journeytokazakhstan.com

Hi everyone,

We finally have our website up! Check out www.journeytokazakhstan.com. The site shows a few ways that friends, family, and anyone can help out. We are selling various goods, including hand-beaded jewelry, hand-painted birdhouses, homemade fudge, and more to come. I give Amy all the credit for the crafts (the fudge is Mom's own, just like it says on the site...).

There are also a few other ways to help. First - I work for EarthLink in their Voice Operations department. If you didn't already know, we sell a VOIP similar to (but better than :) ) the product you all know from Vonage. It's called EarthLink trueVoice. If you are interested in unlimited local and long-distance for $25/month, email me and I can set up a referral signup. We both get a Visa Virtual Account if you decide to stay with the product for more than 60 days.

Second - Amy is a real estate agent. Like I mention on the website, she is skilled, friendly, precise, thoughtful, and precise in her profession. I did forget thorough...she is that, too :) Anyway, people who don't live in our area (Atlanta metro) can still help us! If you are reading this and you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a house and they aren't currently represented by an agent, definitely email Amy (amy@nwatlrealty.com). She will research agents in your area and find someone for you that is friendly and competent to help you with your search. The referral costs you absolutely nothing, but you will be helping to contribute in a big way to our adoption! All of Amy's income this year is going toward the adoption.

Lastly, donations to help us cover the costs of the adoption are always welcome and appreciated. Every little bit counts! You can send any monetary donations to the address posted on our site - journeytokazakhstan.com.

Thanks everyone for your support and God Bless!
Amy & Phil

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

The Home Study Begins

So...we are really starting to feel that things are moving along!

We just had our home study orientation and it was awesome. The director of the program was extremely versed on international adoption, down to minute details specific to each country. We just knew immediately that this was the right place.

I have been wondering for weeks what to expect of a home study. You hear various things from different people...one person told me that it was "horrible" for their friend, while another couple said it was no problem at all...Well, it doesn't sound too bad. A social worker will have to come out to our place, but they're mostly looking for common sense things, like making sure we don't have guns or knives lying around. They also make sure there is "ample" space in the house for our child.

Amy and I will be interviewed separately, too. I'm not sure, but there may be reference letters needed, as well.

The best news is that it might only take a month! It's crazy because our agency told us that it would take 3-5 months...

We will keep you updated. We're just excited!

Last piece of news - we're working on our fundraising website. We'll post the URL soon!

God Bless,
Phil