All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

[scarysuejonez]

I'm standing here outside your door

Another lurker here.... wishing you the very best.

My top tip is that if you might want to contact GemmityGem who is an mnetter on the October 2006 ante/post natel groups. She lives in Kazakhstan and her husband is a diplomat out there. She is in Belgium at the mo but will be returning soon. I'll send her a post to alert her to this thread...

Very best of luck Sue
If you can find the time and opportunity to post with an update, there are hundreds of teary-eyed Mners waiting for the latest from you. XXX

Thanks everyone, you big soft girls' blouses the lot of you

My flights are confirmed for Tuesday next week (was hoping for Saturday but hey-ho, nothing else has gone to plan) and picking up tickets tomorrow.

At least that means I get the extra hour lie in this weekend without a child who doesn't understand that the clocks have gone back!

if you have a little extra time do you think you could .. possibly .. maybe .. reconsider the music on your website

its so dire Sue

there's music on the website??!!! darn pc at work without a soundcard

I hope it all goes well. I've been following your progress but I've forgotten if you've been to Kazakhstan before?

Wishing you lots of luck.

Nope never been before! all a big new adventure...

Music choice was limited Twig - and anyway I thought it was TASTEFUL

Ooooh, good luck, good luck! So excited for you! My dearest friends are just about to start the international adoption process so I will be following you and your lo's story with great interest. I hope you have some long johns for that Siberian weather....

Oh fantastic Sue.
It's just tooooo exciting for words!

Will you feel odd about posting re your child when s/he is really yours do you think????

Kazakstan will be a blast - and it's bound to be a real hassle too! Hope everything goes well for you, you sound like one courageous woman! Will you be keeping the baby's birth name, do you think? I noticed from your site that other adopting parents had chosen to give their Kazak babies western names.

Been lurking on some of your threads as I have a friend who is nearing the end of a lenghty 3 year adoption process from China. I believe you are also a member of the West London group, so hopefully I shall meet you in the not to distant future. Good luck with the trip, hope it goes as smoothly as possible.

Oh Sue, I'm so excited for you.

BEST OF LUCK

gosh how exciting

we are all looking forward to your new arrival

XXXX

oh sue, have checked your websiet for more info but see we are teh most up to date here on Mn . So pleased for you.

Dont worry about teh weather. I have been in the russian far east in january ? february and it was freezing ( well actually 35 deg below freezing) but very dry and sunny. It not like you are out much TBH. I assume you have fur lined leather or thermal boots and wamr clothes? Preferably fur or sheepskin?

SSSandy - the name issue would really depend on what the name was, I would certainly keep it as a middle name regardless, but some Kazakh names would really be very difficult for a child going to school in England. Most people wouldn't even realise they were a name they are so uncommon here. Its a difficult line to draw - keeping as much of their past as you can preserve whilst accpeting the reality that they will grow up in England in an English extended family. The younger children are rarely named by their birth parents but more commonly by the orphanage director.

Good luck

great news sue, have a wonderful time

sssandy - I guess its a balance . Whether a kazak name chosen by an orphanage director for the sake of regsistering the birth is more "real" or has more validity than a Western name chosen by his/her Welsh mother. Most kids who have a name which is considered "weird" by the standard of their peers are NOT thankful for it. besides if you keep it as a middle name, the child can always chosse to use it if they wish. That way his/her name will reflect BOTH parts of his heritage

i think its about thinking of the best needs of the child.Most of the posts I see here on MN about choosing names go along the lines of "I have always like Ethelred but my Dh likes Albertina, i think they are so different"!!!! ...not sure what the child will think ....

oops sorry sue you are English arent you not Welsh

So pleased and excited for you. Glad you get to have a restful weekend before you go!

When are you returning to the UK. We need this information for the sue and junior baby shower / welocme home party which is currently brewing on another thread.

Tickets back are currently booked for 9th december but thats variable depending on when I get a court date and could drag on longer.

Kristina - I'm actually half Welsh, half English and though I live in England now I was brought up in Wales for most of my life and went to Uni there. So calling me Welsh is just as valid as calling me English.

To add to the confusion on names - many of the children (in fact people generally!) in Kaz are deemed to be "European" racially as about a third of the country is ethnically Russian, Ukrainian or German. Children are often named randomly regardless of their ethnicity - so my friend has a Russian ethnic little boy who was given a Kazakh first name.

Naming is a hot potato subject in intercountry adoption re whether you should leave the birth name intact and is complex. But I would say that in general in the UK, parents generally give a great deal of thought to the decision about whther to add a new name or not. I would guess that very few remove a birth name completely when in reality the closest link to their birth family is their surname which everyone loses, rather than a first name given by a stranger which most people keep.

What's the first step for you when you get there Sue, apart from checking into hotel etc Do you go straight to an orphanage? How are you matched with a child? What about court hearings etc and when do you get custody?
is your Mum flying out with you or joining you later? Are you going to be in a relatively developed or rural area?
Do envy you - would love to be going through it all again! Rest as much as you can this weekend!!!

I think we arrive in the town at about 9am and will be at the orphanage by 10am (I hope!), I have no idea how your child is selected or how you meet them as it varies depending on the director of the baby-house. Court hearings are roughly 2 weeks from arriving (assuming no other emergency hearing that need to be scheduled) and I don;t get custody until 2 weeks after the court hearing unless this cooling off period is waived (very rare in the region I'm going to).

Ust-Kamenogorsk is a large river port (about 350,000) in the middle of a rural, mountainous area. Doesn't feel like its happening to me!

Oh and my mum will probably come out after 2-3 weeks. I wanted some time on my own first but she will therefore be around to help on the flight back.