality, that she had to be there. (They have other prosecutors as well, so it may be random as to who you get.) Everyone else in the room is there on your side.
Tomorrow will be the big day! Hopefully by this time tomorrow we’ll know that the little Kazakh girl we’ve come to know and love will be our little girl!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day!
Today we went to Umit in the morning again. We found Symbat in one of the outdoor playpens with her group. She has recently been moved to a new group of older toddlers, but still under age 2. Today was the first time we have really gotten to interact with her group. All the children were in the playpen as well as one of the caregivers. They were crawling around or walking and playing with plastic toys. Two of the children have Down Syndrome. One little boy was lying in the playpen. He is one of the most beautiful children I have seen, but he has no arms. There have been so many children here that have grabbed at our hearts. I am hopeful that there will be a happy future for them, but am sad that I am not able to give all of these children the home they need.
Symbat was content to be carried around today as we walked the grounds of the baby house. It was very hot outside and it was only 10am! The older children were outside playing in nothing but their underwear. I have decided that I need to pack LOTS of new underwear for 2-4 year olds on the next trip. The state of these children’s underwear was pretty bad. I don’t believe they throw away any clothing unless it is totally unusable and in pieces.
Symbat was content to be carried around today as we walked the grounds of the baby house. It was very hot outside and it was only 10am! The older children were outside playing in nothing but their underwear. I have decided that I need to pack LOTS of new underwear for 2-4 year olds on the next trip. The state of these children’s underwear was pretty bad. I don’t believe they throw away any clothing unless it is totally unusable and in pieces.
Umit in bloom.
My new hat.
We left the baby house around 11:30. We must have looked really hot because our driver, Kural, asked us if we wanted to go swimming. Quentin pretended to go jump in the little canal running by the baby house. Kural called our translator over and said something to her. She told us that he was going to show us where the swimming pool was so we could go swimming. On the drive back to the hotel we found that the swimming pool is just down the street from the hotel. If you head down Tole Bi Ave. towards Dostyk Square you will see the Theater just past the Square. Make a left down the street in front of the Theater and you will see the Football (Soccer) Stadium. The pool is right behind the stadium. Unfortunately, we did not bring our bathing suits with us, so won’t be using the pool this trip.
For lunch we headed to Medved. It was really nice to be able to recognize what the different items on the menu were (well…one page of the menu anyway). Lynda, Quentin, and I went with the stir fry and Wayne had the beef stroganoff. It was a good lunch!
Since it is so hot out and we are still a bit tired from the trip, I think we are going to relax the rest of the day. I will get the ironing done tonight so that our dress clothes will be ready for court tomorrow. We have talked with our translator about court and feel pretty prepared. Hopefully the next few days go well!
It is Quentin and my 10 year anniversary this Friday, but since we will most likely be traveling on that day, Quentin gave me an anniversary gift today. I wasn’t expecting one since we usually just go out to a nice dinner (sans children) on our anniversary as our gift to each other. It seems that Quentin went through our last 10 years of photos and compiled a book of pictures using Shutterfly. This was a monumental task considering I don’t have our family pictures in any kind of order. I have some in albums, some in boxes, some on CDs, some on the desktop computer, and more on my laptop. I have been meaning to put them all in albums and on CDs for the last several years, but just haven’t gotten to it. Anyway, the book he made is beautiful! I am not the sort of person who cries easily, but when I saw what he had done I got very teary. I am married to a wonderful guy!
For lunch we headed to Medved. It was really nice to be able to recognize what the different items on the menu were (well…one page of the menu anyway). Lynda, Quentin, and I went with the stir fry and Wayne had the beef stroganoff. It was a good lunch!
Since it is so hot out and we are still a bit tired from the trip, I think we are going to relax the rest of the day. I will get the ironing done tonight so that our dress clothes will be ready for court tomorrow. We have talked with our translator about court and feel pretty prepared. Hopefully the next few days go well!
It is Quentin and my 10 year anniversary this Friday, but since we will most likely be traveling on that day, Quentin gave me an anniversary gift today. I wasn’t expecting one since we usually just go out to a nice dinner (sans children) on our anniversary as our gift to each other. It seems that Quentin went through our last 10 years of photos and compiled a book of pictures using Shutterfly. This was a monumental task considering I don’t have our family pictures in any kind of order. I have some in albums, some in boxes, some on CDs, some on the desktop computer, and more on my laptop. I have been meaning to put them all in albums and on CDs for the last several years, but just haven’t gotten to it. Anyway, the book he made is beautiful! I am not the sort of person who cries easily, but when I saw what he had done I got very teary. I am married to a wonderful guy!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Happy Saturday!
But I don't want to get my face cleaned!
Happy to be playing outside with mommy.We feel much better after a good night’s sleep. We went to bed about 3:00 yesterday afternoon, and aside from waking up briefly at about 10:00, we slept through the night. Kara got up about 5:00, and I slept until nearly 8:00. It’s amazing what 14 (or 17) hours of sleep will do for you!
At about 9:30 we went to the baby house. All of the kids were outside, so we went to find Symbat’s group. At first it didn’t appear as though she recognized us, but very quickly we started getting smiles. The jury is still out but we do think she kind of did remember us. We changed her into some clothes that Grandma Marsha had bought for her, and we took a walk outside. It was too stuffy to stay inside.
We talked to our translator more about court today. From what we understand, we’ll have an appointment at the court on Monday morning. Then on Tuesday the judge will accompany us to the baby house to see our interactions with Symbat. Then on Wednesday or Thursday we’ll have one more appointment at the court. We’re not totally sure… but obviously we’ll update our blog as we find out more.
Not sure yet what we will do this afternoon. We’ve talked about going back to the bazaar for some items, considering we basically have an extra suitcase (it had our donations in it) we can fill up on the way back. Other than that, maybe I’ll actually work on the food blog I’ve been thinking about writing for the last two months or so.
At about 9:30 we went to the baby house. All of the kids were outside, so we went to find Symbat’s group. At first it didn’t appear as though she recognized us, but very quickly we started getting smiles. The jury is still out but we do think she kind of did remember us. We changed her into some clothes that Grandma Marsha had bought for her, and we took a walk outside. It was too stuffy to stay inside.
We talked to our translator more about court today. From what we understand, we’ll have an appointment at the court on Monday morning. Then on Tuesday the judge will accompany us to the baby house to see our interactions with Symbat. Then on Wednesday or Thursday we’ll have one more appointment at the court. We’re not totally sure… but obviously we’ll update our blog as we find out more.
Not sure yet what we will do this afternoon. We’ve talked about going back to the bazaar for some items, considering we basically have an extra suitcase (it had our donations in it) we can fill up on the way back. Other than that, maybe I’ll actually work on the food blog I’ve been thinking about writing for the last two months or so.
Friday, June 19, 2009
06/19/2009
We made it!
We’re back in Taraz for our second trip. This time it was only 33 hours of travel. While that sounds like a lot, and it is, it’s far better than the 40 hours we had last time. I’m all for shorter layovers.
The drive in was nice. The mountains still have a fair amount of snow at their peaks. The fields have turned from the sea of red poppy flowers and green foliage to shades of amber. Or brown if you prefer. It’s in the mid to upper 80’s here in Taraz, and that feels pretty warm. The good news is our living room has an air conditioner.
Speaking of the room, we’re back in our favorite room at the Hotel Zhambyl. They had it set aside for us. I remember last time we couldn’t get out of this room fast enough, but in a way it kind of feels like home. The Robey’s came in with us and they’re in their familiar room next door. It feels like we never left even though we’ve been away for five weeks.
We don’t get to go to Umit today, which is the only downer. We’re going to rest up for a bit and then go get some money, go grocery shopping, and eat lunch. I get the feeling that it will be an early bedtime tonight. Tomorrow we get to go to the baby house in the morning. We can’t wait to see Symbat again, as we have missed her. Hopefully she remembers us!
We’re back in Taraz for our second trip. This time it was only 33 hours of travel. While that sounds like a lot, and it is, it’s far better than the 40 hours we had last time. I’m all for shorter layovers.
The drive in was nice. The mountains still have a fair amount of snow at their peaks. The fields have turned from the sea of red poppy flowers and green foliage to shades of amber. Or brown if you prefer. It’s in the mid to upper 80’s here in Taraz, and that feels pretty warm. The good news is our living room has an air conditioner.
Speaking of the room, we’re back in our favorite room at the Hotel Zhambyl. They had it set aside for us. I remember last time we couldn’t get out of this room fast enough, but in a way it kind of feels like home. The Robey’s came in with us and they’re in their familiar room next door. It feels like we never left even though we’ve been away for five weeks.
We don’t get to go to Umit today, which is the only downer. We’re going to rest up for a bit and then go get some money, go grocery shopping, and eat lunch. I get the feeling that it will be an early bedtime tonight. Tomorrow we get to go to the baby house in the morning. We can’t wait to see Symbat again, as we have missed her. Hopefully she remembers us!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Court Date
We received our court date today!! We have court on June 22nd and have to return to court on the 25th or 26th. We have tentatively booked our flights for a departure on June 17th and arriving in Almaty on June 19th. We will leave Almaty on June 28th. We will be in Taraz for about a week which means we will have several opportunities to visit with our little girl while there.
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