Nursery: Check!

We finally have the nursery done and I finished a few final touches today. Its very hard to walk by and see it empty day after day but I just think about the little man that is across the ocean and how much I hope he loves what his mommy and daddy have put together for him.
There are many things you have to consider when you are trying to create a new home for an adopted child... especially one that has come from an orphanage. You don't want to over stimulate them because they may not handle it well... but you also don't want to create a replica of the orphanage either!
Eventually we will have pictures of Kaz up on the wall for him to see so he can always be reminded of where he is from. Those will just have to wait till we get back!
Oh and yes, that is rocking moose! How cool is my son already?

Timeline Updates

I thought I'd post some thoughts today as the last few days have been a whirlwind of emotion. We found out recently that Kazakhstan adoptions through our agency have not sped up, though the number of adoptive families has increased. Essentially, we have sent a lot more dossiers to Kazakhstan than in the past, but Kazakhstan has said, we are not going to process any more than we have in the past. So, things haven't technically slowed down with their processes, but they have slowed down for waiting families because there are so many other families "waiting in line" with us.

I've been feeling really discouraged about this because we are now being told that we won't get "the call" in April. It will be longer, and they cannot even give us a month range. So, it could be June, it could be August. There are 29 people at the same stage as we are, and we are in the bottom quarter of the list. The only positive for us is that we are adopting a boy, whereas many in front of us are adopting girls. Girls take longer since so many people ask for girls rather than boys. So, while we are behind many people in line, we may get our invitation to travel before them because of this. I just keep trying to pray and trust that God knows our son and sees the exact timing it will take to bring us together. But, waiting to be a mom like I have over the last few years has definitely taken a toll on me.

So, as if this news wasn't enough, we got another scare yesterday. We found out that something was going on with Kazakhstan adoption and that there may be a freeze on all adoptions. Needless to say my heart sank. But, here's what I found out from a webcast this morning...

Apparently, there is a new Kazakhstan ambassador to the US. He is reviewing overall processes/procedures and wants to make sure all adoption processes are "above board" now that he has taken on this position. That's about all they know as to the "why."

As to the "what," there is a temporary suspension of new dossier processing in effect; but this is NOT a closure of Kazakhstan adoptions altogether. Basically they are saying that they will not process NEW dossiers until that review has taken place. They don't know how long this review will take, so no timeline has been given at this point.

As of right now, they are saying that anyone who currently has dossiers in Kazakhstan at the MOE will not be effected and will be processed. Luckily, our paperwork is at the MOE. Thank you Lord!

Keep praying that we will have an abundance of patience and faith as we wait to meet our son!