I got my Letter of Invitation!!

At 3:45 pm on Monday, November 29, Anjali called me from the adoption agency and said, "I've got good news!"  She had received my LOI (Letter of Invitation) to go to Karaganda, Kazakhstan!  I said something to the effect of, "Really, oh my gosh! Wow!"  She responded something like, "Wow, yes, but wait because there's something more...[hesitation, hesitation] - You have to be there by December 14!" I just laughed, I was kind of expecting something like this.  I had been just on the verge of giving up on the idea of an LOI before Christmas, and was considering buying a plane ticket to Victoria for around the same time, since Mom had just broken her ankle and I thought maybe I'd better go and help out.  So I called my mother and said, "I've decided that I can't go to Victoria for December 12.  The reason I can't go is....I have to go to Kazakhstan for December 14."  Fortunately, mom is in such a hurry to be a grandmother (finally!) that my absence for Christmas will not be much of a disappointment.

For the past two days, I have been running around dealing with paperwork and logistics - there is much to do, and time is short!  I will be leaving December 11 for the long journey from Ottawa to Toronto to Frankfurt to Almaty to Karaganda, arriving the morning of December 13.  I expect to be gone for 5 weeks (barring any bureaucratic glitches), then returning to Ottawa to wait perhaps a month before going back for the brief, one week second trip to pick up my child. If things run smoothly, I will be back home with my son or daughter in February.

My blog entries will pick up once I am in Karaganda.  Stay tuned!