Really Real

Well, everything is starting to feel a lot more real. I think it really hit me the other day when I was setting up doctors' appointments, and I had to give our child's name and birthdate to the receptionists. To actually say those things out loud to people on the phone was surreal.

I'm buying various items from Craigslist sellers all over the city, and I've gathered a few things from consignment stores around town. Generous gifts from our registry are showing up each day at our door, and I'm starting to picture Shamrock in our house actually using these things...sleeping on the mattress, sitting at the little table, wearing the clothes, reading the books, etc. It won't be long!

Also, our in-country coordinator sent us three new pictures of our boy the other day. Actually, it was on my birthday (a pretty good present!). She also mentioned that he had said "hello" (in Russian) that day and that everybody was surprised. I guess he doesn't talk a whole lot? Anyway, he already looks older, which makes me sad. His hair is longer, so maybe that's all it is. I hope so!

In just about two weeks, I'll be in Kyrgyzstan again visiting our little boy and making him officially part of our family. I can't wait!

P.S. For those who wondered, Zack did not get me the same Willow Tree statue for my birthday. It was a different, yet still perfect, one with a mother and child (picture now added!).

Early Birthday Presents

My birthday's not until tomorrow, but I got an early present in the mail from my parents the other day. It's a Willow Tree figurine called "Child of My Heart." It's awesome, because it kind of looks like me holding Shamrock! The poem that goes with it is absolutely perfect as well. Zack looked a little disappointed when he saw it, so I have a hunch that he got me the same one as part of my birthday present. Oh well...one for my room and one for Shamrock's room!

I bought myself an early birthday present as well. I just got done booking my flights and hotel for my second trip to Kyrgyzstan. I'll get there on Valentine's Day, so I told Zack I'm spending the holiday with another boy this year! I've got my eye on a "Mommy's Little Valentine" T-shirt I may need to get for Shamrock before I go. Anyway, there's lots to do, and if all goes smoothly, only 50 more days until we can take our boy out of the orphanage forever!

We Have a Court Date!

February 16, 2015

That's our court date! Hooray!!! It's later than we wanted and hoped for, but it's exactly seven weeks after our last official bonding visit date, and we were told it could be six to eight weeks after that. So I guess that was an accurate estimate. I'm waiting for confirmation of our travel dates, but I hope to stay at least a few days before and/or after the court date to visit "Shamrock."

Shamrock is the nickname my dad came up with for our little boy. Zack and I have been calling him that lately since we aren't letting anyone know his new first name yet. It sounds similar to his Kyrgyz name (but it's easier to say and spell!), it connects to my Notre Dame fandom, and we're "lucky" that this little boy will soon be ours!

Shamrock is an especially appropriate name now, because if all goes well, we'll get to take him out of the orphanage permanently on March 18, the day after St. Patrick's Day. Adoptive families often call this day "Gotcha Day" or "Family Day" and celebrate it every year, almost like a second birthday. I can foresee many S/shamrock-filled parties in the future!

Time to look up some flights...

It's Very Very Very Hard to Wait

I'm not sure if my mom was the only one who would sing "It's very very very hard to wait" from the Mr. Rogers show to us when we were kids (and didn't want to wait), but that's the song playing on repeat in my head right now. Alas, we haven't been given a court date yet. Now our agency is telling us that we should know by Tuesday. That's January 27-my birthday-so I guess that would be a good gift to get. But I'm getting pretty impatient! Last night, Zack and I looked through some pictures and videos of our little boy together and reminisced about the adorable things he did. Tonight we'll eat homemade lagman for dinner (I cheated and didn't make the noodles myself). And hopefully in a few days, we'll have some exciting news about the next trip to Kyrgyzstan!

Our Yurt Weekend

This weekend, Zack and I (along with our dog Molly) spent two nights in a yurt. Back when we started the Kyrgyzstan adoption process, we were also trying to plan our winter activities, and we wanted to finally do a snowshoe hut trip, which is a popular winter activity here in Colorado. I was really set on finding one that was an actual yurt, versus a normal cabin, because my research into Kyrgyzstan showed me that the nomadic Kyrgyz people lived in these structures. We also needed to find a place that allowed dogs. The Old Baldy Yurt owned by Ute Lodge was perfect for us!

On Friday, we made the long (almost five hour) drive out past Meeker, Colorado to the start of the trail. There was lots of wildlife to be seen, including deer, elk, several wild turkeys, a skunk, and some sort of wildcat. We then had a two mile snowshoe up to the yurt, which was a lot harder than it sounds. We were carrying heavy backpacks full of food and warm clothes for the weekend, it was all uphill through deep snow (though a snowmobile had thankfully made a path), and the sun set while we were hiking so it got really dark. We were SO happy to finally find the yurt, but it took awhile for the wood stove to get going and warm up the inside!


It was such a peaceful weekend. We didn't see or hear another soul. We spent our time reading, knitting (me), playing guitar (Zack), playing games, snowshoeing to the nearby aspens (some of the largest in the world apparently), and just relaxing. We even sat outside and made our own watercolor paintings of the yurt at sunset! The propane stove worked great, and we had lots of delicious meals and snacks. At these huts, you melt snow on the stove to have water to use, and that was pretty easy to do as well. While I took care of the cooking, Zack kept the yurt warm by feeding wood and coal to the stove, even in the middle of the night.

We snowshoed back down on Sunday afternoon and unfortunately got caught in some ski traffic on the way home. But it was a special weekend away, and we felt like we got to connect a bit with our boy's Kyrgyz ancestors by staying in a yurt. Did you know the middle of the symbol on the Kyrgyzstan flag actually symbolizes the roof of a yurt?!

P.S. Our agency has promised that we'll know our court date by the end of this week!

Dolphins on that Special Day

When we got back from Kyrgyzstan, I started wondering about what we were doing on the day our son was born. Was December 23, 2012 even memorable for any reason? Was there any clue that in some other country, our lives were being changed forever, though we wouldn't realize it until two years later? I quickly remembered that we were living in Australia during 2012, and over Christmas and New Year's that year, we were on our two week campervan trip around the South Island of New Zealand. "That's pretty cool," I thought, but when I looked up our itinerary and pictures, I was SO excited to learn that we were swimming with the dolphins in Kaikoura that day. It was one of our top ten life experiences!

I've attached the link to my blog entry about that memorable day, and it includes more pictures and videos. We even have the picture seen here printed and framed on the bathroom wall that our little boy will use (totally random coincidence). I'm so glad that it wasn't just another "ordinary" day and that even though we weren't with him, we can at least tell our son that we remember the day he was born and that it was an amazing and special day!

Keys Down Under Blog Post

Kyrgywhat?

When Zack and I decided on international adoption and our agency told us about Kyrgyzstan back in July, we had no idea that the country even existed. We didn't know where it was or anything about it. It took me about a week to even learn how to say and spell it. So if you've been feeling like you were alone in not having a clue about Kyrgyzstan, this post should make you feel better. Check out the links below. Some of the Twitter comments in response are hilarious!

New York Times Accidentally Invents New Country

New York Times Blunder Creates New Country of Kyrzbekistan

John Kerry Invents Country of Kyrzakhstan

So you're not alone! 

In other news, we have been told a tentative court date of February 9, but that's in no way confirmed or set in stone. So I can't book a flight or anything yet. We're still just waiting!