Yes, you read that right. Day 3. And no, we're not playing Bill Murray's character Phil Connors in "Groundhogs Day." It's just that in Kazakhstan, all prospective parents must go through a mandatory 15-day bonding period before heading to court.
What we founc out was bonding days don't "officially" start until you "verbally" accept the referral of your child. So for us, the four days prior to our acceptance don't count. Which means our visit to Uralsk will extend at least four days longer than expected. Luckily, weekends(including Sundays when there are no visitations) still count as bonding days. So our first court appearance should be around March 22. (There are two court appearances.) If the judge waives our waiting period (and pray that he does) then there's the second visit five days later. After that Nurlan should be able to stay with us in our apartment. Within days we should be granted permission to fly back to Almaty for our U.S. Embassy visit where we receive Nurlan's U.S. Visa. (That should take another 7-10 days.) Quite the process, huh?
On another note, we're still figuring out how to download photos without erasing them off the camera. Bob purchased a flash stick, so hopefully within a day or two we'll be back to posting pictures.
Goodbye from Uralsk where's it's 61 degree and sunny.
6 comments:
hey there, good to hear from you.
IT's so interesting, because i know i've read in other blogs that bonding started the day that they met their child, even if they didn't say yes for sure, as they were waiting on a dr. I guess everyone does it their own way.
Does the judge sometimes waive the waiting period? That would be fabuloso!!!
You sound happy and relieved and rested. That's awesome!
I hope you figure out the flash thing soon-of course, all the "stalkers" are dying to see pictures of you and Garrett.
Well, it's an hour ahead here now, and i just relized i only have 15 minutes before I must be at church ready to teach sunday school, and i'm still in my jammies with no shower. Yet, I had to check on you first. :)
61 and sunny-that is just like Florida! but, i was so chilly at SEan's baseball game (the wind was cold) that i wore my cashmere sweater (my mom got me for Kaz) and my fleece jacket and my fur lined shoes .I may not need them in Kaz,but at least i can wear them here. :)
Paka Paka my friend. :)
Well, only a minor setback as you will be spending these extra days with your boy. We're anxious to hear more about him!
I have the same problem with the camera. I am giving my san disk to Igor, our translator, he saves them on a cd and gives it to us! Very complicated but much easier, I already erased about 20 picutres from my camera!
Sounds like all is well. I will pray hard for your waiting period to be waived.
We are taking a turn towards warmer weather here in Minnesota also but not 61 degrees--enjoy.
Good to hear you have settled in and met Garrett. You sound overjoyed. I am soooooo happy for you.
No worries here on the home front -- I've got you covered.
Can't wait to see pictures!
Love you,
Mike, Suzanne and Jack
Yea, sounds like everything is progressing nicely. Can't wait to see some pics.
Post a Comment