Our Family Adventure

An Update on Our Family Adventure

2012-01-31T20:59:00.000-06:00

Sadly, I am writing to let my followers know that my dear sweet husband, Michael Gene Goff passed away on December 19, 2011 at the age of 43. He was too young and we will miss him every moment.

Funeral services for Michael Gene Goff,age 43 of Bonita (near Saint Jo) are set for 2:00 pm Friday, December 23, 2011 at the First UnitedMethodist Church in Saint Jo. A visitation is set for 6:00 PM to 8:00 PMThursday at the funeral home. The service will be officiated by Rev. LarryColeman and directed by McCoy Funeral Home of Saint Jo. Michael died at about8:30 PM Monday, December 19 at his residence.

Michael came into this world on Oct. 11,1968, the son ofJerral Don and Mary Kathryn Goff. He was a very little 4lbs. 15 ozs. Everyonewho knows him knows that didn’t last long. He grew up in Saint Jo and he wantedhis son to do the same, so he and Kirsten bought a home in Bonita and plannedto raise Bobby there.

He grew up attending the Methodist Church, being a BoyScout, playing summer baseball, and doing all the things that a boy does in asmall town in Texas. He graduated from Saint Jo High in 1987 and went to TexasA&M where he earned his BS degree in Construction Science and learned to bea Real AGGIE. He worked for the Texas Highway Dept. and in the constructionfield all his adult life.

He married Kirsten McGregor on May 28, 1994. The story goesthat he posted a note on the internet that said “Where are you, slow talkin’slow walkin’ country girl in the tight fittin’ jeans? If you like Aggies,respond.” Respond she did, and you know the rest of the story. The greatadventures of his life was when they traveled all the way to Kazakhstan toadopt their precious son Robert Curtis ‘Bobby’ Goff. They went there again afew years later to show Bobby where he came from and to show the people therewhat a wonderful son they had.

As a boy, Michael loved to fish with his brothers Curtis andJerral and his friends he spent many, many hours on and in the Katy Lake. Hehad a great love for Colorado vacations there as a child, led to vacationsthere as an adult, at the cabin of Kirsten’s parents. He always planned in hisheart to live there someday.

Michael loved his toys and another love of his life was hisToyota Cruiser that he had lovingly restored and named “Clyde 2” as thesuccessor to a jeep owned by his Grandfather.

Michael loved his family with all of his heart. A fact hethought he kept hidden from them, but made evident in his actions. Michael’sfamily loves him with all their hearts and the hole his passing has left inthose hearts is immeasurable.

Michael is survived by his wife, Kirsten Leigh McGregor ofthe home, a son, Robert “Bobby” Curtis Goff also of the home, Parents, JerralDon and Mary Kathryn Goff of Saint Jo, a brother, Curtis Don Goff and wifeKathryn of Little Elm, Texas, Sister–in–law Ann Goff of Nacogdoches, Texas andnephews Jeffrey, Ryan, Curry and Taylor Goff. He was preceded in death by abrother Jerral Wayne Goff, grandparents, Curtis and Evie Martin and Jessie andBeaulah Goff.

Sledding in Colorado!

2008-01-07T19:30:00.001-06:00

Christmas 2007

2007-12-27T19:44:00.000-06:00

Fall Fest & Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-26T19:13:00.000-05:00

We're broke!

2007-06-17T21:50:00.001-05:00

Well, we are on our way to living in the country! We are so excited! Friday afternoon we officially became homeowners. To quote my dad, "Congratulations, now you're broke!"

Now the panic begins! There is SO much to do! The good news is that the painting is done but now the clean-up begins! It's incredible how dirty a house can get! My fingernails are permanently black from the dirt.

I'm posting some before pictures. I hope in the next 2 weeks I can post some after pictures.

Bobby's Lifebook

2007-06-07T14:49:00.000-05:00

I finally completed it! I am so excited about it! I hope you enjoy!

Love, Kirsten

Christmas Wishes

2006-12-02T18:34:00.000-06:00

Our 1st Thanksgiving!

2006-12-02T15:30:00.000-06:00

Hello from Saint Jo!

2006-11-16T20:43:00.000-06:00

Sorry we haven't posted in a while! Our little boy is doing great! He is speaking so many words that we have lost count! He keeps us on our toes all the time! Bobby goes to daycare, "school," 2 days a week and with his Munen, Michael's mother, the other days. We will try to keep you more updated. Key Word - TRY

Elmo's cupcake!

Surprise Grandad!

Blowing bubbles with Aunt Pud

Hanging out with Othermama

Playing with Momma's kitchen @ Othermama's

Taking a bath @ Othermama's

Bobby's Dedication

2006-10-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

October 22, 2006

From L to R

Michael's parents, otherwise known as Munen & Grandad

Kirsten's mother, otherwise known as Othermama

Kirsten, otherwise known as Momma

Robert Curtis Goff, otherwise known as Bobby

Curt Simmons, our wonderful minister

Kirsten's dad, otherwise known as Papa

We're Home

2006-06-25T08:24:00.000-05:00

We're finally home! It's a wonderful feeling! Bobby was tremendously happy to see his Daddy in the airport. He went running to him with his arms open as you can see from the picture! When Papa wanted to take a family picture, Bobby pushed Mommy away!

We are learning about car seats. A 2 hour ride was not the best way to be introduced to it. We'll get there though.

Bobby slept in his bed last night without any problems. He's scared of Cisco & Sara but we are hopeful that will change soon.

I'm working on adding all of our photos to a Yahoo site. I will work on it today and will post again when I get it finished. Maybe today or tomorrow.

Kirsten

Almaty Pictures

2006-06-20T04:48:00.000-05:00

On the pedestrian walkway in Almaty

Bobby's first pizza!

World War II Memorial

Hello from Almaty!

2006-06-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

Hello! We are in Almaty. Things here are going better than we were first told when we arrived. We were told we couldn't leave until Saturday which meant I wouldn't have much time with my brother's family. We called the German embassy yesterday and they have agreed to allow us to bring in Bobby's documentation Wednesday which means it will be ready Thursday.
We are on our own in Almaty. We can call them and they will help us but it's also nice to be independent for a change. We can leave the apartment anytime we want to. We are lonely without our Semey friends :(
I will post pictures of the city later. I haven't had time to get them off the camera yet.
Bye for now!

Othermama pictures

2006-06-17T09:23:00.000-05:00

This is the last post from SEMEY!!!! Did you hear me screaming with joy? Here are some pictures of Bobby with his Othermama. They are in love with each other. Bobby has that effect on everyone that comes in contact with him.
Talk to you from Almaty!

6/16/06 - one month away from home :(

2006-06-16T09:39:00.000-05:00

As of today, I have been gone one month. Mom thinks it’s like being in a prison. Otis says we know what he feels like when he’s been deployed. You are ready to go but you can’t leave because you aren’t ready to go. At least we do know we are heading out of Semey on Sunday!!!! We don’t know when we can leave the country yet but maybe we will know tomorrow. It’s difficult just sitting around all day. I am learning a lot about Bobby's behavior. He gets wild when he’s tired just like his cousin, Camden! Mommy is learning patience.
We took Bobby to the orphanage doctor yesterday. He had an awful cough that was keeping him awake at night. She told us to give him amoxicillin, which was in our medical kit we brought with us, a decongestant, and “to draw on his chest.” When Larissa translated this we looked at her like she was crazy! She said she would show us. Evidently it is some liquid that looks like iodine. She drew a 5 x 5 grid on his chest and back. He sat there very still while she did this. They do this in the orphanage. He felt 100% better today so it worked.
We went to the zoo today. Bobby thought it was really cool. He even fed them a couple of times until the lips of one of them touched his hands. Eventually, he was more willing to try but not readily.
We took one last group of presents to the orphanage today and picked up Bobby's book that the caregivers had written for him. Now, if I could just read Russian!
Well, one more full day here and away we go. We will miss our friends we have made in Semey.

6/13/06

2006-06-13T08:51:00.000-05:00

Michael left for Almaty yesterday. My mom arrived yesterday. They saw each other for a just a minute at the Almaty airport. Bobby & Othermama have bonded. After all, she is a real grandmother who gives him whatever he thinks he needs.

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Just a little hello from Bobby! I can't keep him from the computer! He loves typing. We introduced him to Barney today. That was a hit! He likes to watch a little bit of movies but doesn't sit and watch them continually. The only movie we have found that he will sit for is videos of his programs from the orphanage. He was in at least 3 while there. They really go all out on these programs. The kids sing and have speaking parts. It's adorable to watch.

Right now, Bobby is checking out all the papers that Othermama brought with her. He is a typical 2-year old in so many ways. He has become so comfortable with me that he smiles and laughs when he is told to stop. It's hard to resist the adorable faces but I'm learning.

Eating is another challenge. At home he thinks it's funny to play with his food and not eat. We are working on not laughing at him or watching him.

We have no problems in the car. He lays his head down on my chest and waits for the car to stop. (There are no car seats.)

We miss you Daddy.

Love, Bobby & Mommy

Pictures

2006-06-09T19:57:00.000-05:00

We are a family!

Relaxing at home!

My first breakfast at home!

We're a family!

2006-06-09T10:44:00.000-05:00

We are officially a family of 3! What an incredible adventure! We feel so blessed to have found our little boy so far from home. He was very excited to come home with us. He already loves his new life. I have so many feelings right now that I don't know where to begin. Maybe I will have more stories later.

Kirsten

Pictures tomorrow

6/6/06

2006-06-06T07:49:00.000-05:00

We had our first meeting today about the court. Michael will have to make a speech about our lives and why we want to adopt Bobby. We are preparing a short video of our pictures and some videos we have taken to show the judge. You are supposed to show how the child has bonded with you. I had many videos of Michael and Bobby but none of me with him. We tried to get some today.
It has rained off and on for a couple of days. We thought with the rain that the "cotton" would subside some but it seems to have gotten worse. Even the trees look white from this stuff! It's incredible. It was hard to watch Bobby playing today because the so much stuff was blowing around.
My mom is coming Sunday and Michael is leaving on Monday. I feel like the changing of the guards. We are tiring of the take home food, but eating out with 12 people is a huge pain! Mom - do you think you could sneak us some good old American food?
Not much else is going on. Just another day in the Groundhog Day movie!

Kirsten

PS - I thought you would enjoy some pictures of Bobby's first program. This was Protection of Children Day. It seems to be the one day that people give gifts to the orphanage. There were vendors everywhere and carnivals too.

BTW - Thank you Jerral for helping us finally sell our house. It will be so wonderful to come home knowing that that stressor is gone!

6/5/06

2006-06-04T22:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry we haven't been posting as much lately. The staff is keeping us busy! We had 2 visits each day over the weekend. The rest of the week will be spent getting ready for the court which is Friday. My mom will be coming very soon. We are trying to arrange her flight here. Michael will probably still leave on the 14th. I can't wait for everyone to see our little boy. He gets more and more attached every time we see him. I cried when we left yesterday but not in front of him. He wouldn't understand that yet. The caregiver stood at the window with him and they waved "Paka" to us. You can tell how much these caregivers love these kids. They have asked us about our families and our lives at home. They showed us around the group's room and Bobby showed us his bed. He is such a proud little boy! Thank you to everyone for keeping us informed on your lives at home. We know the big news stories but not the everyday happenings. GO MAVS!!!! If we had a faster connection we probably could have listened to the entire game Saturday night. Of course that was Sunday morning for us! Paka (Bye)

Day 15 - 6/2/06

2006-06-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

We have had a wonderful day! The Semey staff planned a picnic for all the families. We went to the river and played games. Larissa had some games for us to play like carrying the egg on a spoon, carrying the soccer ball between your legs. Michael was chosen as the 'mummy' for our team and had to be wrapped up in TP. He was a good sport about it. The staff made lamb shish ke bobs and they were wonderful!
By the time we got back it was time for our afternoon visit with Bobby. He just gets more and more precious everyday!
We found out that our court date will be Friday, June 9th. Larissa and Olga will be helping us prepare for the court appearance. Michael will have to make a speech about our lives and why we want to adopt Bobby.
I have posted a picture of what appears to be snow, but it isn't! It is the pollen from the trees. It looks like cottonwoods to us. I don't recommend coming to Semey during the spring if you have any allergies. When the wind blows it looks like it is snowing!

Day 13

2006-05-31T21:51:00.000-05:00

Going for a walk with Daddy
Wait for me Mommy!
Peek a boo - I see you!

Day 11?

2006-05-30T06:50:00.000-05:00

I don't know anymore! I have lost track since everyday feels like the day before. We signed our petition to adopt Bobby yesterday but it can't go to the court until after day 14 which is Friday. So, that means the petition won't go in until Monday.
We also found out that we are back to once a day visits because special visitors are here until June 9! We can go twice a day on the weekends though.
We met another family today from CA who brought their 4 kids, all boys. They are adopting an 11 month old girl. We went to the bazaar and to the Sand Creek. Legend says that the water in Sand Creek is healing. It was very cold and very good. Larissa says that last year she had the flu. She went to the creek and washed her face in it. The next day her flu was gone! Also, people used to come to this creek during the time of Jesus to be baptised.
We have to go in 2 cars when we go anywhere with this family but that's okay because we get Larissa's husband and he is cool!
Not much else to report around here. The apartment was cleaned for us while we were at the orphanage! I could definitely get used to that!
Please keep the comments coming! I'm enjoying hearing from everyone. Also, we want to know what's going on at home! We don't have anything except BBC World and they don't tell much about the US.

Pictures finally!

2006-05-28T23:31:00.000-05:00

Day 10 - Outside!

2006-05-28T23:14:00.000-05:00

We had tons of fun with Bobby yesterday! He laughed and played like he had known us his whole life! It was wonderful to see him so relaxed. We went outside during the morning visit for a walk around the orphanage and played on some of the equipment that is scattered into little groups. The ‘road’ around the orphanage is unfortunately the best road in Semey! No potholes to dodge. Bobby liked to slide but you have to catch him at the bottom. He also liked to swing. The swing hangs from two metal poles not chains, which is typical of all of the swings we have seen. How do you like the winter clothes? You have to bundle him up like that or you can’t take him outside. You never know he might catch a deathly cold in the 80 degree weather!
I will try to post some pictures on the blog, or at least try to. I was never able to post the zoo & bazaar pictures. We bought crayons because he was very fascinated with my pencil. He loves them! We can’t wait to use the good kind that Othermama bought. These are very cheap but the get the job done!
The other family that left for Almaty yesterday left their toys with us that wouldn’t fit in their suitcases and we are having a blast with them. We will leave them for another family to use. The toy selection at the orphanage is very, very limited. Bobby seems to like almost everything we bring. We hit a milestone yesterday...he patted to 2 stuffed dogs on his own. Maybe there is hope yet! I put them on the floor so that he could begin to get used to them. It worked!
Debbie let us use her toddler CDs so that has helped me. Michael hates it! For me it really helps fill the boring time. You know me, I can’t stand too much quiet! Yesterday we pulled out the sippy cup with water in it and he really liked it as you can tell from the picture! We bought his hat at the bazaar. Apparently any hat is okay, it doesn’t have to be a stocking cap like we thought. He loved it because his daddy had one too! Later on he put Daddy’s hat on and Daddy wore his. A slight size difference but it was fun anyway! Yes, I know the hat has Mickey on it but I didn’t pick it out, Michael did!
Love, Kirsten

Day 8

2006-05-26T18:39:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another day in Kazakhstan! Although, today will be different for us than the last 5 days! The lady is gone so we get to return to our twice a day visits! YEAH!!! I was so excited that I woke up at 5 am! It's amazing how excited you can get over one little thing, but the days here are so repetitive that you look forward to anything being different. Since the lady is gone we can also take Bobby outside during our visits! Everyday he points to the window as if to say "Outside?" Won't he be excited? It will be nice to break up that 1 1/2 hours. He is very bored with the same toys over and over. I don't blame him!
We went to the toy store and bought a couple of toys to leave at the orphanage. The toy selection is basically non-existent unless you want Barbie's or remote control vehicles. They sell stuffed animals but Bobby is still afraid of them.
We also went to the electronics store because we were curious about their prices. They are pretty much the same as America. Of course, what do you do if something goes wrong. I don't think the local Best Buy will offer us a warranty. We bought a DVD of The Last Samurai which didn't play in the portable DVD player but it did play in the laptop. The software asked me to choose the region.
We ate lunch at Don Quixote. It was very good but expensive in Kaz standards. Our lunch was about $20.

Day 7

2006-05-25T00:36:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are again waiting for our afternoon visit. We were told yesterday by Larissa "There is a *itch here." They don’t want her to know we are here because her questions are unpredictable. It makes sense. We don’t want to risk our adoption. After she leaves everything will return to normal again. Even though we only see Bobby once a day, it still counts as twice a day.
We met with the doctor yesterday and then asked questions of the caregiver.
Yesterday we played in the group playroom again. It was hard at first because the other children wanted to play with us too. So the caregivers took the other children outside which made Bobby cry since he couldn’t go. I rocked him until he calmed down and then we had to warm him up to us again. Two more times like this and then we return to twice a day in the playroom.
Our electricity went out last night and the internet servers have been up and down. It was difficult finding someplace to eat yesterday because of the lack of electricity. We went to the bazaar in the morning which is basically a giant flea market. You can buy just about everything there even raw meats! The meats are sold inside a huge 2 story building and the smell was tremendously awful. At the other end of the building are fresh fruits and vegetables. You can buy a salad like at a buffet. You choose the pieces, they are weighed separately, and then you combine them. We didn't try that but we did buy some fresh bananas. Larissa helps us pick which vendor to buy food from. We also bought a hat for Bobby. Our travel information said to always have a stocking cap, not ball caps, on your child so I didn't bring the caps with me. It turns out, hats are necessary and caps are acceptable. We also bought a small amount of yarn. It was made in China which is typical of everything at the bazaar. You feel kind of silly buying clothes there since you could probably find the same items at Wal-Mart or Dollar General. They are very cheaply made, maybe too cheap for even Wal-Mart.
Tuesday we went to the zoo and ate at a café near the Russian border. The café was about 30 minutes away. They only serve pork ka-bobs, bread, & raw onions. The ka-bobs were very good.
Driving around town is like going 4-wheeling. It's even worse when the electricity is off because our driver, Posha goes the back roads to avoid the traffic jams. It's quite an adventure!
Today we have someone coming to give us massages at the apartment and then we will go back to the bazaar without Debbie and her daughter, Chana. Michael calls them the Seattle sisters. Larissa said that Michael will be more comfortable shopping with only one woman, not three. He agreed completely!
Things we didn't need - shower shoes
Things we did need - a couple of travel TP (just in case)
A couple of packages of travel Kleenex (there seems to be something in the air that makes our noses run!)
There maybe more as we stay here longer but for now that's all A wonderful gift idea for our translator, Larissa, is seeds of all sorts. She has a summer house where she gardens and grows flowers. Maybe some bluebonnet seeds, wildflower seeds. Seeds that are native to Texas or at least USA.
Love, Kirsten

PS - I have tried to post some pictures from the zoo and the bazaar but they are going through. I'll try again another time.

Day 5

2006-05-23T21:42:00.000-05:00

This is the second day that we couldn't see Bobby in the morning. We won't see him in the morning on Wednesday either. I sure hope these 'important visitors' go away soon!
We went the Semey Zoo yesterday morning. You can buy snacks for the animals at the ticket booth and feed them! How unusual is that? The snacks are also edible for people. We went to eat at a pork ka-bob place yesterday that was just 7 km from Russia. It was very good and we thought it was worth the trip until about 30 minutes later when Kirsten's stomach began to churn. Michael's did also but later. I'm not sure if we will volunteer to go there again.
We played with Bobby yesterday but in the playroom with three other children. It was a strange feeling but we survived! We might have to do this again today.
TT4N

Kirsten

Day 4

2006-05-22T03:10:00.000-05:00

Well, today started out a little different from our normal day. We weren't able to see Bobby this morning because they were expecting "very important visitors." I know...what are we - chopped beef? That's okay. We did a little souvenir shopping and went to one of the 5 museums. This afternoon we will return to see our sweet little boy. I'm sure he was a little confused as to why we didn't come this morning. These kids are very used to their routines.

Here are some pictures:

Uploading pictures takes FOREVER!!! Especially when you are used to a DSL connection. Our connection here is 50 KBps. I think my DSL connection is around 2MBps. This tests my patience tremendously!!!!

We have arrived

2006-05-20T02:31:00.000-05:00

Hello from Semey! We are here. Sorry we haven't posted yet. It has been a whirlwind of adventure. Our flight out of Chicago was delayed 2 1/2 hours so we arrived in Frankfurt with just enough time to catch our flight to Almaty. When we arrived in Almaty our translator and driver were waiting and they took us to a very nice apartment. We were in bed asleep by 3:00 am Friday morning (that's 2 pm Thursday for Texas) We slept about 4 hours and got up to catch our flight to Semey. I don't recommend flying to Semey for vacation! I, Kirsten, was very scared! It is a 60's vintage DC plane. We had to put our luggage onto the plane on shelves at the back ourselves. The back of the seats fold forward like car seats and there were rows of 2 seats on each side. So much for getting a little nap and snack on the way! Needless to say, I was never so glad to touch down! We ate lunch at a Turkish cafe and then went off to the orphnage. We had to meet with the director first and he had some questions for us. Afterwards, he asked the caregivers to bring in 2 boys that he called by name. We were allowed to watch the older boy play for a few minutes and he interracted with us some. They called us his "Mama" and "Papa." He was precious and just as the director said, he looked a lot like Michael! Then the younger boy was brought in. He was cute also but we were enamoured by the first boy named Dilan. After the boys left, we were allowed to go into the outer office to discuss the boys. Michael and I were in agreement that Dilan was the boy we were most interested in. We were given about an hour to play with him and to begin bonding. On our way back to the apartment we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some basics. Michael bought some very expensive Vodka (1265 tenge = $10)
Saturday, May 20, 2006
We were awake at 4 am local time since our bodies are still learning to adjust to the time change. Larissa, the translator, and Posha, the driver, picked us up at 10 am and took us to the orphanage to be with Bobby. The caregivers said he was asking for Papa this morning. He came right to us. He has a little runny nose today so we stayed inside to play. He loves books. He flips back and forth through them all the time. He likes to play ball with his papa. I am the chair it seems. He likes to sit in your lap a lot. I was kissing him a lot and he would kiss the pictures in the book. He pointed to a picture of a cat and barked! That was the only sound we have heard from him. He is ticklish and will giggle outloud. We will have 2 visits every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

We have no pictures yet because our internet is not connected at the apartment yet. The internet office is closed on Saturday and Sunday so we should be able to post some pictures Monday. You will not believe how much this little boy looks like Michael. Larissa says he has my eyes and Michael's face. I told Michael that the stork got confused and put our baby down in the wrong country!

I'm leaving on a jet plane

2006-05-12T07:02:00.000-05:00

It's finally here!!! Our Letter of Invitation has arrived! We have made our flight planes and we are out of here! We leave Wednesday from DFW and will arrive in Almaty, Kazakhstan sometime Friday. All of our planning has gotten us to this incredible point in our lives. Everything is so surreal now. There are so many things to do and get ready that I don't know where to begin.
While we are in Kazakhstan, we will not have easy access to the internet so this will be our main method of digital communications. Please feel free to comment or email us individually. Please understand that you will not receive direct emails from us.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us get to this exciting time in our lives.

Time to panic?

2006-04-29T09:37:00.000-05:00

Well, everything is moving very fast! Our paperwork has been approved and we should receive our LOI (Letter of Invitation) within the week! This means we will be traveling in the next couple of weeks!
Now we begin collecting all of our travel and court documents.
I went to Babies 'R Us and bought the highchair, car seat, and diaper bag. I have started a collection of all the items that I have to take with us on the trip. Some of the items are unneeded but I will sort through it as I pack.
We had a shower Tuesday at school. Something like that makes everything seem so real!
We have an appointment Monday to get our fingerprints done for a state criminal history check. It's kind of funny that our dossier had to have a local check and a FBI check and now we add a state check. This is the one document that I am most worried about getting in time. The boards say it could take 2-3 weeks! We are hoping that doing it electronically will move it along faster.
The question is how do you make sure that you have everything you might need without having too much!?!?!?

Bobby's Room

2006-04-02T20:45:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad came up this weekend and helped get the baby's room all put together. Michael's mom and cousin Ryan came over to help us put the finishing touches on. It is terrific! Any little boy would love it dearly!

We hope to be traveling during the first part of June if all of our paperwork is processed quickly enough.

If you have comments about our blog you can click on 'Comment' and add to it. Also if you haven't heard about the developments last week please leave a comment and I will give you some updates that aren't available online.

Kirsten

What's in a name?

2006-03-21T11:12:00.000-06:00

ROBERT CURTIS GOFF

That is the name we have chosen for our son! We will call him Bobby. He is named for his great Uncle Butch, whose given name is Robert Curtis Martin Jr. This is Michael's mother's brother. Check that off the list of many things to do!

The Dance of the Dossier

2006-03-20T19:10:00.000-06:00

I talked with Andrea tonight. For those of you who are curioust as to waht the consulate is doing with our paperwork, here it is.

One person checks the papers for any errors and initials every page
Then his supervisor double checks it
After that the paperwork travels to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where it is checked to make sure the consulate didn't make any mistakes
Paperwork is then moved to the Ministry of Education (MOE) where it is logged in.
Once we know which region we are traveling to, our paperwork will again be moved to the Regional MOE
The Regional MOE then asks the the Central MOE to send a Letter of Invitation (LOI) to us to travel.

Meanwhile, we will be here waiting for the call and completing more paperwork that is required for travel.

Translation

2006-03-17T09:45:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it! Our paperwork has made it to through translation in less than a week! Mom said "Do I need to pack?" If things go this fast... WOW!!!!

Not exactly, Mom! Our paperwork will probably remain at the consulate for approximately 2 months.

I'm cleaning the house and getting ready for the baby! I guess that's called 'nesting.'

My parents will be coming up in a couple of weeks and we will set up the baby's room.

I'll keep you up to date!

Update 3/6/2006

2006-03-06T18:06:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday, Ciarra! Here we are a year later and still working on getting our baby home.

We are closer than last year, though. Our paperwork is being sorted and then will be sent to the translator which will take approximately 2-3 weeks. After this is completed the dossier will be sent to the Kazakhstan Consulate in New York.

I have started making our baby registry and buying supplies such as wipes (can't have too many of those!)

We are going to wait to pick out any names until we have our child.

I have decided that so many people are having troubles with the Yahoo! Group that we will try using the Blog instead. Other families say that this is more convenient method for families to keep their families and friends informed. I don't think you even have to sign up to read or comment to the blog.

Update 2/13/06

2006-02-13T18:08:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone! I thought I would give you an update on our little boy.

Right now there is not alot to share other than our paperwork status. We have sent our completed dossier to the Texas Secretary of State for the apostille. The apostille is the paper required by other governments which tells them our notary has the right to sign our documents verifying our signatures. After the dossier comes back, we will FedEx it to our agency which adds a couple of papers to it and then sends it on the Kazakhstan consulate in DC for translation. Once the document is translated it will be sent overseas to Kazakhstan. Then we will be officially waiting for the PHONE CALL!!!

Also, my mom has begun working on the baby's room. I placed 3 pictures of the most gorgeous bumper pad you will ever see at the bottom of this message. Prepare to be impressed by the most talented mother in the world! We are having fun planning and buying for our little boy.

Love, Michael & Kirsten

Kaz info

2005-12-06T20:30:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to where you can learn more information about the country of Kazakhstan.

http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/kazakhstan.html

Russia Update

2005-12-06T17:20:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since we have updated everyone but there hasn't been any news to report until this past Friday.

After talking with our facilitator, Andrea, we have decided to make some changes.

Our agency is waiting accreditation from the Russian government to continue adoptions. After waiting for a few months, it appears that the government is 'dragging its feet' in reissuing accreditations. Our agency feels that this is something that will continue through the holidays and into to the new year. We have become frustrated with this wait and so has our agency. They have suggested that we consider changing countries. Michael and I talked about it and decided the best thing for us is to change countries. We are changing all of our paperwork over to Kazakhstan! This is a lot of paperwork to complete but no more than we would have to complete for Russia. The good news is that we only have to do one set of paperwork. In Russia you have to do 2 sets for each child! The bad news is that Kazakhastan only allows one child at a time but their ages are lower than Russia. The children are on the national database for only 6 months as opposed to 9 months in Russia. The child will most likely be a boy. Kazakhstan moves quickly so we could have our child very quickly! We will have to spend several weeks in Kaz but at least we won't have to leave our child behind.

This was a very hard decision but we feel that it was the right one. We are ready to have our child home and want to do it the best and fastest way!

We will keep you up-to-date as things start to move.

Signed,

Michael & Kirsten

Russia Update

2005-10-10T17:17:00.000-05:00

How about some good news!!!! We just found out that our dossier has been moved to a region. We will be traveling to Chelyabinsk, a region in southeast Russiaon the border of Russia and Kazahkstan. This is one step closer to our children! I have enclosed a link so that you can learn more about it. Still no travel date or referral but at least we are moving forward.

http://www.kommersant.com/tree.asp?rubric=5&=382&doc_id=-39

Love, Kirsten

Oops!!

2005-09-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry...I put the wrong direction for our region. It's southwestern Russia.

I guess we know why I teach Special ed and not Social Studies!!

Kirsten

Russia Update

2005-09-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

The following is an article from the Moscow News about the latest information available out of Russia. The forwarded email at the bottom is from our adoption coordinator. So what does this mean...we aren't exactly sure! But we do know that the Russian government is against a moratorium of international adoptions. What we believe will happen is more paperwork. Nothing is written in stone yet.

We hope that everyone is well.

Love, Kirsten & Michael

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russia to Clamp Down on Foreign Adoption Agencies Violating Law

Created: 08.09.2005 15:58 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:58 MSK

MosNews

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office intends to strip foreign adoption agencies of their accreditation in Russia if they break the law, Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky said during a meeting with Thomas Atwood, president of the U.S. National Council for Adoption, RIA Novosti reports.
Speaking about a check conducted by prosecutors, Fridinsky said that over 30 ofthe 52 accredited foreign agencies were breaking the law, and the Prosecutor'sOffice is going to raise the issue with the Ministry of Science and Education.
Meanwhile, Thomas Atwood told Fridinsky that although he shares the concern ofthe Russian authorities, in his point of view international adoption must not bestopped.
According to him, 49,000 Russian children have been adopted in the U.S. over the past few years. "They have a good education and a happy life and, most importantly, they have a future," Atwood stressed.
In 2004 the number of children adopted by foreign nationals surpassed the numberof those adopted by Russians. Foreigners adopted 9,600 Russian orphans, while Russian nationals adopted only 7,400.
At the same time society has been shocked by the notorious trials of adoptiveparents from the United States. The court hearings in the case of Peggy Sue Hilt, charged with killing her 2-year-old adoptive Russian daughter, are to begin in the U.S. on Tuesday.
Another woman, Irma Pavlis was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May forkilling her 6-year-old disabled adoptive son. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in April but was acquitted of the more serious charge of first-degree murder.
Altogether, 13 Russian children have been killed in the U.S.
In Aug. 2005 the Pennsylvania State Court found adoptive father Matthew Alan Mancuso guilty of incest and the rape of his 12-year-old daughter adopted from Russia.
Several days earlier an American couple was charged with manslaughter, first-degree child abuse resulting in death and reckless endangerment after their adoptive son from Russia died of starvation.

-----Original Message-----

From: Andrea Jacobs Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 1:52 PM
To: adopt@littlemiracles.org
Subject: Russia Update

YAY!!!!! Russia voted no for a moratorium!!! Let's worry about new time frames down the road; for now, let's rejoice in this good news :).

Andrea

It's official!!

2005-07-20T17:07:00.000-05:00

Our paperwork is on its way to Russia!!! Now begins the long waiting process! It is estimated that we will be waiting 6-8 months for our referrals. A referral is the receipt of official information on our children. After receiving a referral it is recommended that we share this information with an international adoption doctor for their opinion on any possible missed diagnoses or clarification of any diagnoses. Then we can accept or reject the referral. We will not travel to Russia until we have accepted 2 referrals.
Next week I'll be going to Disney World with my family. Unfortunately, Michael is unable to join me in the adventure due to his new job. He has made plans to fish with some friends during the weekend so I know he'll be having at least some fun. My brother and his family leave for Germany in just a couple of weeks for a 3 year tour (something they have wanted to do for a long time). It will be nice to spend some quality time with them. We hope to be able to stop off in Germany on our way home so that our children can meet his children.
I guess now I'll start to work on our children's lifebooks. A lifebook is a kind of scrapbook that you create for your child/ren so that have a book to look back and learn about their life with their new family. I'll make blank pages that need pictures added and then add them when we return from Russia. I'm also making 2 little photo albums to leave with the children after our first visit. This will help familiarize them with what their new life will be like. We won't start planning the children's rooms until after the first trip. I have been reading alot lately about coming home and how to prepare yourself, the house, the children, etc. I have started collecting items that are recommended for traveling (travel sized toilet paper, travel sized kleenex, first aid, etc.)
Some of you have heard about the problems in Russia lately due to the untimely & sad deaths of 2 toddlers at the hands of the adoptive mothers. One mother wasconvicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The other mother goes to court inAugust. One concern lately has been what the Russian government will do after these to situations. It appears that the Russian government is not up to stopping the adotion process at this time (Of course with international adoptions from any country anything can happen.) What appears will happen is more work for us as parents. Two items mentioned for possible additions are a personality test and parent training. Neither one of these is unusual. As a matter of fact, some agencies and states already require these items. Also, some of the regions in Russia require these already. We aren't concerned at all. The one change that may affect us is that the judges may resist placing 2 young children with a couple at one time. It has been suggested that we either consider bringing home one infant or increasing the age of the other child to 4 or 5. Michael and I both believe we are supposed to adopt 2 children so we have agreed that we will raise the age.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I hope this message finds everyone happy and healthy.

Love, Kirsten & Michael

PS - If you haven't signed up for automatic reception of these messages. pleaseclick on the link below.

Update 6/6/05

2005-06-06T17:06:00.000-05:00

Great news! We got our homestudy in the mail Saturday! Think of it as a biography of our lives. We tell the story and the social worker writes it for us. He has recommended us for adoption of two children under the age of 4 just as we requested. We had not seen the reference letters that our friends and family had written until we received this report. We have such incredible friends and family! We feel so loved. The next step is USCIS approval (the former INS). We have a form to complete and send in with our homestudy. We will be fingerprinted and then receive approval to bring home 'orphans.' We also have a registration packet to send in which will register us for an adoption in Russia. Then the agency will begin searching for our children. The agency believes it will be approximately 6 months to referral. Have a good week and happy 42nd anniversary to Kirsten's Mom and Dad!

Update 5/31/05

2005-05-31T16:46:00.000-05:00

Not much to report this week. Just waiting for the final homestudy. The reference letters should arrive to the SW tomorrow or Wednesday. Then we just wait for fingerprint reports from the state.I have been in contact with our facilitator. She is checking out our registration packet that will be sent in once the homestudy is completed. Here is an analogy for you on our 'pregnancy.'

Morning sickness - paperwork

Labor - waiting

Exhaustion of delivery - getting there and back

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Have a good week!

Kirsten & Michael

Mon May 23, 2005 7:09 am

2005-05-23T16:45:00.000-05:00

We heard from our social worker this week. He has completed our homestudy but there was a problem with the fingerprints from the state so we will have to have them sent back. There was supposed to be a letter stating that they are true and accurate in order for the international adoption to continue. This is our first delay. I will try not to count them because it will become depressing! Evidently delays are very common in international adoption.
Our SW has received one of three reference letters (thanks Mom & Dad for doing this for us!) Hopefully, the other two will arrive shortly.
I had to drive an hour to Denton Friday to correct our marriage license. My name and the minister's name were spelled incorrectly. Russia would never accept it with my name wrong. All the state of Texas does is attach a notarized sheet of paper stating the mistake and the correction.
Have a great week! This is our last week of school so next week Iplan to start cleaning out this house. This may be the last chance I have for many, many years!

Sun May 15, 2005 7:45 pm

2005-05-15T19:45:00.000-05:00

We received our copy of the binder which has everything in it that you everwanted to know about adopting from Russia.

We also received copies of your marriage license. (Mind you this was the first time we had ever requested copies of them.) Turns out after almost 11 years my name has been spelled wrong (what a shock!) and the minister's name is spelled wrong. It took several phone calls to the court house to finally get this straightened out. Now I have to drive to Denton to complete an addendum which will be added to the original marriage license. They will reprint copies of the license free of charge.

Today makes 3 weeks since our home study - SW should have it completed in the next 2 weeks. Then we can proceed with the dossier preparations and immigration. Russians are concerned about parents who take anti-depressants because they see it as a mental problem. I asked my OB/GYN in Nacogdoches to write a letter stating the purpose of my medication. I received the most wonderful letter from my doctor this week. I wanted to laminate it and hang it on my wall. One of the things that happens through this process is you get to hear some wonderful things that the people around you think. The letter literally brought me to tears.

Take care this week. Please let us know if you have any questions about thislong drawn out process.

Kirsten

Sat May 7, 2005 3:30 pm

2005-05-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

Finally got my passport this week! I was beginning to wonder. I took care of some paperwork this week that needed to be done. Sent the contract to LMI via FedEx. Sent some documentws to our Social Worker. Should hear something about the contract Monday. Then LMI will send us a folder that will have all of the documents needed to send to Russia to get a referral.I've been reading alot lately about people who are getting referrals again. Sounds like Russia is picking back up. There have also been lots of people returning from their first trip and getting their court date to return to Russia a week later. They will be traveling within a month. It's nice to see all of this back up and running.

New update

2005-05-02T18:24:00.000-05:00

Michael and I were both off Friday so we went to have his fingerprints done and asked the officer to do a local background check on us for the homestudy. The officer said he would have this completed for us by Monday. About 15 minutes after arriving back home, the officer arrives at our house with the background checks completed! Talk about curbside service! Michael started his new job today. He seems really happy about it!

Sunday, April 24, 2005

2005-04-24T16:36:00.000-05:00

We spent yesterday cleaning the house inside and out getting ready for our homestudy. I don't know if this house has been this clean since it was built! It was well worth it! Our social worker came today for the homestudy. It was an excellent interview. I was worried for nothing. Of course all the reading I have been doing said that but some things you just have to see and do for yourself. Here is a quick overview of the process of a homestudy.

1. We were interviewed together. We were asked questions about how we would raise our children, how we would discipline our children, and what kind of expectations we have for our children.

2. Then we were interviewed separately but asked the same questions, like how we met, how we solve problems together, our childhood, our families, and about our marriage.

3. After we came back together, we took Brad on a tour of the house, inside and out. He wanted to know where the children would sleep. He also checked for safety concerns such as plastic plug protectors, fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors.

Brad estimates it will take him about 5 weeks to complete the study. He will send us two originals, one original to the INS, and one original to the adoption agency. Now back to completing the registration packet which will get us on the list for a referral.

April 15, 2005

2005-04-15T16:35:00.000-05:00

Application Received!! Little Miracles has received our application and we have been approved for adoption! Our facilitator e-mailed us the next set of forms. Just to let you know how much paperwork is involved - both documents were 28 pages together. These pages only include the instructions! I have read that there are many papers to complete but seeing it really helps you understand. It's incredibly overwhelming! I'm looking forward to the challenge. Stay tuned for more!

April 12, 2005

2005-04-12T16:34:00.000-05:00

Mailed our application today to our agency, Little Miracles. They should receive it by Friday. We hope to hear something from Andrea, our facilitator shortly after that. The application is basically just informational at this point. As the process moves along we will have to spend lots of time filling out the mountains of paperwork. Right now, we are entering the first of many waiting periods. Please feel free to pass along the link to this blog to anyone you think might be interested in our adventure.

April 9, 2005

2005-04-09T16:33:00.000-05:00

Spoke with Brad and scheduled the home study forSunday, 4/24/05 @ 10:30. Michael & I have both started our passport application process. Those take 3-6 weeksto receive. I got my fingerprints done yesterday and mailed them to DPS. I'm meeting my mom for lunch today in Denton.

Tuesday 3/8/05

2005-03-08T16:33:00.000-06:00

Talked with our facilitator, Andrea, today. She is so wonderful & helpful. She has been through the process and understands how hard the decisions can be! Every question I asked were answered immediately!

Sunday, March 6, 2005

2005-03-06T16:32:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday Ciarra! We have selected our agency, Little Miracles. They are small, focus mainly on Eastern Europe adoptions, and have a great reputation with other clients.