It must be dawn...

My mother used to say that it's always darkest before the dawn...and last night was pretty darn dark here as we worried and fretted over yesterday's news of potential problems for our adoption. We were both anxious about what news today would bring...but I'm happy to report that dawn did arrive here in KZ! Our coordinator brought us good news...she was able to resolve the problems in the boys' file and the legal path is now clear for the adoption. The documents were prepared today while we visited the boys; we will sign the formal letter of intent to adopt them tomorrow. We've breathed a huge sigh of relief and are moving forward. Of course, that's not to say we're guaranteed anything...but the orphanage director and ministry official both are willing to support our adoption petition in court so we're feeling much more optimistic.

Today we got big smiles and hugs from the boys. Madiyar played Gameboy and arm wrestled with Craig. He also looked at pictures with me and we gave him a temporary tattoo. Aniyar joined us late today as he was practicing a dance for a Kazakhstan holiday celebration on October 25; when he arrived, he was grinning as he gave us bear hugs. When he realized that we were leaving soon, he was very sad until I assured him we would be back again tomorrow. The director gave Aniyar permission to walk us to the door as we were leaving and he did that proudly...as I left he said, “Paka (bye)....Mama!” with a big grin. Madiyar has apparently decided that he's too old to call me Mama...today he started calling me Ma. Both titles are just fine with me...and they both brought a tear to my eye.

Day 1 and 2 of bonding are now completed...two down, 13 to go. We don't have much else to report since we're spending most of our other hours in the car commuting between here and Ridder. Tomorrow we will get up early and do some grocery shopping, then we'll be on the road again from 1-3pm, visiting from 3-5pm, then driving back here from 5-7pm. The drive is on good road for the first half and then the road conditions deteriorate. Travel is made more interesting by the cows and goats that wander into our path and I won't even mention the near head-on collision we faced today with a large truck...but it's all worth it. You can see for yourselves in the pics above just what I mean.

A final note about our great kids at home:

When we left for KZ, our kids each entrusted us with a stuffed animal to keep us company on our trip...from time to time, you'll see these 3 critters (a duck, a rabbit and an armadillo) pop up in the blog to document their journey. Tanya, Kate and Max....keep an eye out for your special animal friend and email me when you see him/her.