Giggle Wiggle...

It was a great visit with Mia this afternoon! She was smiling and singing and talking to us! It was cracking us up. She cooed and played with us the whole 30 minutes. Her cough is gone except for the cough she uses to clear her throat. We are praying that she will be able to go back to the babyhouse tomorrow morning. This way we will get to visit her for 2 hours before we leave. We will speak to the director in the morning.

Speaking of in the morning, keep us in your prayers as we go to court at 10:00 am. I am sure things will go smoothly, but my nerves are shot! We are as prepared as we can be. I just hope they don't catch us off guard with a crazy question.

We are packing our bags, as this is the last night we will be in our apartment. Tomorrow night we will be sleeping on the plane home! We both are so excited to be coming home. It will be hard to leave Mia but, we know she is in good hands til we get back. Things won't be much different for her in the next 2 weeks. We will come home and recharge our batteries for the second trip. I know my mom is really excited about coming with me to bring Mia home. She wants to see her native country and have some 'grandma time.' So, you'll have a short intermission and then you'll have to tune back in..... :)

More soon, and check out the smiles we got today!

Love and Hugs,

Sonja (and Gavin)

Rainy Morning....

Well, I finished writing our court statement. I think it sounds pretty good. We’ll see. We have been hanging out here at the apartment all morning. We will not be able to visit Mia today, and it is pouring rain outside. So, no picnic or countryside. This is a pretty hard rain, and definitely the most thunder we have heard since we have been here.

We had a good evening with Lena and her boyfriend last night. We watched the movie Swordfish and looked through each other’s pictures. I showed her the ones saved on our computer. I have quite a lot really. They are going to go out to dinner again with us this evening. I wish there was a Mexican restaurant here, but no luck. We will ask them for suggestions as to where to go. If not, we may end up back at the Red Dragon.

We will post another photo from previous days. Here is Mia chewing on her binky trying to cut some teeth. And, this is a pork tenderloin and rice meal (yes, that is ketchup and mayo on the side) with chocolate cake. This meal w/cake cost only $3.40 US. Next is the Russian Kitchen we like to eat at. Keep us in your prayers as we prepare for court on Monday morning.

Miss you and only 2 more days left….

Love~

Sonja (and Gavin)

:) :) All smiles :) :)

We had a late morning again today as we were not being picked up until 1:00. We immediately went to lunch at the Russian Kitchen (again). It was good. We did some shopping around for a stroller. I am not sure if we will buy one from here or wait until I get back to the states. I will need one for my second trip. We found a few candidates, but none we couldn’t walk away from.

We visited Mia this afternoon and she was all smiles when we entered the room! I took as picture of her laying in the bed smiling at us. She was grinning ear to ear the whole visit. It just melted our hearts. We were sad to find out that we cannot visit her tomorrow, only Sunday. The director we spoke to was not there. I am unsure what we will do with a whole day off. I would like to visit the large lake near here, but I don’t know if our driver can take us that far. A lot of the people here head out to the lake for the weekends. Our translator’s parents will be there again this weekend. Her father was fishing there last week. I’ll have to ask.

Lena, our translator, and her boyfriend are coming over tonight for pizza and movies. We brought several movies and she is interested in watching some! I am not sure what her boyfriend will think since he doesn’t speak English and there aren’t any options for Russian subtitles on our disks. It should be a fun night though. We are looking forward to it.

I will continue work on our court statement, since I received the outline of what we should say. Say a prayer for us. Our goal is to say everything they might need to know in our statement, so that there are no questions left for them to ask. Well, more tomorrow.

We are counting down the days, only 3 days left ‘til we get on a plane!

Love you all~

Sonja (and Gavin)

Feeling better :)

We lounged around the apartment this morning until 12:00. Since we cannot visit Mia until 4:00, there is no hurry. Our driver came for us and we went into town to pick up our court photos and our box of chocolates for the director of the hospital! We had lunch at the Russian kitchen again. I can’t seem to get enough of these fried ravioli!

We met with the head of the Family and Children department today. She will be with us in court. She advised us of the statements we need to prepare for the court. I am officially nervous now. I will be working on it tonight after we post this. She seemed nice though and she told us not to worry. Right.

We then headed over to the Hospital to present our gift and beg for visitation. Our translator is so good! She said, ‘We would like to present these Chocolates as a thank you for taking such good care of our girl. Her mother has been crying day and night with worry. May we visit her?’ She said yes and thank you for the chocolates. We then asked if we could visit everyday as we will be leaving for America on Monday and we wish to be with her as much as we can. She thought a moment and looked at her chocolates. She agreed and will allow us both to visit once a day for 30 minutes. It is better than nothing. His whole thing was funny for us to watch. We did visit with Mia and she is feeling much better. Her cough is loose and she has no fever. The doctor said it will be middle of next week before she goes back to the babyhouse. I did sneak a picture or 2 or like 5 while we were there! You just have to see the conditions of this place. It is supposedly the best children’s hospital around. We are thankful for her care and that she is getting better. We are also very thankful that we will get to spend some time with her everyday until we leave for home.

We took a walk along the bank of the river back to the apartment and saw a monument to the war in Afghanistan. It was nice. Once in the apartment, Gavin was thrilled to find a Yankees game on ESPN here tonight. He already knows the outcome because we saw the highlights on Sports Center this morning, but nothing will tear him away from watching it. I am glad he can watch it though.

More tomorrow, BIG Hugs and Lots of Love,

Sonja (and Gavin)

An Uneventful Wednesday...

We stayed in our apartment until lunchtime today. Gavin got a call from his parents this morning. It was good to hear from them and catch up a little. I know we love it when my mom and the kids call! I can’t keep from crying when I hear how big they sound! Our driver came for us at 12. We went to the photo shop to make copies of our visitation pictures for the court. In Kaz, you are required to bond with the child for 2 weeks before the court will consider adoption. You also must take pictures to prove you were there everyday. So, we got that done and we ate lunch at the Turkish café again. It is one of our favorite places. It cracks me up here when you order french fries and they come out drizzled with not only ketchup, but mayonnaise also! Weird!! I know Karen is freaking out about now! I secretly eat mayonnaise on my fries from Wendy’s when I am at home, so, no big deal I guess. They put mayonnaise on everything here. It is the sauce on almost all the salads and pizzas. Ya gotta watch what you order….

We came back to the apartment at about 2pm since we cannot visit Mia today. It breaks my heart to know that she is at the hospital in a room alone. She doesn’t know anyone. No faces she knows- not her friends in her babyhouse group, her teachers, or Me and Gavin. It makes me cry. We will get a short visit tomorrow and we will take our box of chocolates to the director and ask to visit everyday. Please pray she says yes! Better yet, that she can go back to the babyhouse in the next few days. We get to visit her 4 hours a day there.

I will add pictures today we have taken on other days, since we did not take any today. One of me putting Mia to sleep and Gavin outside one of our apartment buildings. More tomorrow...and maybe I will sneak a picture of her in the hospital.

Love you guys~

Sonja (and Gavin)

Hospital Visit...

We started out the morning talking to the director of the babyhouse. She told us that she spoke with the hospital staff, who said Mia was doing a lot better. She told us we would be able to visit her after 4:00. So, until then we went to the zoo. There were not many animals there, well, not compared to our zoos. We saw a jackal, a couple of bears, camels reindeer, regular deer, and some birds. The zoo is in the middle of a park. After a quick lunch at Pizza Blues, we came back to the apartment to wait for 4:00.

Our driver came to take us to the ‘Hospital’. We stopped 2 places before we found the right place. It was not a hospital by our standards. I felt so helpless and frustrated. Mia was feeling better and was very happy to see me. I think that was the only thing keeping me sane while I was there. They would only allow me to visit and for only 15 minutes. I was told the room was ‘sterile’ and I should not be there long. In my opinion I have seen more ‘sterile’ rooms at the motel 6! This country is so poor and in times like this, I am reminded how fortunate we are to live in the US. Looking at the children and the elderly here break my heart. There is such a huge gap between the ‘have’ and the ‘have nots’. The really is no middle class. After my short visit with Mia, I had our translator beg the hospital director to allow daily visits. We were told she could be there up to 10 days and that we would not be allowed to visit. I was crying and she saw how upset I was and decided to allow visits every other day right now. So, it is better than nothing. Leena suggested we buy her a box of chocolates to sweeten her up as well. This is so difficult for me, because those of you who know me, know that I would not leave the bedside of any of my children when they are in the hospital, ten days or not! Our hands are tied here, because we have no legal parental rights yet. Please keep her healing in y9ur prayers. It is working. She had no fever today and ate her food. Her breathing is still audible, but not labored anymore, and her coughs are more productive. So, keep faith as we are. We want her to be well and back at the babyhouse before we leave on Monday.

We visited an Orthodox Catholic church today. It was beautiful. They have started construction on a new church which is amazing. They are unsure when it will be complete, as they only build with the money given each week.

This is a picture of the new church being built, Lena our translator and me, the zoo, and a picture of Mia from our first few visits. They would not allow me to take pictures in the hospital. So, this picture will have to do!

Miss you all. We are getting antsy as the day of court and our flight home is drawing near! We are ready to be home for a bit.

Love and big hugs-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Prayers for Mia....

During our visit with Mia this morning, we were glad to see that her fever had gone down, but her breathing has not gotten any better. We spoke with the Doctors and the head Director, who is also a doctor, and they agree that Mia should go to the hospital. We were not allowed to visit her this afternoon at the hospital as they were getting her set up and cared for. The Director of the babyhouse promised us that she will get us visitations starting tomorrow. We are concerned about Mia, but feel better since she will now receive the best care they have to offer here. Her breathing scares me. It sounds like pneumonia. Please, please, keep her in your prayers. I don’t know any moms who sleep well when their babies aren't well. This has got me worried sick.

We tried to go to the zoo again today, but no luck. A lot of offices are closed on Monday’s here. So, I guess we will try again tomorrow. After our busy weekend, Gavin and I were glad to get back to the apartment for a nap this afternoon! We are gonna fix some chicken and fries for dinner and curl up on the couch for a few movies.

Please keep us in your prayers and especially Mia as he is in the hospital alone and trying to fight this cough. Pray we are granted visitation, because we are not legally her parents yet and have no legal rights visit her without approval.

We miss you all very much and are counting down the days til we are home.

Love~

Sonja (and Gavin)

Still under the weather....

It has been a rainy Sunday here and Mia is still in the Medical Wing of the babyhouse. Her fever was over 100* this morning. We were only allowed two 20 minute visits. We spoke to the Weekend Doctor and she said that they will let her into a mist tent tomorrow if she doesn’t have a fever. I don’t understand why that matters, but I don’t get a lot of what they do here. I felt so bad for her. She was hot, tired and breathing hard. We just loved on her and prayed for her. I wish we could just bring her home now. I just held her and cried. I would gladly take her place.

We bought our airline tickets today back to Almaty on the 1st. Then we will be on a plane home the 2nd! Just a week from tomorrow, we will have our court date and be on our way home! It will be hard to leave Mia, but I am sure the time will go by quickly.

Our driver Nicholi is a hoot. He keeps giving us business ideas. Telling us what store we should open over here, or what buildings we should build! He is so funny. He wants us to move here. He says he can make us rich! Ha.

We visited the other outdoor market this afternoon and picked up a few more things. Then back to the apartment for some much needed rest!

Well, more tomorrow. Shoot us an email, we love to hear from you all!

Love and hugs,

Sonja (and Gavin)

Poor Sick Baby....

We went to the babyhouse this morning for our visit with Mia and found her still feeling bad. We were very concerned for her. She was breathing hard, and I told them that she needed to see a doctor. So, we took her for a walk outside and then just sat with her because the doctor did not come in until 12. We rocked her to sleep after the caregivers gave her some cough and cold medicine. It was in powder form and smelled horrible. The doctor came in and looked at her. When we came back at 2 they had her isolated and the diagnosis was bronchitis. I told them we would buy whatever medicine they needed if they did not have it. But, they seem to have what they need. I can’t wait to get her home so we can get her the medical care and facilities we are used to. Our medical facilities are light years away from what they have here.

Between visits to Mia, we went to the open air market place. We did some shopping. We each got a pair of shoes like they wear here. You’ll have to check them out! I also saw a ring I would like to buy, so, I will keep you posted! We will probably go back for it. The locals were staring at us as we shopped today. Leena said that not to many tourists come here and especially to the market. I guess they stick to the malls! Not me, I want a deal! ;)

We ate dinner at the Red Dragon aagin. It was great. We had a dish called 'cooksy' basically a soup with egg, spaghetti like noodles, cucumber, beef and tomatoes etc.. We really liked it. We also had a dish like sushi rolls, but it was cooked beef not fish. Very nice!

Please keep Mia in your prayers for her healing. I want to see her smiling and laughing again! Enjoy the pictures….

Love to all,

Sonja (and Gavin)

Teething troubles.....

We had a busy day here today or a long one. We started out the day with a 2 hour visit to Mia. She has a fever today, so she was not in high spirits. She slept most of our first visit, and we only saw her for an hour the second visit, but she laid on me the whole time. She is cutting teeth and I think they are bothering her a lot. She has a runny nose as well. The nurse would like to say that it is because we had the windows open! Either way, we just cuddled with her.

We had lunch at a Russian kitchen and I had a dish similar to a fried ravioli. It was very good. They also have ‘pancakes’ that appear to be crepes with different fillings. We had a ham and cheese and a mushroom, chicken and onion one. They were also quite tasty.

After lunch, we went to the salon, so I could get my nails filled and my toes painted. It was an event! We were treated like celebrities because they have never had Americans in their salon. It took 3 hours for the fill and a pedicure. It was about $30 US. So, cheaper than at home. It was a great experience though. We ate dinner at an outdoor café downtown. It was nice as well. We had a large pork shish-ka-bob, a cream cheese ‘pancake’ and a large grilled ravioli. We also tried a couple beers. The food here is not expensive. We had all that for 890 tenge or $6.50 US!

Our driver was flagged over by the police this afternoon. He was speeding. They were friendly and laughing and our translator said, ‘do not worry, it will be nothing.’ So we waited and watched. Our driver came back to the car for a pack of cigarettes and gave one each to the policemen. They smoked and talked and came to the car to look inside. I asked, ‘is everything ok?’ Leena said, ‘yes, they just wanted to look at the American woman.’ I felt really weird about it, but our driver was back in the car and we were on the road again! So, whatever, right?

Tomorrow, we will go to the outdoor markets during our breaks from visiting Mia. I will be able to pick up some souvenirs. I am pretty excited about it! So, more soon…..

Love and hugs, big kisses to our kids,

Sonja (and Gavin)

Care for a walk??

We have officially been gone from home 2 weeks. This trip is half over!! Yeah!! We had some excitement last night in our apartment…..I was fixing the meal I was telling you about. I turned on the oven and the cook-top at the same time and tripped the circuit breaker!! We had to call our translator to come and help us find the breaker box! She didn’t tell us until she got here that the busses do not run that late, and that she ran most of the 2 miles to our apartment to help. We felt so bad. She really has gone out of her way to help us. We just love her to pieces.

We took Mia for a walk today outside. She rode in the stroller evidently for the first time. I guess it is only her second time ever being outside. She was studying everything. The leaves were blowing on the trees and she was in awe of them. I guess we wore her out because when we went upstairs to the gym, I rocked her right to sleep. We came back after lunch for our second visit and to fill out some papers for the court. I got to witness them feeding her, or should I say the shoveling frenzy. I cannot believe how much food the shovel into their mouths and with a spoon the size of our tablespoons or our serving spoons! They then give them a bottle with only about 3-4 ounces in it with a nipple the size of a cow udder! She made short work of it though. I don’t know if the bottles I have at home will give her the milk as fast as she is used to getting it! Her caregivers are very nice to us and seem to love all the children. They are well cared for and are very efficient at all of the things that need to be done for the 18 children in her group.

Well, we will go for now. No cooking in the apartment today. I learned my lesson! ;) More tomorrow….. notice in this picture she is eating her jacket!! Yes, they had a jacket and a hat on and it was like 80 degrees today!

Love and Hugs,

Sonja (and Gavin)

So Cute...

Hey everybody! We had a great couple visits with Mia. She is so sweet. We had to go buy a teether, a pacifier, some diapers and a sippy cup. We were without supplies for a 7 month old! It was a lot of fun playing with her today. She seems really smart and transitioned from one activity to the next with no problem. We have only heard her cry once when she was being dressed. Other than that, she is really easy going. She gets pretty hot in the clothes they put her in. When we pick her up, she is always dressed in multiple layers. They make us put a hat on her too! I guess they are afraid she will get sick. So, we try to open the windows in the gym room, but get scolded by the doctor when we have more than one open at a time! We’ll have to get her straightened out when we get to the US!

It has been about the same climate here as it is at home.We moved to a nicer apartment today. This is our 3rd since we have been in this city. We are now the only family here with our agency.

We find ourselves eating at the same restaurants everyday. There are 2 we frequent regularly for lunch and we have been jumping around for dinner. We want to taste what they have to offer. We ate at a really nice Korean place last night. I am sure we will go back, and I will get some pictures. It is called the Red Dragon, and was very ornate inside. We are fixing something to eat here in the apartment tonight, I am not quite sure yet what that will be though! ;)

Mia sure likes her daddy already. They hammed it up all afternoon. She likes to play with his whiskers and put her fingers in his hair! We showed her the scrapbook I made her today and she went nuts over the shiny cellophane sleeves. They are pretty and seemed to sparkle in the light. She was also chewing on his finger trying to cut some teeth!

Well, enjoy the pictures and tune in tomorrow for new updates. We are homesick as ever and miss the kids at home so bad. I have cried over them everyday since we have been here!

Miss you and love you-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Mia Grace Wilson

We would love for you to meet Mia Grace Wilson. (Pronounced Mee-a.) As you can see, we chose the little Kazakh girl. Her birthday is November 30, 2004. (another wink...it is Gavin’s parent’s anniversary) This means she is only 7 ½ months old now. We thought she was 9months old. We were given her medical history and we believe that she is half Kazakh half Russian, although her father's name is Kazakh. She is very healthy and strong, and has a serious grip!

We visited with her 2 times today, from 10-12 and from 2-4. I rocked her to sleep during the first visit today and got in trouble for getting her off her schedule! But, you know I can’t resist rocking them to sleep! It is my favorite time. She is so funny and full of energy! She smiles and blows raspberries at us. The second visit today she kept staring at herself in the mirror on a toy we brought. We get to visit in the gym everyday and there are plenty of things to do. We played with balls from the ball pit and there is a padded baby obstacle course we tried to get her to crawl on. She is almost ready. She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth!

As happy as we are about Mia, we are equally as sad for Vleana. She is such a sweet beautiful little girl, but we feel she needs more than our family can give right now. She didn't seem to want to be with us. I know that God has a family out there for her. We will continue to pray that she finds her forever family. We ask that you do the same.

Please continue to cover us with prayer as we start to build a relationship with our new daughter. She is a real sweetie and we think you will love her too! We can’t wait to show you all the pictures we have taken.

Love and Hugs-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Finally it's Monday......

We were able to meet he little Kazakh girl today. She is beautiful! We were told her medical history and she is healthy. We had a great 1 hour visit with her today and she is VERY active. She was wiggling all over and wanted to get down and crawl! Her personality is so bubbly!

We were told by the director of the babyhouse, that we would need to make our decision in the morning and that we should have a name for the child. So, we have alot to do tonight. Keep us in your prayers as we make this decision. We will post a photo tomorrow of the child we chose.

For those keeping track of the ‘winks’…..We have noticed in the babyhouse, that there is one animal theme in each stairwell. The animal in the stairwell leading to both girls room’s, is butterflies!! (My favorite animal and the symbol I use in my MK business for my unit!)

Lots of Love-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Rainy Sunday...

It rained all day here and the streets filled with water. We went for a little sight seeing and shopping this afternoon before a short 1 hour visit with Vleana. She was very tired today and cranky because she received an injection for her cold. The children go to bed really early here, at like 6:30-7:00. So, she was getting sleepy too.

Our translator Leena took us to a nice Russian cafe for dinner. We had a beef and rice dish. It was pretty good. The salads here are not like ours at home. No lettuce, just the toppings and alot of mayo. (I was typing the word fixin's to describe the salad ingredients and Gavin informed my that my Kentucky roots were showing! So, I replaced it with the word toppings. You know what I mean though, right?)

Gavin is feeling better today. He had to break out the antibiotic our doctor prescribed! We will see the Kazakh girl in the morning and we will need to decide what to do. Please keep us in your prayers as we face this decision. We will keep you posted.

Love and hugs to all-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Sleepless in Kazakhstan....

We had a rough night last night, the beds here are rock hard. Our apartment owner came back from her trip and showed up at the apartment to 'pick up a few things' and ended up doing laundry and hanging out for an hour or so. Her daughter was talking our leg off. We managed through it though. Gavin has caught an intestinal bug and has not felt well all day. We slept in a little and went to the babyhouse for another visit with Vleana. It was a good visit and she is a sweet girl but we are undecided on what to do. It is ripping our hearts out that she is not warming up more to us. We were disappointed when we arrived to find that the director is out for the weekend. We will not be able to see any other girls 'til Monday. We just want to be sure we are making the right decision for our family and for her. We will not go back for our second visit with Vleana today. We want to wait until we see the other girl until we proceed. Not too much else to report right now. We will be in for the evening so Gavin can rest. Please keep us in your prayers. Our hearts are aching for our little ones at home and for the kids here. We have a tough decision coming soon. More tomorrow. Picture is of the riverbank near our apartment.

Love to everyone-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Another Visit....

We went to the babyhouse today at 9:30 and they asked us to come back at 12. So, we did a little shopping. Mostly window shopping, as we are ever mindful of our budget!

We arrived at the babyhouse to meet Albena our agency coordinator. She heard we were upset about only being shown one girl, and said she could show us an 8month old Kazakh girl in the evening. We had our visit with Vleana. She was in a much better mood today. She smiled when we entered the room and came to us without crying. We had our morning visit outside on the playground. We swang and went down the slide. She mostly sat on my lap. She just wants to be held close. These children are well cared for but get almost no holding. She seems to just want us to hold her. We were given her medical report and she is very healthy except for some anemia due to the lack of proper nutrition. They are giving her vitamins to help this and she seems to be improving.

We went to lunch at a Turkish café called Doner and had what appeared to be hoagies or sandwiches that are pressed on a grill. They were awesome! We also had fries! It was the best meal we have had here! We stopped at the apartment for a nap before our 4:00 visit.

We had another great visit with Vleana. We played in the gym room. She laughed once and smiled more. She seems to be opening up to us. We were surprised to find that the agency director had already gone home. We will not be able to view the other Kazakh girl today. They will show her to us in the morning. We are so confused! We want to see this other little girl before making our choice. This is so hard to do. We are making a choice that will not only change our lives but dramatically change the life of one of these girls. It is not a decision to take lightly.

We were then taken to the new apartment. It belongs to a business woman who is in China for the month. It is a really nice apartment with lots of amenities. We are doing laundry now! Yeah! We went to the supermarket and got some food for the apartment. Not too much but only spent about $25 US! The food, for both of us, has really only been costing about $20 a day.

We saw Michael Douglas’ first wife Deandra, today at the babyhouse. She is adopting a little girl through our agency. She is very pretty. Wow, Hollywood in Kazakhstan! Haha!

The picturea are of the Turkish Cafe and a fountain nearby. I love this fountain!

More soon- Miss you all tons-especially our kids!

Love you guys!

Sonja (and Gavin)

Ust-Kamenogorsk

We got on the plane this morning to go to Ust-kamenoggorsk. It was a plane with propellers!! We have never been on a small plane like this!! The flight went well and we arrived safely. We found another wink on the plane. Our flight attendants name was Elina! We were met by the agency’s coordinator here Albena. She seems nice. Our translator Lena is very fashionable and pretty. She (like a lot of the Russian ladies) has dyed her hair bright red! It looks really nice on her. We went to a temporary apartment, as ours will be open tomorrow. This one is already much nicer than the one in Almaty.

We then were then taken to the babyhouse. Second wink today, on the bridge we cross to get to the babyhouse we saw signs for ‘Alina’ brand paint! We met the director and she is all business. She looks a little bit like Mary Kay Ash (is that another wink??)!! We were told that there are not 4 girls just 1. A one year old Russian girl named Vleana. They brought her in and she was screaming like a wildcat. Gavin immediately thought she was sweet and we decided to come back later to visit her. The visit went ok at best. She cried a lot because we are complete strangers. They are not any men who work here, so it took a bit for her to warm up to Gavin. We will come back in the morning to see her again. We like her, but do not feel an immediate pull to her. We spoke to our translator about our frustrations of being told there were 4 girls. Please pray that we will know if this is the girl or not. We are so confused right now and are praying for clarity.

We did meet a very nice family here with our agency as well. They are from Kentucky, only 15 minutes from Louisville! We will hang out some with them!

The pictures are the babyhouse entrance and the sign on the bridge.

More soon, Love and hugs to everyone, and we would love for you click on comments at the end of this message and leave us some!!!

Sonja (and Gavin)

Almaty, Kazakhstan

We left London at 9:25am Tuesday to Amsterdam and then went on to Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was a long day of travel, but safe. We arrived at 1:30am Kaz time Wednesday to a VERY busy and congested airport! We waited in bumper to bumper traffic for almost an hour. There appears not to be a speed limit as we were flying down the road. Our apartment is not quite what I expected. It was very dated and not clean by my standards. However, our translator told us we were staying in a very nice part of town. I have to keep in mind that we are in a totally different part of the world.

Our translator took us to the market for supplies and we got some pizza for lunch at the mall. We also toured the museum and saw some of their history. We met the Agency Coordinator here in town, in the evening and he said we should travel to Ust-Kamenogorsk because there are 4 girls there to see. So we bought our airline tickets for in the morning. We are unsure how to feel. We are nervous and excited. We are praying for a sign that this is where we should go. Speaking of signs, Gavin and I have been looking for little winks from God to be sure we are on the right path. We have found one today at the apartment. We were in the airport at Amsterdam shopping in a store until our plane time, and I was trying to find my new favorite perfume. We found it, and tried it on. It is Armani Mania, and I told him I wanted some soon when we get back to the states. Well, in our apartment there was a bright red box on the coffee table. I moved it aside and thought no big deal, but got bored and decided to look inside. It was an empty gift box from Armani Mania perfume!!! Funny how God puts little clues or winks along the way, and you can find them if you look and listen. Keep us in your prayers as we head out on this journey.

Miss you all, love to you,

Sonja (and Gavin)

Another Beautiful Day.....

It was another beautiful day in London! We went into the city today and walked around. I took 189 pictures while we were there!! Yikes, I'm so glad we are digital now! Things are going great and we are excited to be going to Kazakhstan tomorrow. It will be another long flight. We are praying for the little girl who is waiting for us. We pray that we will somehow know her when we see her. It has taken tremendous faith and perserverance to have come this far and we are up for the next step. Pray for us as we are heading into the country and as we are searching for our little girl. Thanks for all your prayers and we will post again soon from Kazakhstan!

love to all-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Having Fun...

Hey guys! We have had so much fun! We went shopping at the South End Seaside yesterday. It was beautiful. They have the longest pier in the world. We had some fish-n-chips for lunch, walked around some shops, and went to an amusement park on the shoreline. (yes, we have only been gone 3 days and I have already bought a purse! not an expensive one though...) Today we went to Mark's work for 'family day'. It was a bit like a carnival. Lots of rides, and fair like food. We took a tour of his plant and then went to Clare's moms house for a BBQ dinner. She lives in a renovated Mansion that is about 10,000 sq ft, which has been split up into 5 apartments. The house was built in 1785. It was gorgeous!!!! We had lamb chops, sausages and chicken on the grill, with corn on the cob and mushrooms. Also a lovely salad and crisps. (chips and crackers) It was great fun. They are really neat people. They work for Jaime Oliver the Chef!! We will do some sight seeing in London tomorrow while Mark and Clare are at work. It will be fun, as we will see lots of great sights.

Miss you all, more tomorrow-

Sonja (and Gavin)

Sad News....

Friends and Family, we have received some heart breaking news. We recieved a message from our agency stating that Alina's family came back for her. This of course means that she is not available to our family. We are trying to deal with all of our emotions right now. We are happy that she is reunited with her family, but are grieving her at the same time. While we prayed something like this would not happen to us, we were not completely blind sided by it. Referrals are never guaranteed, and some of our friends have recently lost theirs as well. We had been secretly trying to prepare ourselves for the news we did not want to hear. When we started this journey, our mission was to give a loving home to a needy child. The mission remains the same. We will continue on to Kazakhstan as planned, and we will be able to view several girls under a year old. We will then choose. I am asking for your prayers. Please pray that we will know her when we see her, and that she is beautiful and healthy. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your prayers and support. This has been a difficult road at times, but we know God has a plan for us and for a little girl half a world away. Continue to pray for us and her, whoever she may be, as we head out to meet her.

This website will remain the same throughout our journey. Everything happens for a reason, and only God knows the plan. It is not called 'walking by faith' when you can see around the corner. Alina is VERY much a part of this story! She is the reason we are going to Kazakhstan, and she will be the reason we find the girl that God intended for us. We will always love her, and continue to pray for her. After all, how could we not? More soon, as we embark on this life changing journey of love.

Sonja (and Gavin)