merci Maman et Papa!!!

There has been quite a bit of running around these past few days. We wouldn't have been able to get everything organized without my parents. They came up for a few days to give up a helping hand. They cleaned, scrubbed, mowed the lawn, looked after Yannik, etc to allow us to pack and cross off alot of items off my famous lists!! Un gros gros merci!!! Thanks also to all of our friends and family for your support...those who have been inviting Yannik for a few hours, lending us everything but the kitchen sink for our trip. We are very touched by your willingness to help us out.

Now...for those of you who know me too well...my famous lists... well....here is a pic of what Sven has been dealing with ;0)) (and actually getting items crossed off as well!) I developped this rather nasty habit at work...and now Sven appreciates them...or not ;0))

a Canadian ready to travel!!

We couldn't resist buying him...He'll be our little ambassador with the kids over there! (We are only the second Canadian couple to adopt from Petropavlovsk.)

We are still waiting for our visas and passports to arrive. Have to admit, we are a little bit nervous... hopefully they will arrive on Monday.

Replies

Sven and I have been reading everyone's comments and would love to reply to your queries and comments, but noticed that some require an invite. We would love to get in touch and would appreciate an invite if possible. If you would like to do so, just double click on contact us - it directs you to our new e-mail address which we will be accessing from overseas.

Packing has begun

We're finding it a bit tricky packing for a child between the ages of 6 month to 4 years of age....of either gender! Hopefully there will at least be a few items that will be suitable and the rest will be donated to the orphanage.

I just had to include this picture of Sven packing my precious mattress topper. Since from numerous accounts, the beds in Kaz are pretty hard, we decided to try our luck packing a mattress topper thanks to those space saver bags that take out all the air... and guess what...it really works!!! We're so pleased that we're now taking our pillows as well for some comforts of home. Just had to pass this tip along to those of you who will soon be travelling.

Things are coming along nicely... It's slightly overwhelming at times but we're smiling alot these days ;0)) One week from tomorrow, we leave for Kaz!!!!

We've booked the tickets!!!!!!!!!

We are leaving July 22nd!!! and will be staying in Astana for a few days before heading off to Petrop. We're really excited since it will give us a few days in the capital city and hopefully visit a family from New Brunswick who is currently there. We also get the weekend to rest up before hopefully meeting the newest member of our family on Monday!!!!

Confirmation of travel dates!

The agency just advised us that our travel dates are now confirmed: we will be travelling to Petropavl any time between July 23rd and 26th! We're pretty excited as you can imagine!!!

Still awaiting confirmation of our travel date

Kaz still has not confirmed our travel date because of vacations. In the meantime, we are busy running around, picking up items and getting the room ready. Our agency told us that we would be arriving in Astana before going to Petro. Another couple from New Brunswick is currently there, so we are hoping that we will be able to meet up with them. We'll post again once we hear the official travel date.