Here is a picture of Blake, Will and Audrey exploring a stream near our house. We had a successful "treature hunt". We found "butterfly shells", lots of frogs and a deer's jawbone. What more could we ask for?!
I can't help but think all the time about our little girl waiting for us in Russia. She has no idea about the world we'll be introducing her to. How fun!!
No word yet on our travel date. It could be any day. When the Department of Education in Moscow contacts us, we'll have about two weeks to get our plane tickets, visas for Russia, etc. There are a lot of things that cannot be done until we have our exact travel date. So, we're just living life as if we are not heading across the world at a moments notice. Today I went to Topeka again to send in some additional documents. I definitely don't need directions to get to the Secretary of State's office!
Praise the Lord - we got the call today!! We have an official referral from Russia! They asked us to travel in October to meet our new little girl! Somehow, our region was changed and we are not going to Vladivostok. We are going to Astrakhan, Russia. This little girl has Asian features and we do not know how old she is. Hopefully we'll find that out soon!
It's all just so exciting! I will send more information about Astrakhan if you are interested. It is in the south-west section of Russia by the Caspian Sea.
I'll write again soon!
Here is the information about Astrakhan our adoption agency sent us...
We are glad to present you the Astrakhan region. The CHI started its work in Astrakhan region about 3 years ago. We consider Astrakhan as one of our most stable-working regions, it maintained open even during months of slow down during re-accreditation waiting period!
Astrakhan is the administrative center of the Astrakhan region, which also includes 12 other districts and towns, situated in the southeastern part of Russia, about 1000 miles away from Moscow.
The city is located in the Caspian lowlands, on the river Volga, in its highest point. In the west the Astrakhan region borders on Kalmykiya, in the north - on the Volgograd region, in the east - on the country of Kazakhstan. The city is situated on 11 islands and occupies a territory of 500 square kilometers. That is why sometimes it is called a "Russian Venice". Its population is close to 500 000 inhabitants, mostly Russians and Tatars, that is why Asian facial features are quite common here.
Climate in the Astrakhan Region is sharply continental and droughty. Deserts and semi-deserts cover 70 percent of the total land in the region. Comparing with other Russian regions where CHI works, climate in Astrakhan region is the most favorable: summers here are pretty long and winters are short and not very cold. But still you will need good boots, wind-breaking coats, hats, gloves and scarves, layers of clothes from mid November till mid March. The temperature in January ranges from 30 to 13F and the average July temperature is 65-90F.
Astrakhan is one of the oldest Russian towns, it was founded in 1558 and has a long and interesting history. Read more about Astrakhan on the following page
