Day 3 - May 20th |
What an amazing day! We got up at 4:00 a.m. to
get ready for the long day. By 5:30 we were rushed to the airport so
we could catch a 7:50 flight to Astana. We boarded the plane, then sat
on the runway. Apparently the engine was having trouble so we all got
off the plane and went back into the terminal. Finally an hour later
we got back on the plane and flew to Astana where we were met by Erken
and Dinara (our coordinator and his translator). We rushed to our apartment,
quickly got dressed, then headed to the baby house with Jen and Jesse
(the other American couple adopting right now). By 2:30 p.m. we were
ushered to the director's office and our coordinator spent a lot of
time telling her about our family, jobs and desire to adopt. She asked
us some questions, then made the call. A few minutes later, a nurse
walked in carrying "Alua" who started smiling from ear to
ear when she saw us. We instantly took her into our arms and held her
tight. It was an incredible experience. There was lots of laughter and
tears. After our meeting, we took our new daughter outside and got some
one-on-one time. We had so much fun and didn't want to give her up when
the time was over. Luckily, we'll see her almost every day now. |
 Our first meeting! |
 What a cute baby! We were so happy! |
 Katie was smiling at everyone |
 When outside, we got some good close-ups |
 ...we also had some fun |
|
 And so does Mommy |
 The end-of-the-day goodbye (Jen and Jesse were also saying goodbye to Anelle in the background) |
