Going Home

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay. As Joe said we boarded a flight at 3 something am Kazakhstan time to start our journey home. I decided to come home as there is a delay in Alena going home with us. She can not come home until Jan. 12th at the earliest. Because of Christmas and New Years, I decided to come home and be with family until I go back to get her.

To say that Joe and I knew what we were getting into when we started this journey, would be a lie. We started this journey like we do everything, prayer and intuition. It just felt right. If we knew how far it was I am not sure if we would have started this. To give you an idea of where we were let me tell you how close we were to China, 250 Kilometers!!!
We left our hotel for court at 8pm Thurdsay, East Coast Time, and arrived into Atlanta on Saturday 2:34pm! I am still a bit foggy.

As Joe said court was really an experience. But even before that the last night at the orphanage was truly a bittersweet moment. There were times I had tears in my eyes, but on that night I truly lost it for a bit. All the girls that we fell in love with sat down, and as I said, " Friends never say goodbye," I started to cry. Luckily Joe saved me and came over and told the girls we were so thankful to be a part of their lives this past three weeks. He went on to say that they were amazing kids and they should always believe in themselves. By that time I got it together and I also told them, that they were a special family and we wanted to thank them for allowing us to be a part of that.

I couldn't help the tears. I was fine until I looked at Svetlana. She is the girl with the crutch and she is the sweetest girl. She is really smart and so kind and somewhat shy. I looked at her and thought I don't want to say goodbye to these kids. I hate that I can't love them all. They really deserve that. They deserve the knowing that comes with family. The knowing that someone loves you more than anything. Every child should have it, and these kids don't. It just about broke my heart. Well as we talked the kids realized that we had to leave and they started crying. Even the oldest most stoic girl cried. It was tough. Actually for my family it was pretty funny. We are a real guy's family. Lots of laughs, bodily noises, loud yelling at sports on TV, you know, like a college Frat house. Here we were with all of the girls in Alena's group, crying and hugging. I was proud of my guys they didn't roll their eyes once, ha-ha!!!

Lauren, the Peace Corp Volunteer, and her friend Asema were also there and that helped. Lauren got cornered by the Ophanage Director and asked if she would teach English and of course because Lauren is so awesome, she said yes. It is wonderful for the kids to have her and for Alena, it is going to help so much. Alena needs to get as much English as she can before she comes. Lauren and Asema will help with that and that is such a blessing.

As for Alena, she was crying too, although she did tell me she was really nervous about the next day....Court! We told her don't worry, gave all of the kids multiply hugs and after about 25 minutes got out the door. I don't think I could thank those kids enough for all that they did for us. Without even knowing they taught us so much. So much about perserverence and unconditional love. They were so wonderful and I know that we will always carry them in our hearts. No matter what we will have a connection with them, forever.

After we left, our translator, Zhanara ivited us for dinner and Karoke. A night in central asia is never complete without Karoke!! We had a wonderful dinner, and Lauren and Asema, Igor, our driver, and another American mom, Cheryl Lynn came. We ate manty, which is like a potsticker, and lots of salads, like ham salad kinda stuff and some cream horns. It is hard to explain all of the food! After dinner we went to Karoke and were singing with some very, very drunk Kazak women. There were six of them and they finished off a bottle of wine and two bottles of Vodka. Talk about skills!!!! They were so funny. One told me she had a seventeen year old daughter, who was beautiful just like her mamma, that could have sex with my seventeen year old son, and they could get married! No lie, she spit that out like it was nothing. I said thank you for the offer but we have to go back to America tomorrow!!! What do you say to that! She was a faily big woman who continually told me Kazakhstan was the best country in the world. I thought it best to just smile and agree that I found Kazakhstan a very nice country!

The next day we were up bright and early for court. We had to get Alena and she had fixed her hair up and put on the best winter coat in her group. The kids share all of their clothes and this one coat is really cute. They all take their turns wearing it and I know since it was a special day, Alena got it. We went to court which truly was a "court" experience. The judge was compassionate, yet very professional and competent. She asked relevent questions and gave us every opportunity to ask questions. We were specifically asked if we knew Alena had an issue with her eye. Alena has a lazy eye. Sometimes it is not to bad, other times like when she is tired, you notice it. To us, it is no big deal. When we get her home we will get it looked at and if need be she can have surgery. To them it was someting to make or break the adoption. Luckily the judge was very compassionate and had Alena wait outside during some of the proceedings.

At one point she asked Alena to come in and asked her if she knew who we were. Alena said yes, "that is my mama and papa." She said it with total confidence and the judge said, really! After about 2 or more hours of questions the judge asked if everyone agreed with the adoption. Of course everyone did, except the prosecutor. You could tell he said no, and the judge looked floored. I could see her saying, what? It is amazing how even though we do not understant the language, we still understand the body movements and eye contact. Your body shows so much. You could tell the judge was pretty frustrated. She said we will talk and I will come back with my decree and she left the room. Our atty ran up to the prosecutor and they started talking. Russian and Kazak people are passionate people. They really can get animated when they are frustrated. Well our atty was pretty frustrated and this young 25 year old, fresh out of the University prosectutor kept looking at his watch, like are you done yet. It was really sad to see. He could care less about this girl and her future and more about his ego and time. It was a bit infuriating. But, I remember myself at 25 and well let's say sometimes youth is not a good thing. Only a 43 year old can say that, hu!!!!!!

Alena came back in, not knowing what was going on, and we waited and waited. 45 minutes later the judge came in and read the decree, Alena was our daughter. As Joe said she started crying right away. She was so happy. Other than the birth of my kids, my marriage, and some other few family things, I don't think I have ever felt so privaleged to be a part of someting as much as this. This was amazing. To have the ability to change a child's life, it is amazing. Who knows what is in store for us, but for that one moment, Joe and I changed her life, and she was so thankful, so overwhelmed. She was so happy that when we went to sign the court decree she hugged the judge. It was awesome. After court we went to lunch and our driver picked up Jonathan and Jameson at the hotel. Since it was a closed hearing, they couldn't come. Alena ran into their arms for a hug when they came in the restaurant and the smile on her face was huge. She had a family!

So, we are now the parents of two boys and a girl! It is so right when we say that. How funny. We had to say goodbye and that was hard. A month is so long and we are so far away, but we have faith. As usual, faith is our companion. God is in control. Which I am so happy for, because I think with this jet lag I would definitly mess someting up, Ha-Ha!

So, we are making our plans to go back. Well at least I am. Joe will stay home with the guys and I will make the trip back. Luckily I might have a companion. Lauren's mom may come for a visit! I called her when I got back into the states to say that I met Lauren and loved her and low and behold, her mom wants to come. Since Kazakhstan is best seen for the first time with someone who has been there, I seem to be the perfect person to bring her over! How wild hu!

Joe, Jonathan, and Jameson are going to post their top ten for Kazakhstan and I will be posting every other day to tell you stories that we didn't fit in. Also, these kids need to practice reading English so if any of you out there are up for sending mail, we could use some letters. I will post how many kids and if you can send me a short letter I will take them back with me for the kids. Who knows you might get a response in Russian, or Kazak!!!

Then, after the holidays please check back, because we will be posting my trip to get Alena. I am sure it will be an adventure, as everything we do seems to be that just that. Plus, Jonathan the filmmaker, has a documentary of our trip. He is putting some things together and will post them on U-Tube so you can see what we have been blogging about. I will let you know when that is up.

Thanks again for visiting. We couldn't have done this without all the support we have gotten. Take care and if you need to email us send an email to kamgolf@bellsouth.net

Take Care and God Bless you all,
Joe, Kelly, Jonathan, Jameson, and Alena