Many adoptive parents are adopting for the first time - but a good portion are leaving young children at home during their adoption journey. We chose to tell my in-laws about what time we'd call every evening - in an attempt to have them home and also the line free for us to talk with our son. It is probably important to establish some type of "timing" to make a call with the time zone difference and it is often difficult to receive a call in to the hotel (unless you know when the front desk would have an English speaking receptionist).... more

I've read many personal blogs and websites that write about the frustrations of being away from home for so long. Lets face it - we typically take one maybe two week vacations during the year. To put our lives on "hold" for 5 to 7 weeks - just seems impossible - frustrating. But - as hard and impossible as it seems - take a deep breath and count the blessings that come out of all this:

1.) Never in your life will a time come again that the world 'stops' and you get to spend such one on one time with your child. You're getting to know... more

Taldy-Korgan

In November of 2002, a group was formed by adoptive families that adopted from Taldy-Korgan, Kazakhstan – if you have adopted or are in the process of adopting from Taldy-Korgan – please join them ----- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Taldykorganadoption/

Taldy-Korgan is a southeastern city of Kazakhstan and was founded in the second half of the 19th century. Food products, construction materials and diverse light industries predominate. Three parks exist in the city, the largest of which half encircles the city, industrial and agricultural colleges, and a medical school.

In July of 2005 –... more

Ust-Kamenogorsk

If you are adopting or have adopted from this region – please consider joining: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ust-Kamenogorsk-Adoptions/ - the group has almost 200 members – you can chose to receive posts by individual email, daily digest or go to no mail and read on line when you have some free time. I just highly encourage parents to connect with other families who have adopted in the same region that their child is born.

A nice way to give back to this region is through an organization called ACORN – they can be reached at http://acorn.homestead.com/home.html... more

Did you know the other names that Astana is or was known by? Aqmola, Akmola and Tselinograd are the ones listed on Susan’s site at http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/cities/astana.html

I would love to hear from families who have adopted from Astana to see if they ever visit the Duman Entertainment Center – it looks awesome on its website: http://www.duman.kz/eng/index.html The Children’s City sounds like... more

A must bookmark, as mentioned previous times before – would be Susan’s site. Specifically written for Almaty is: http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/cities/almaty.html I promise you won’t regret a moment of time you spend researching and learning there.

During Max’s adoption, we were able to explore Almaty at the beginning and end of our adoption journey. We actually spent a little over a week in Almaty in April of 2001 with Max’s adoption. We returned to... more

I’m blogging about the various cities in Kazakhstan, in hopes of giving adoptive families a quick snapshot of their children’s birth city. Hopefully it will become a source of information for families hoping to adopt also.

Taraz was formerly known as Zhambyl – so if searching the Internet it may be worth entering both variations to obtain information. Taraz is located in Southern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan borders it. It is a large and fairly modern city. Long ago it flourished as a stop along the Silk Road. Taraz has a rich history and... more

I’m hoping to help you explore the various cities of Kazakhstan – so families who have adopted can have city information in one blog. Since I have two children from Kazakhstan, I thought I would start with their birth cities.

Max, our oldest is from Semey, which its full name is Semipalatinsky. The name is derived from the seven-halled Buddhist temple (seven palaces) – found in 1718. It is a river port, rail terminus and commercial center. It has one of the country’s largest meat packing plant. It has a theatre and three museums.

I... more

On some of my various groups, I have heard discussions about the length of travel time required to now complete a Kazakhstan adoption. Although I know that the amount of time (2 to 3 trips) which includes bonding time (2 weeks at the baby house prior to court) – has made some adoptive parents turn to other countries that better suit their family needs. I also know in my heart that Kazakhstan has many beautiful children who won’t have the opportunity to find a forever family and having spent 7 weeks my last adoption – I know that... more

One of the benefits of the in country stay is the opportunity to shop for some traditional artifacts for our children. I think many typical items come to mind, the yurt, the dream catcher, and the nesting dolls. I HIGHLY recommend our two favorites – the DOLLS and the outfits for our boys (which our host daughter brought to us during her stay).

In Almaty you have the RAM Store, a 3-story mall, with a K-Mart-type store on the second floor. There is also a skating rink and a food court (just like home!).... more