NEVER SAY NEVER

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

2010-11-06T14:33:00.037-04:00

Yes, it has been insanely long since I've blogged (more about that at the end of this post), but I just HAD to share some exciting news!And by "news" I mean it literally -- a big ole newspaper article in our local paper. The Post and Courier ran our adoption story as their front page article on Friday!What an exhilarating day for us, and a great day for adoption! The media often tells the sad

Exciting Adventure

2009-05-03T23:21:00.001-04:00

I have taken on an incredible challenge. In November I'll be walking 60 miles over the course of 3 days, camping out each night with thousands of others taking this journey with me.It's for an event called the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, which benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure.I've never done a walk like this before, so I am nervous about it! Past participants say that it’s not easy, and I need

Easter and Kaz Friends

2009-04-15T23:00:00.003-04:00

Charleston was in full bloom for a beautiful Easter season. We enjoyed coloring eggs, attending 2 egg hunts and exciting visits from 2 other Kazakhstan adoptive families we know through blogland. More on that below. Milo had lots of fun, despite being under the weather and occasionally becoming Mr. McMoodypants. Thankfully he is back to his old self and actually seems even sweeter than before.I

Catching Up

2009-03-30T00:03:00.002-04:00

Hello and happy spring!I am woefully behind on the blog, but it's not because we don't have lots to share. Every day is an adventure. Every hour is something new. It's impossible to sum it all up, but below are a few photos from the last few months, along with commentary. I also added 3 videos of Milo in action.I have to admit, I'm much better at keeping up via the very convenient Facebook. If

Sunny Disposition

2009-01-31T14:30:00.004-05:00

You'd better eat something salty to counteract all thesweetness you are about to encounter! Super SillyToddler Talk Translation:"Dike it" = I don't like it."Dum" = Come. Mr. GigglesSweet music.

Happy O-Nine

2009-01-24T23:32:00.008-05:00

Hello good people of the world! Happy New Year to you all, and Happy New President!!!We had an enjoyable Christmas holiday. We took our first family road trip and drove up to Indianapolis to visit my family. It's a 12+ hour drive, so we thought it wise to split it into 2 days. It's hard to fly with our dogs, and we wouldn't dream of leaving them behind. It was frigidly cold during the trip, so it

'Twas the night before...

2008-12-18T23:58:00.003-05:00

Frank and I have been sending out homemade holiday postcards for 5 years now. Frank is a graphic designer and we both have a warped sense of humor, so that makes for some pretty unconventional holiday greetings. This year was extra fun with Milo in the mix!Here is our latest creation: (click to enlarge)2008And here is our Christmas postcard collection from years past:2007(after returning from

Santa Baby

2008-12-06T15:08:00.005-05:00

And so it begins! Off to the mall we went for the Great American Santa Claus Photo. It was a success! Don'tcha just love a good sweater vest?Milo thought Santa was swell, but he was apprehensive at first about sitting on his lap. Once mom showed him how to do it he was game. It took only minor prompting to get that dazzling smile. Video: Mr. ChattyMilo is getting very verbal, and as you can

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T23:20:00.001-05:00

We cannot count the number of times we have said thank you this year. It has been a year that we have felt embraced and supported like never before, during perhaps the most difficult season of our lives. We owe boatloads of gratitude to many people, and I'm still working on the thank you notes! ;-)Most of all, we are deeply thankful for having the most incredible little boy in our family.

National Adoption Day

2008-11-16T23:35:00.002-05:00

Happy (belated) National Adoption Day!We celebrated this special holiday yesterday by attending an Adoption Day Ceremony at Azalea Park in Summerville.I was honored to help write and officiate at the candle lighting ceremony for the event. (I am a certified civil Celebrant.)Many families braved the drizzle and huddled beneath the gazebo and under umbrellas. We enjoyed music, shared stories and

Halloween and Crunchy Fall Fun

2008-11-03T23:27:00.007-05:00

Howdy partners! Our little buckaroo was a swaggering cowboy this Halloween. We thought the look fit him well, plus it was also a hats off to my dad, Rudy, who is an avid fan and collector of memorabilia from the classic Riders of the Silver Screen, such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.We visited some family members and then went to a friend's block party, which has become a tradition. He blocks off

Pssst...Hey future Kaz adopters!

2008-10-19T21:19:00.009-04:00

Update: Thank you to Lori Strobbe, who won this auction! Lori is with the same agency and coordinator as we were.She has a blog at : http://goingtokaz.blogspot.com/ although I imagine it will go private soon. Best wishes, Lori! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you are preparing to travel to Kazakhstan to adopt a child, you might be

Blog is Public

2008-10-09T12:43:00.011-04:00

You will no longer need a login or password to view this blog. I made it public now that my former fellow traveler, Alysa, finally has custody of her son, Braden (Brady) Kyler. Congratulations my friend! I look forward to a cross-country playdate soon!

These Eyes, Part 2

2008-10-07T14:56:00.005-04:00

I wanted to share some photos of our sweet, handsome boy taken after his surgery!As you can see his left eye was slightly under-corrected. The surgeon did this intentionally because in his experience the eye will tend to drift further outward once the muscle has been loosened. It should fall even closer to perfect alignment over the next couple of years.It moves in sync with the other eye when he

Frogger

2008-09-29T14:42:00.004-04:00

I couldn't resist sharing these photos. Our little man is obsessed with shoes -- and especially loves wearing his froggie boots after a bath. We can't wait to show these photos to his girlfriends someday!Also, I updated my last 2 posts with more photos and a video.I hear him stirring from his nap. Gotta run...

These Eyes

2008-09-19T20:34:00.011-04:00

Milo came through his eye surgery this morning with flying colors!He drank 2 glasses of apple juice and ate a whole banana in the recovery room. Once we got home he slept off the anesthesia for about an hour, and then the Wonderboy himself bounced around happily until bedtime like nothing ever happened! In fact he was in a particularly great mood and full of spunk.His eye alignment looks so much

One Month Home

2008-09-16T00:10:00.012-04:00

Hello? Check…check…123 … Is this thing on? Are you guys still with me?Well, hello good people! How I’ve missed you.First, please check out the previous post. I updated it with photos of our homecoming!I am finally able to catch a breath and share some snippets about our first few weeks as a family. Raising our active little imp is all-consuming right now (hence the long delay in posting an update

Pitter Patter

2008-08-22T00:25:00.008-04:00

There is the most beautiful music in our home. It's the sound of little feet pitter pattering on the floor, toys playing their sweet songs and our son's giggles echoing through the rooms. We are home!!!Milo was a super trooper on the flights. He definitely had his moments, but considering his age and the circumstances he did pretty darn well and I was so proud of him! It took plenty of snacks,

Just close your eyes and click your heels...

2008-08-18T12:05:00.004-04:00

Goodbye Kazakhstan. Thank you for the most precious gift of our darling son. And don't go thinking we're giving him back just because he pooped in the bathtub tonight.We're going home!!!

The Final Stretch

2008-08-16T22:20:00.006-04:00

It’s Sunday morning here, and that means we only have two more full days left in Kazakhstan. I can hardly believe I just wrote that! Our appointment with the US Embassy is tomorrow, and we fly out early Tuesday morning. Since we are gaining 10 hours on the flight back, we will arrive at Charleston International at on the same day at 10:40 pm EST.As relieved as I am to be going home, I know that

Psych

2008-08-13T03:43:00.004-04:00

Oops! Sorry about the false alarm with going public. My friend, Alysa, has not had her court date yet. I don't want to do anything to endanger her adoption so I made the blog private again until I can remove her and her son's identifying information, or until she has court. Thanks for understanding!

Public

2008-08-12T12:56:00.006-04:00

Just a note to let everyone know I've made the blog public again. You no longer need to be "invited" or to log in to read it.You still must log in to post a comment, and for those people using the KazBlogReader shared account, you can now use your own!

In the Groove

2008-08-11T12:41:00.007-04:00

First things first:We are coming home on Tuesday, August 19!!!Yabba dabba doo! I think we will land in Charleston around 10:45 pm, but I need to confirm our tickets.All’s well in Almaty. We had a very trying first two days, but we have gotten into a comfortable groove during the last two. Milo is doing better and better. Thank you all for your supportive comments and e-mails. It really helps me

Week 1 - Hurricane Milo

2008-08-06T16:02:00.004-04:00

Hello! Sorry it has taken so long to post an update, but there is this little gremlin that takes up 97% of my time these days! I guess I shouldn't be such a perfectionist anymore with my blog writing, but old habits die hard.All is well here, although we got off to a rough start. But good things first:Milo is doing just fine! He is generally a cheerful little boy and wakes up with a smile every

Gotcha

2008-07-31T14:22:00.014-04:00

Shhhh…. he is sleeping right now. Yes, here. Right in the very next room! He looks like a little cherub.Sorry to keep you waiting. I tried to post a blog entry last night, but the internet was down. I knew I wouldn’t get the chance to post again until tonight because Mr. Milo is keeping me on my toes!What an amazing couple of days. Yesterday (Gotcha Day) was so emotionally charged it's hard to

Thoughts from an Imminent Mom

2008-07-29T14:49:00.003-04:00

As I sit here alone in my quiet apartment, I am absolutely aware that my life will never be even close to the same in about 12 hours. Tomorrow I will truly become a mother. No more visiting this boy they say is ours. He will come back here with me, and we will suddenly be a real family. I'm sure we will look at each other and wonder what the heck just happened!I’m so overjoyed, and I also feel a

Around Aktobe

2008-07-28T15:03:00.002-04:00

All is well and I’m surviving the 100+ degree days without air conditioning. It's dry, so it's not as bad as it could be, but I can't believe how many people I see still wearing jeans and polyester. I think the heat has gone to their heads!We’re expecting a cold snap soon – a high of only 90 degrees on Wednesday, which is our Gotcha Day. I can’t believe we only have ONE MORE DAY in that playroom!

Video Bonanza

2008-07-27T11:54:00.000-04:00

Frank uploaded some of our new videos from our home computer since I'm having trouble uploading them via dialup. (He took a backup with him.)These are pretty short, so it won't take long to view them all. Enjoy the antics of our little Kaz rascal!

Horns to Halos

2008-07-25T13:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my hot water went out for a few hours, which often happens in Kaz. When it came back on I thought for a minute that the faucet was spewing cappuccino! The brown water stories in Kaz are well-known, but this is the worst I’ve personally seen it. I let it run for a few minutes and it became clear again quickly, but yuck! I’ve seen more appetizing water in the swamps of Carolina. It has a

Danger Mouse

2008-07-23T12:12:00.011-04:00

I had my first big save today, and I will have the bruises to show for it!There is a big white door in the playroom that leads to Milo’s group quarters. I call it the “danger door” because immediately on the other side of it is a 4-step concrete staircase, then a small landing and then a long concrete staircase. It is very hazardous.When Frank was here we would sometimes keep this door open to

Spirited Boy

2008-07-22T10:58:00.012-04:00

Alysa made it into Aktobe fine this morning. She’s a very nice woman, and she is doing great. She had a whirlwind experience, but I will let her cover that in her own blog first when she is able. All you Alysa blog stalkers out there, she will probably update everyone tomorrow once she gets her bearings. :-) She is already zonked out. The jet lag and the enormity of the events of the last few

Pajama Party

2008-07-21T14:46:00.002-04:00

I will have a temporary roommate soon. Alysa is going to stay in my apartment until they can get hers straightened out. Gulnara had a death in the family and had to unexpectedly leave town, and she didn’t have Alysa’s apartment secured yet. So I guess it’s pajama party time! Do you think we will have pillow fights, share makeup tips, eat pizza and pixie sticks and talk about boys all night?Alysa

Solitude

2008-07-20T12:15:00.002-04:00

Frank made it home safely. He was dog-tired, but feeling better. We think his illness was caused by something he ate here that set up shop in his tummy. On top of feeling like crap, his flights were dreadful! From Almaty to Amsterdam he sat next to a man who had very aromatic, chronic gas. From Amsterdam to Memphis he sat in front of a hyperactive, shrieking, seat-kicking, aisle-running 3-year

Not Alone

2008-07-18T13:32:00.019-04:00

Frank wrote me that he made it to Amsterdam, but he’s not feeling well. I hope he makes it home ok. It’s hard to fly while you're sick. Poor thing.I forgot to mention that Milo fell asleep in Frank's arms on their last day together. Frank was slowly carrying him around the room in circles and Milo finally put his head on Papa’s shoulder. When he started sucking his thumb I knew he was a goner. He

Paka-Paka Papa

2008-07-17T13:35:00.003-04:00

Frank flew out of Aqtobe this morning. He will arrive in Charleston very late Friday night.Milo misses him and so do I. Milo was outside with his group this morning when I arrived, and after I picked him up in my arms he looked at and pointed to the car, waiting for Frank to come out. He made his cute little questioning vocalization, which sounds like “Hi???” I just gave him big hugs and said “

Here's to Hope

2008-07-15T15:10:00.007-04:00

Milo’s temporary home is called Ymit Baby House. Ymit is pronounced “ooo-mitt” and it means 'hope.' This is the main entrance, where we enter the building every day. The bonding room windows can be seen just above the sign.Here is a video of us walking through the front door and up into the bonding room. When you walk through the halls it always smells good – like potatoes, noodles and sweet

Judgment Day

2008-07-14T11:36:00.013-04:00

I’ll cut to the chase… The judge said YES!!!We are delighted to announce the latest addition to the Ruopoli / Garza family!Milan Damir RuopoliBirthname: Damir Amirovich SultanovBirthdate: August 23, 2006Birthplace: A little village just outside of AqtobeNew Hometown: Charleston, South Carolina, USAHere we are in the courtroom, just after the proceedings:Front:

Court is Zaftra

2008-07-13T11:24:00.010-04:00

We will nervously walk into the courtroom around 10 am tomorrow to bid our plea to become Milan’s legal parents. This is 1:00 am eastern standard time. If you are awake, please light a candle for us!Frank has been working on his speech and I have been working on my supporting comments. I have also been drilling Frank with questions the judge may ask. (They always mainly address the male in a

Our Hot New Digs

2008-07-11T23:59:00.001-04:00

As promised here are photos of our new, improved apartment. It’s almost as big as our house.It was 95 degrees here yesterday, and expected to be the same today! Our little fan never stops going, and our shower is getting a workout. I'm glad our luggage finally made it, although we are hardly wearing our clothes at this point. (Everything was there, but there were some signs of rummaging.) It is a

He Remembered Us

2008-07-09T20:32:00.000-04:00

It’s been 2 days, 4 visits and about 10,000 kisses on those big chubby cheeks!We are all blissfully back in the saddle again. Our little dumplin is doing great. He definitely remembered us, and we are all happy to be reunited!All is well, and we are able to access dial-up internet in our apartment! We are operating at a blazing speed of 52 kbps. Wheeee! It took us a couple of days to purchase an

The Weather in Memphis is Lovely Today

2008-07-06T15:09:00.009-04:00

How do I know? Because we’re here, hanging out at the Memphis Marriott instead of landing in Almaty.Our plane couldn’t land as scheduled last night because of intense thunderstorms, so we circled Memphis for a while and then diverted to Little Rock to land, refuel and then fly back to Memphis. We missed our flight to Amsterdam by an hour, and since there is only one

We're Off to See the Wizard

2008-07-05T00:01:00.003-04:00

...the wonderful wizard of Kaz!Well, we HOPE he is a wonderful wizard.We leave today for trip number two, where at our court hearing on July 14, a judge (aka wizard) will determine if we can in fact become Milo’s legal parents. Court Day is a little unnerving because there are no guarantees the judge will approve our adoption. Chances are he will, but we can’t get too comfortable.Overall, we

Shower Power - Take Two

2008-06-29T19:30:00.011-04:00

My colleagues recently gave us a wonderful toddler shower!We had a fabulous time and received lots of gifts for Milo. There were so many great toys, books, clothes, beach gear and grooming items that we could barely fit all the loot in our two vehicles. What generosity!I am so fortunate that I not only love my job, but also the people I work with. My work friends have seen me through thick and

The Only Thing That's Constant

2008-06-20T00:02:00.003-04:00

We have been asked to be in Aqtobe on July 7th - a full week before court – because they don’t know when the judge and prosecutor will be able to observe bonding, and they want to err on the side of caution since we are the first family to go through this new process there.The happy news is that we get to see Milo sooner. The sad news is that because of this and other factors, we have decided to

Court Date

2008-06-18T00:02:00.008-04:00

Woo-hoo! We have a court date! It's Monday, July 14th. That's exactly when Gulnara predicted.We must arrive a couple of days early so the judge and prosecutor can observe our bonding with Milan before court (another new requirement.) Since it takes almost 2 full days to get there we will leave on July 9th – 2 days after my 40th birthday and 6 days after Frank’s 40th birthday. That’s what I call a

MTV Cribs - Aqtobe Edition

2008-06-07T12:30:00.003-04:00

Our apartment in Kaz was not as bad as others I’ve heard of, but it was pretty small and needed a lot of TLC and cleaning. Our friends, the Kieffers, said that we absolutely had to stay in a dump to have the real Kaz adoption experience.We did ask to stay at the same place for the next trip if it's available since we know its pros and cons -- the biggest pro being an air conditioner, which is

Missing Milo

2008-06-03T13:04:00.003-04:00

We are home, sweet home. We stumbled through our very own front door at 11:30 pm last night, and 30 minutes later we were sleeping like old farm dogs on a sunny porch.Thanks to our fairy godmother (Frank’s sister, Rosie) we came home to a spotless house, home-cooked meals waiting in the fridge, fresh sheets on the bed, the coffee prepped for the morning brew, the garbage taken out and the mail

Computer Problems

2008-05-27T05:19:00.003-04:00

We are having an issue with internet access on our computer, but we hope to have it resolved soon. We are at an internet cafe -- which is not even a cafe -- just a yellow room with about 6 computers. It costs 7 tenge per minute.We just wanted to let everyone know we are still doing well. We expect to be flying out of Aqtobe on June 1, and out of Almaty on June 2 if all goes according to plan.

Jeepers Creepers

2008-05-25T05:44:00.020-04:00

We were listening to Louis Armstrong the other night and burst out laughing when the song Jeepers Creepers came on. “Jeepers creepers, where’d ya get those peepers? Jeepers creepers, where’d ya get those eyes?” How suitable!Milan’s eyes are so interesting to watch work. As I said before, the right one is dominant and the left one is usually crossed, but there are times when the left one seems to

The Time of Our Lives

2008-05-23T04:14:00.016-04:00

Privyet! (Hi!) Kak de la? (How are you?) Ochen hirasho, spaseeba. (Very well, thanks.)We are still rocking and rolling from halfway around the world. It’s getting hot, so thankfully we have a kick-butt air conditioner in our apartment! We needed an extension cord for it, and purchasing one was a quest. We were taken to three different hardware/houseware stores to find one that was not made in

Stirred, Not Shaken

2008-05-21T10:05:00.015-04:00

Thanks for all the wonderful comments. They turn us to mush – almost as much as Milo does!We still cannot access the internet in our apartment. The computer says we have established our dial-up connection, yet it’s just not working. Other families have gotten online from this apartment, and Frank is very computer savvy, so we suspect it’s a Windows Vista thing -- I told you it stinks! (Does

It's a Boy!

2008-05-20T04:32:00.004-04:00

We are madly in love!Please say hello to our son-to-be, Milan (Milo) Ruopoli. (We are having internet issues, and it won't let us upload more than a few photos. We will add more asap.)He is almost 21 months old, and he is precious beyond words. We believe he is a mix of Kazakh and Caucasian. He has medium brown hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, chubby cheeks, pouty lips and a button nose. And he

Alive and Well!

2008-05-18T04:50:00.001-04:00

Saturday, May 17, 2008We’re here! We are having trouble with the internet connection in our apartment, and it has been a whirlwind since we landed. We finally made it to a coffee shop with wi-fi and wanted to give everyone a quick update.We don’t have baby news to share just yet. We are still going through the initial process. We hope to share some good news with you within a couple of

Let's Roll

2008-05-14T10:55:00.004-04:00

Today the real adventure begins.It has been a frenzied 24 hours, but we are as ready as we will ever be. Please keep us in your thoughts, prayers and meditations during our journey.~ May we stay safe and healthy.~ May our child stay safe and healthy.~ May we find the right child for our family.~ May the legal process be swift and smooth.~ May we fully embrace this exciting experience and find

Vertigo

2008-05-12T21:09:00.011-04:00

During the last couple of days, a strange sensation has occasionally drifted over me. It's the very real, physical sensation of falling. It's different from the rush I get before a performance, as it's centered more in my eyes and head than in my chest and stomach. I've never felt quite this way before. It's a new kind of fear, and it has taken me completely by surprise.What am I afraid of?Well,

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T17:38:00.012-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there --old moms, new moms and moms-to-be!And to our own wonderful mothers,we love you and miss being with you today.Know that we feel assured about our parenting abilitiesbecause we were taught by two of the best in the business. ChristinaRegina’s Mom(I’m the baby.) LaNellFrank’s Mom(He was a hairy baby.)

Still Sinking In

2008-05-10T11:59:00.014-04:00

We leave in FOUR days.Our flight departs this Wednesday, May 14. Yes, we had to pay for the whole seat, even though we'll only need the edge!We are flying KLM/Northwest from Charleston to Memphis to Amsterdam to Almaty. We will buy our tickets to Aqtobe after we land in Almaty. It will be about 35-40 total hours of travel time!We have a long layover in Amsterdam, so we might take the train into

Shazam!!!

2008-05-08T20:30:00.004-04:00

What starts with an L ...ends with an I ... and has Oh My Gawd in the middle???Play Me

Restless

2008-05-06T22:42:00.023-04:00

Our elusive LOI is still MIA.Maybe the MOE has PMS and needs some TLC. Or maybe a BLT. Perhaps even an EKG. I won't call them an SOB or they will just LOL and send our LOI off to RIP with the KGB. Then OMG, we would be SOL!This Friday is Victory Day in Kazakhstan, and we all know by now that a Kaz holiday never lasts for just one day. So I think we are going to definitely be on the longer side of

Antsy

2008-04-30T22:44:00.013-04:00

I want to go, and I want to go now. Habibi has waited long enough. We have waited long enough. We are so ready to love that little child who needs a mommy and daddy. Every day that passes is a day that he/she isn't receiving the full attention, love and nutrition and that is needed to grow up as healthy and happy as possible. That is distressing.There is a 9 hour time difference between us

Tingly

2008-04-29T21:45:00.004-04:00

Remember how I said that I was totally calm yesterday?Well…not so much today.When I woke up this morning, something changed. As my day began I grew very excited, and I felt repeated waves of expectancy and anticipation throughout the day. I checked my cell phone a couple of times to make sure I didn’t miss any calls. Whenever it rang I answered it a little faster. And when people asked me

About to Pop

2008-04-28T23:38:00.013-04:00

<--- This is how it feels to be waiting for an LOI!(I recently found this photo of me goofing around many Christmases ago and had to laugh.)Being this close feels a lot like waiting for our water to break. Everyone we see has that excited, questioning look in their eyes, and all we can do is just rub our belly, smile and shrug our shoulders.It also feels like the night before Christmas and we’ve

Dear Friends

2008-04-25T20:38:00.013-04:00

Enough of all this talk about camels and straws.It’s going to take a more than a bad day and a few dollars to keep us from our child.We are united. We are excited. We are warriors. Team Ruopoli is unstoppable. There is renewed strength, perspective and commitment to this journey to our child – however bumpy the ride. The thunderstorm has passed, and there is laughter and light in our home

The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back?

2008-04-24T12:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the toughest day, and we may have reached our breaking point.Since we signed up for this over a year ago, the Kazakhstan adoption program has undergone enormous changes. It's a different animal now. And so here we are -- days before we should be travelling -- and we are grappling with whether or not we can do it.Why?* Kaz has changed the rules and processing times over the years. It

5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ...

2008-04-20T00:34:00.042-04:00

Last we heard our LOI is still processing happily along, and we are still on schedule.It's hard to believe we are really this close. We are still very calm, although we are definitely abuzz with tying up loose ends, dotting i’s, crossing t’s, making lists and checking them thrice. You wouldn’t believe all the minutiae of getting ready to walk out that front door. We are 95% there. Most of what is

Threshold

2008-04-15T23:53:00.011-04:00

Anthropologists have a word for the state of being that occurs in transitional moments: Liminality, from the Latin word limen, meaning “threshold.” At liminal times we are moving out of “here” but are not yet “there.” When standing on a threshold we look back at the past as we prepare ourselves for an uncharted future. In the words of a proverb, “The most difficult mountain to cross is the

Parameters and Contest

2008-04-14T00:43:00.011-04:00

I wanted to recap our parameters so you guys don't have to go digging through our posts to be reminded. We are looking for a boy or a girl, from age 6 months to 2 years, of any ethnicity, and we’re open minor correctable medical needs. (The only thing that has changed is the age range, which has gone from 1 to 2.)Also, I thought it would be fun to have a little CONTEST to guess our child’s

Open

2008-04-10T22:18:00.016-04:00

Things have been quiet on the blogfront here, but that’s because there has been a happy storm brewing in the Ruopoli house!We have been told that we should be leaving for Kazakhstan within 3-4 weeks!!!Yes, this is a little sooner than expected, but we were told on Monday that babies in our requested age range won’t be off the Aqtobe registry until this summer. (I was prepared to hear this because

Beautiful Adoption Poems

2008-04-08T23:48:00.008-04:00

We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.But those who make their journey home across time & miles,growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them,are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among usby God's very own hands. ~Kristi LarsonNot flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone,But still miraculously my own.Never forget for a single minute,You didn't grow under my

Nice Package

2008-04-01T22:14:00.018-04:00

Sure, gifts are great. But a creative gift wrapping job? Now we're talking. It is something that is equally as exciting to me. So imagine my delight when I opened a box of gifts from my fellow blogger friend, Eileen, who is a professional dynamo at creating hand-stamped cards and stationery. Sure the gifts were great (organic baby wash/lotion and a hooded towel) but I was blown away by

Forward March

2008-03-27T23:26:00.017-04:00

March has flown by. Absolutely flown. I’ve been too busy for my own good, and over Easter weekend I jetted to Indianapolis for a quick visit with my family. I had a nice, relaxing time with them, although the colder weather was a shock since spring has been springing in Charleston for weeks now. As you can see, our azaleas are in full bloom!

Nobody Panic

2008-03-18T23:03:00.005-04:00

This has not been confirmed by my adoption agency (who is doing a nice job of keeping in touch with us about it), but yesterday the Joint Council on International Children’s Services posted on its web site that Kazakhstan has temporarily suspended all US adoptions, effective immediately. They are not accepting any more dossiers pending the finalization of a review of adoption cases by the

Welcome to Club Habibi

2008-03-16T22:33:00.033-04:00

We are officially private now. It feels like we’ve gone underground into a shifty, members-only club where we must use a secret knock and meet in dark, hidden rooms -- whispering secrets and covertly conspiring about something scandalous. I also feel like this post should be about something big and newsy to substantiate the need for privacy.Sorry guys... I got nuthin’. I was just

Aha!

2008-03-13T23:07:00.030-04:00

I have an idea.(Couldn’t resist the Aha picture. Children of the 80’s, can I hear you say ‘Take on me?’)Ok, back to the idea.After quickly realizing that 100 invites are not nearly enough, I brainstormed work-arounds for granting more people access when we go stealth.So here’s the dealio: I created a dummy e-mail address on gmail, and a dummy Blogger account using that e-mail address. I will

Going Private - P.S.

2008-03-12T20:18:00.006-04:00

Eeek!Blogger has recently started limiting the number of invitations you can send for private blogs to 100 people per blog. This kinda stinks. If you do not receive an invitation, please do not take it personally. We will probably have to narrow it down to those people closest to us, our longtime supporters and those who are adopting soon too.(Has anyone had any luck getting Blogger to

Going Private

2008-03-11T23:30:00.014-04:00

The time has come for us to make our blog private, as recommended by our agency. I'll probably open it back up to the public once we return, but for now it will be invitation-only starting this weekend.If you would like an invitation, please either post a comment here that includes your e-mail address, or e-mail me at regina (at) ruopoli

Hello MOE

2008-03-08T18:16:00.029-05:00

As of Tuesday our dossier finally arrived at the Ministry of Education in Aqtobe. Or as I now like to call it, Rocktobe!Now we just wait for our LOI (Letter of Invitation.) It is supposed to be issued within 8-10 weeks. It comes from the MOE, and will arrive via Andrea’s e-mail. She will then call us to break the news, and bear witness to me either squealing like an 10 year-old who just won

Odds & Ends

2008-03-02T16:58:00.017-05:00

CUTE ALERTI added more photos of recently home Kaz Cuties to my post from February 19. I've been asking for permission from parents, and it is taking me awhile to get around to asking everyone who has recently returned. I'd love to add even more photos; To help me do this more quickly, if there are any parents out there who have recently returned with a Kaz child and are okay with me sharing a

Blue Skies

2008-02-25T21:26:00.015-05:00

We feel excited, relaxed and happy. We are very comfortable with waiting until May to travel. Besides having near perfect weather, we can finish up a hundred projects at home and at work, and also resume our social life for a while!It looks like our paperwork will be A-OK to get us through the expected time frame. We just need to do a simple update on our home study. Piece of cake.Andrea

Pssst

2008-02-20T22:58:00.009-05:00

On the last episode of Ruopoli Baby Comes to Town, we were waiting patiently (sort of) to hear our region.Well ladies and gentlemen, as of Tuesday afternoon, the first red velvet curtain has finally lifted. We have our region assignment.Drumroll please!Our sweet baby is waiting for us in…the fine city of...Aqtöbe!It’s pronounced Ock-TOE-Bee. (Or maybe Ak-TOO-Bee. I need to double check that!) It

Here Comes The...

2008-02-19T22:39:00.035-05:00

The last week was a quite difficult one in our little adoption story. I have finally emerged from a slight haze that clouded my world for several days.It started when we made the tough decision to request that one of LMI's regions be taken out of the options for us. We just weren't comfortable with it for various reasons. It is LMI's quickest region, so this decision almost definitely means a

Nice, Well-Behaved Dossier Looking For a Good Home. Paper-Trained. Won't Bite.

2008-02-12T23:05:00.018-05:00

Our dossier came out of the MFA on Monday! Three cheers for that!!!(I updated our timeline, which can now be found in the right margin.)However, our region assignment is still up in the air.The Little Miracles team is trying to find the best region for us. But that, my friends, is easier said than done. Adoption in Kaz is mostly a regionally-administered process, and each region has its pros and

Swan Song for Sleep

2008-02-07T00:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Sleep,You and I have been great friends for quite some time. I really enjoy your company, and appreciate that you've always been there for me (except for the college years -- I don't know how I did without you then.) I wanted to give you a heads up that soon I won't be able to spend as much time with you as usual. There is someone else coming into my life who will need much of the time I

Random Things

2008-02-04T00:19:00.000-05:00

Well, the bad news is that we still don't have a region assignment. Andrea said she hopes it will happen in another week or two.But the good news is that she did ask us to participate in the Little Miracles Travel Conference Call last week. It's a 2-hour call where they advise you on anything and everything regarding your actual trip. This felt like a big step! Usually participants must have

Tag...I'm it!

2008-01-29T22:57:00.000-05:00

I’ve been “tagged” and now have to post 7 strange/weird facts about me, and then tag 7 other bloggers to do the same. I’m going to include Frank in this too, so I’ll actually post 14.Here are the rules for those I’ve tagged: Post the rules on your blog. Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random bloggers, as well as your original tagger. Let each person know they have been tagged by

Shower Power

2008-01-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

Frank's co-workers threw us our first baby shower last Thursday night! It was a fantastic evening -- more like a fun dinner party that just happened to end with us opening baby presents. Frank works with the most wonderful people, and they have all been so supportive and excited for us throughout this process. (He is a graphic designer for a federal agency focused on the coastal environment.)We

No News Flash

2008-01-24T00:38:00.001-05:00

Hello friends! Sorry I have been out of touch, but I recently returned from a long business trip to Dallas, Texas. I missed y'all!No big news to share yet, but something exciting is that Frank’s co-workers are throwing us a baby shower Thursday evening. It feels so wonderful and weird and cool and awesome and scary and surreal. I'm actually a little nervous.We’re still waiting to hear our region

The Kieffers Come to Charleston

2008-01-12T16:24:00.000-05:00

We had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful Kaz adoptive family last Thursday night! Marc and Le Anne Kieffer and their son, Rhys (pronounced Reese), who live in North Carolina were visiting friends here in Charleston, and we all met for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company downtown. They are the nicest people and a lot of fun too! We enjoyed their company very much and look forward to having

Black Hole Day, by Frank

2008-01-10T08:20:00.000-05:00

This is photo of when the universe began. Well, at least as far as I’m concerned. This is a photo of my parents on their wedding day. That day was March 28, 1954. This is the day their planets aligned with my stars. This day sealed the fate that they would meet me one day, and that I would be destined to have the best family ever. Today is January 10, 2008. It is the ninth anniversary

The Times They Are A-Changin'

2008-01-07T22:18:00.000-05:00

http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=549The above link is to a very good article examining international adoptionin 2007, and contemplating the state of international adoption in 2008.Click to enlarge

A Tall Order

2008-01-04T20:16:00.000-05:00

I apologize in advance for the shallow, girly girl nature of this post. Boys, feel free to read on if you like. I promise it has nothing to do with my ovaries, brassiere or favorite lipstick. It's just about clothes.I have plenty of professional clothes. I have plenty of jazz singer clothes. I have enough bum-around clothes. But I don't have many good mom clothes. Soon I will need to get

Oh Eight

2007-12-31T18:42:00.000-05:00

As Frank and I bid a fond farewell to a great 2007 we are especially excited to ring in 2008 because, if everything goes according to plan, it is the year we will bring home our child!Yep, it is theee year. Our baby announcements will have the year 2008 on them. Our plane tickets. Our child's passport. Hundreds of important receipts. All those final documents and signatures. Ten thousand

Loss, Love & Little White Lies

2007-12-27T23:22:00.000-05:00

We hope you all had a joyous Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Festivus or whatever other holiday you celebrate!We’ve had a whirlwind couple of weeks and not much time to sit down and shed ink on the ‘ole blog. I’ve had a million thoughts I’ve wanted to share, and now it seems insurmountable to capture them all.So I’ll touch on only a few.Unfortunately our season started with great

Paradigm Shifted

2007-12-18T00:24:00.000-05:00

For us, the decision to become parents was a far bigger one than the decision to adopt.Until recent years, we were both pretty decided about not wanting to take on the full responsibility of kids, although we love them and enjoyed our aunt/uncle roles immensely. Being the youngest in each of our families, we watched our older siblings take on the joys and pains of parenthood, so we never had

Our Dossier is in Kazakhstan!

2007-12-12T20:14:00.000-05:00

Andrea called last night to let us know our bundle of joy (aka the rock star) has arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana, Kazakhstan! Woo-hoo!!! We are very excited to know that it's finally in the same country as our baby. It feels somewhat surreal actually.It took just under 4 weeks to process through the Consulate. We expect it will be at the MFA for 6-8 weeks. I updated our

Warm All Over

2007-12-10T23:46:00.000-05:00

It was a wonderful week. My parents, one of my sisters and one of my nieces came to Charleston for a visit, and we were thrilled to have them here.We enjoyed an early Christmas gift exchange, and Frank and I received many thoughtful things. But as I worked my way into the large gift bag from my parents, opening several gifts stacked atop each other, I caught a glimpse of something at the bottom

Mother of the Year

2007-12-03T00:06:00.000-05:00

I have always been intrigued by stories of interspecies adoption. They certainly serve as a beautiful illustration that, from a universal level, a parent's love is much broader than just giving birth, and that a child doesn’t have to be a “perfect match" to be perfectly loved. Here is a sweet story that appeared my inbox recently. Enjoy!MOTHER OF THE YEARIn a zoo in California, a mother tiger

Figure 8

2007-11-27T23:55:00.000-05:00

A few of our family members, November 27, 1999Today, my hubby and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary!We just returned from a decadent celebratory feast at the esteemed Peninsula Grill. (Our days of indulgent fine dining on a regular basis are numbered!)I am lucky to have found such a wonderful man. I can't imagine anyone else in the world I would rather become a parent with. We are so

Happy Franksgiving

2007-11-22T10:59:00.001-05:00

In our house, Thanksgiving is known as "Franksgiving." It's a decree made years ago by my very silly husband, Frank.Everyone always asks him just what he is actually giving for Franksgiving. His wacky answers vary from year to year, but I can tell you that he always gives us laughter, which is a gift most precious.I love this time of year. But if there’s one thing I miss about my hometown of

Next Steps

2007-11-20T20:34:00.000-05:00

After our “Rock Star Dossier” is processed at the Consulate, it will embark on a grand tour of Kazakhstan. Our vocabulary now includes the following 3-letter acronyms, which stand for all of the next tour stops:Stop 1: MFA - Ministry of Foreign AffairsStop 2: MOE - Ministry of Education (This is where we are assigned to a particular region.)Stop 3: DOE - Department of Education (The DOE in our