Semey

Here are our Semey families

Lori and Ruth
Madina age 4 - Issyk
Nicholas age 1 - Semey
Illinois

Linda
Maya age 2
We are Linda and Maya Serges and live outside of Chicago . Maya is 2 ½ years old and has been home for four months. She is an intelligent, funny, outgoing little girl and charms most of those she meets. I am amazed at how much she has blossomed in such a short period of time. I am thankful everyday that this little girl has come into my life.


Illinois
lindasjourneytokaz.blogspot.com/

Chris and Emily
Liam age 9
cade age 7
Zane age 4
Keira age 1 - Semey

We are Emily and Chris Jenkins, we have three boys Liam (9), Cade(7), Zane (4), and one daughter adopted from Kazakhstan. Keira will be two in July, she was adopted from Semey and came home on February 6, 2009.
Tennessee

Jim and Peggy
Jacob age 9

Our trip to Semey was at Easter in 2001 when Jacob Valentin was 19 months
old. It's hard to believe we've been a family for 8 years and that Jacob
will be 10 in September. Jacob has a loving spirit, is eager to please but
strong willed and very active. He loves to build things, swim, play with
friends and travel. We live in Northeast Florida outside of Jacksonville in
a rural setting on a creek so he gets lots of time outside. He struggled in
public school and is now happy and progressing in a private Montessori,
small classroom environment. We have attended other Kaz adoption functions
over the years and look forward to seeing families we've met and meeting
others. We welcome others and would love to hear from you if ever in the
Northeast Florida/South Georgia area.


Stewart and Ashlee
Owen age 2
Georgia
http://lifesmarathon.blogspot.com

Kelly and Sne
Miras age 1
We brought our cutie, Miras, home from Semey last Summer and so wanted to travel earlier in the Spring so we could attend the first Kazapalooza. Miras (his Kazakh name, meaning "good heritage") has been such a joy - really the light of our lives. Everyone describes him as the sweetest boy who loves to smile and laugh. He is also "all boy" as he loves sports, taking things apart or "fixing" them, and anything with wheels and/or an engine, especially Thomas the Train. We are all looking forward to meeting other Kaz kids and their families - especially those with whom we've been blogging since the beginning. You are our virtual family and we can't wait to meet you and your beautiful children in person.

Midwest
www.climbingcradlemtn.blogspot.com/

Uralsk

Here are our Uralsk Families

Carolyn
Henry age 2
Hi, We are Carolyn and Henry Tarpey from Conn. I am a single parent to my adorable son Henry who is 28 months old. I traveled to Uralsk Kaz in Oct/ Nov. 07. Henry came home at 9 months old. From the moment I met Henry, I knew in my heart he was my son. Henry is an amazing little boy who lives life to the fullest and never stops smiling. His passion is cars and trucks and he loves to just play and play. We are both so excited to be going to Kazapalooza and to be finally meeting so many wonderful people through the world of adoption.

Connecticut
www.overthemoonandbackagain.blogspot.com/

Kelly and Steve
George age 2
We are the Sarandis Family. We traveled to Uralsk in West Kazakhstan in late July 2008. We arrived home on September 9th, 2009 and couldn't be happier. George is doing wonderfully. He is the center of attention wherever he goes. As we like to say he is a 'busy' little guy. On the go constantly with no down time except when he sleeps. We count our blessings everyday as George is just such a wonderful child. We live just north of Boston in Massachusetts and are looking forward to Kazapalooza next weekend.

Massachusetts
Blog is http://sarandisfamily.wordpress.com


John and Anita
Charlie, age 5 - Uralsk Oct 06
Waiting for Alex...

Marietta (Atlanta), GA


Andrew and Alaina
Calvin age 4 - Uralsk
Patrick age 3 - Uralsk
Titus age 1 - Domestic

Hi, we are the Falk family from Indiana! We adopted Calvin and Patrick from Uralsk in October 2006. Calvin was born with a cleft lip and palate that was repaired at the Shriner's Hospital in Chicago - he continues receiving care there. Calvin is 4 and Patrick is almost 4. Titus was born in KY joined our family in August 2008 as a newborn. They are all such a blessing and we are amazed by them daily! We had such a great time at Kazapalooza last year and can't wait to see everyone!
http://andrew-alaina.blogspot.com/

Nathan and Cynthia
Abram- he will be 2 on June 12th
Nashville, TN
Blog: www.cynthianathan.wordpress.com

Our prayers were answered in April / May of 2008 when we adopted Abram. He will be two on June 12th. He is such an amazing little guy!!! He is a loving little ball of energy that truly enjoys life to the fullest. He loves to be outside and loves to be in the water. We feel so blessed to be his parents! We are excited about Kazapalooza, and cannot wait to meet all of you.
Tennessee

Karon and John
Emerson age 2


Hi,
We are Karon, John and Emerson Decker. We adopted Emerson from Uralsk June 4, 2007 when he was only 8 months old. I think we hold the record for the longest in country stay for a Uralsk family of 60 days and we loved every minute of it. We made many friends there, taught English as Second language classes and even found our own apartment. We liked it so much, we are going for round two and we hope to be in Kazakhstan this time next year. Emerson, as you will quickly see, is a very active 2.5 year old who is always on the go. He loves the outdoors, cars, trains, swimming, giving hugs and kisses and running around screaming:) His entertaining antics and "ball of fire" personality keep us in good shape and have us wonder what we did with our time before he entered our lives. We love him to pieces and we are very excited to share a weekend with others who have adopted kids from Kazakhstan. We feel very fortunate to be the parents of our little boy.
http://decker-adoption.blogspot.com
Alabama
www.decker-adoption.blogspot.com/

Kostanai

Here are our Kostanai families


Susan and Joe
Sean age 10
Leeza Grace age 1 - Kostanai


We are the Serra family, of Largo, Florida. We spent 11 weeks (plus 3 days) in Kazkahstan, arriving home Oct 21st with our princess. Leeza has changed SO much in the 7 months she's been home-and is becoming a strong willed, bow-clad, fashionista with her mom enjoying being her fashion coordinator. She is changing so much lately, and has a new passion for books, swimming, her mother's iphone, chapstick, pushing her baby stroller around, and lately, Elmo, even though she is not interested in TV yet. Her latest HUGEST milestone is that she has joined the "potty trained" elite and we just made our first outing to Target and left the pullups at home. Sean turned 11 in April and is a wonderful big brother and was a real blessing to have in Kazakhstan with us. He plays with his sister all the time and she ADORES him, even when he torments her by throwing her bunny on the ledge above the front door. :) We are so excited to meet all the other families and their Kaz sweeties. Leeza has blessed our life beyond our wildest imagination, and I had no idea be blessed with all these incredible friendships to boot.
Florida
www.ouradventurestomeetbabykaz.blogspot.com/

John and Jenny
Roxana age 2 - Kostanai
We met eight-month-old Roxana in October 2007. This tiny and demure beauty immediately captured our hearts, and we were overjoyed when we became a family two months later. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching Roxana blossom into the loving, garrulous, vivacious two-year-old she is today. Now, we look forward to meeting other munchkins from the merry old land of Kaz !

Alabama
johnandjennynews.blogspot.com/

Christopher and Tricia
Rustam age 1 - Kostanai
We are Chris and Tricia from the Philadelphia area. We traveled to Kostanai Kazakhstan on June 1, 2008 and returned home with our son Rustam (pronounced Roo-stahm) on August 22, 2008. Rustam is 18 months old and full of energy to do his favorite thing, climb any surface he can! The comment we hear most about him is "he's a happy little guy". He was smiling when we met him and he sure brings many smiles to our faces. We feel incredibly blessed to have traveled to Kazakhstan and had the experience that we did, but most importantly to have met this sweet, fun, curious, adorable little guy who is now our son. We are looking forward to meeting you all in Nashville!


Pennsylvania
www.chrisandtrishadoption.blogspot.com/

Calling all birthday babies!

If your child has a birthday over the Kazapalooza weekend, please e-mail me at murielcollison at hotmail.com

We would like to do something special for the birthday sweeties!

8 MORE DAYS PEOPLE!!! CAN I GET A WHOOOO HOOO!

Karaganda

Here are our Karaganda families

Joanne and Andy
Nicholas age 2 - Karaganda
Jacob age 15 months - Bishkek, Kyrgzstan
New York
www.jandamor.blogspot.com/

Liberty and Laura
Stella age 5 - Karaganda
Georgia

Karen and Patrick
Nicholas age 5 - Karaganda
We came home 2 years ago in April with Nicholas Carmon Kitzman (Nurbolat was his given name). He is from the Karaganda Region but not Karaganda City. He is from a smaller and remote town about 6 hours from Karaganda City called Zhezkazgan. If you look smack dab in the middle of Kaz, that is where we were! Very few American families end up in Zhez. Usually, only 1 or 2 families per year are allowed to adopt from there. Nick was 3 when he came to live with us and while his age was a surprise, he has been the perfect fit for our family. He is the loudest, sweetest, funniest, most charismatic boy you will ever meet! He has changed and grown so much over the past 2 years (almost 7 inches to be exact!) He will start Kindergarten next year at a spanish/english immersion school and will hopefully be bi-lingual in his fourth language by the time he graduates....of course, then we will have to go back and learn Kazakh and Russian! He loves pirates, planes, geotrax trains, and books! He is always on the go and if you blink, you may miss him in Nashville but most likely you will HEAR him! :) Our blog is http://kitzkazventure.blogspot.com/

Kentucky
kitzkazventure.blogspot.com/

Danielle and Barrett
Nolan age 6
Callan age 4
Hailan age 2 - Karaganda
Massachusetts

Ben and Ziara
Catherine age 2 - Karaganda
Ben and Ziara Bierig adopted Ava from Kazakhstan in 11/08. After being scammed by a former agency for 5 years Ziara met a woman over the internet trying to buy a Kazakhstan cookbook and she happened to be starting a kazakhstanian adoption agency- Ziara trusted her heart to a stranger and her dreams of parenthood after 16 years of failed IVFs, and a scammed agency but a lot of prayer and dont quit attitude Ava Catherine is perfect for our family. It took 7 years but we never gave up and share our experience with anyone who wants help.
Tennessee
www.journeytokaz.com/bierig

Muriel and Jerry
Sophia age 2 - Karaganda
Jack age 9 months

We are the Elrod family and we are so honored to have two little lovies sent straight from God; Sophia Hope and Jack. We traveled to Karaganda (Nezabudka) to meet our princess in April of 2007. She is the life of the party and loves Elmo, Mickey (specifically, Mickey's Clubhouse), Thomas, swimming and the park. She is an amazing little girl and we count our blessings daily. She is full of fire and determination and will do anything once she puts her mind to it. We are also amazed by our son who is perhaps the sweetest happiest baby we have ever met. He will melt you all with his toothy grin. We can't wait to see you guys in Nashville! We love people who love adoption!
Illinois

Mark and Kristan
Ryan age 10
Tanner age 7
Sadie age 2- Karaganda
Florida

Slideshow Update

Below are the following families that are in the slideshow. If you sent me something and your name does not appear, please contact me ASAP!

Tennen
Prud'homme
Elrod
Khin
Wood
Morley
Sapp
Snyder
Hochstetler
T-B
Mortenson
Van Sant
Sanders
Yeomans
Gojkovic
Keogh
Fulford
Decker
Struck
Hermann
Lloyd
Pike
Sandlin
Bilbro
Serra
Ruopoli
Ghomeshi
Morgan
James
West
Driskill
Serges
Johnson
Floyd-Leggett
Leggett
Kitzman
Hodges
Wilons
Forscher
Fakih
Falk
Segebarth
Morrison
Thomas
Reed
Strobbe
Tarpey
Taylor
Moore
DuBose
Lucas
Henson
Hoffa
Meri
Printy
Bierig
Matasovsky
Smith
Raymond
Preston
Parisi

Ust-Kamenogorsk and Taraz

Here are our families from Ust and Taraz

Michelle
Mateo age 6 - Ust
Natalia age 4 - Ust
Hello! We are the Sapp family :-) We traveled to Ust-Kamenogorsk in
October of 2005. Mateo Timur just turned 6 and Natalia Grace is 4.
Mateo loves trucks, policemen, ambulances, Spiderman, Batman, the Green
Goblin, books, and any sort of gadget. He enjoys swimming, putting
things together, learning how to use tools with his G-Pa, and being
outside. He is a very energetic, curious, good-hearted boy. Natalia
loves dolls, her Magna Doodle, shoes, hats, and dress up clothes. She
enjoys being outside, riding her bike, singing, and drawing. She is a
sweet little thing with a diva-like spirit. We live in Illinois and
enjoy keeping up with other adoptive families!

Illinois
www.sappfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/

Dart and Lori
Nolan age 9
Nina Bea age 2 - Ust


We are the Printy's from Stow Ohio and we are thrilled to be heading to Kazapalooza this year. This past Christmas we received the greatest gift of all, our dear daughter. We traveled as a family back to Ust-Kamenogorsk to bring Nina home. In a whirlwind 17 days we celebrated; gotcha day, Christmas, Nina's 2nd birthday (also Christmas day), our 19th wedding anniversary, New Years, Russian Orthodox Christmas and Kiefer's 18 birthday. Best of all on January 7th 2009 we celebrated the homecoming of our beautiful Nina Bea.
Ohio
www.treasuresofthesilkroad.blogspot.com/

Bob and Diana
Anton age 18 months - Ust

Illinois
www.journeytoalex.blogspot.com/

Glenn and Karen
Max age 2 - Ust
We are Glenn and Karen, and we arrived home from Ust with Zakary Makseem "Max" in June, when Max was 18 months old. Max hit the ground running once we arrived home in Cincinnati and he has been running ever since. He loves his school and all of his new friends, and he is also crazy about Elmo, Dora, and Diego. He loves playing outside, and is happy kicking a ball around or pushing his big Tonka trucks up and down the driveway. We are about to submit our dossier, and we hope to travel back to Kazakhstan some time during 2010 to adopt another son. We also have two children from Glenn's first marriage, 18-year-old Tyler, and 21-year-old Jessica. Our blog: http://ourkazakson.blogspot.com


Ohio
www.ourkazakson.blogspot.com/

Kevin and Angel
Lena age 7 - Taraz
Dub age 7 - Taraz
It's been almost 4 years since we came home from Taraz with Lena and Dub. Today they make no resemblance to those tiny creatures we fell in love with. They are both 7 1/2 now- Dub with his curly hair, loooooong legs and ever present smile is the lover of the family. Lena has blossomed into a wonderful little girl. She is still full of sass and vinegar, but is so bright and has such a compassionate heart!
Lena is excelling in first grade. Dub was struggling in kindergarten - they were doing first grade work, but he could not process quick enough to hold onto the info.
This is an Easter picture from this year Just a week later, we stopped into a salon to have them check the length of Lena's hair. She has been growing it out to donate it to "Locks of Love" who make wigs for cancer patients. I thought we were close, and sure enough, we had more than enough, so we chopped it all off! You have to see the difference. We haven't cut her hair more than a small trim since we came home!
We are blessed beyond measure and are so grateful to their tummy mommies who gave them life, and to Umit, who cared for them until we came.
Love to all,
Angel and Kevin Sandlin, and Lena and Dub

Georgia

A Few More Things...

Several people have asked about transportation. The hotel does have a shuttle service from the hotel to the airport and to several tourist areas such as downtown Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry and golfing, the mall, etc. There is a charge for this shuttle. Check the hotel website to determine the price. They also charge a daily rate for parking at the hotel. So even though the shuttle might be expensive ( I can't remember exactly how much) if you rent a car it may be even more. Once you get to the hotel, you will not need a car unless you want to go somewhere on your own. All of our activities and events are at the hotel or the mall next door which is within walking distance.

We also would like to explain the raffle for those of you that were not at last year's KP. We will hold a raffle Saturday night at the dinner. The raffle benefits Two Hearts for Hope, a charity that gives hope and help to orphans in Kazakhstan. 100% of the ticket sales will go to this charity. Throughout the day Saturday you will be able to purchase raffle tickets for $5 each. You will write your last name on each ticket. At the dinner we will have all the raffle items on tables with a cup in front of each item. You will place your ticket(s) in whichever cup that corresponds to the item you want to win. Buy more tickets to increase your chances of winning. All items in the raffle are donations. Please consider bringing a donation to put in the raffle. Some ideas are gift baskets of tasty treats, books, region specific items (make a basket with items from your town), Kaz related items, children's toys and games and books, gift cards, you name it, you can bring it and win it! We already have some really good items. Help us make this year's raffle a success! Last year we raised over $800 for Interlink, let's break our record!

A few things....

PLEASE READ ALL POSTS BELOW!

As stated from the beginning, tickets for the dinner and the registration fee are NON-REFUNDABLE. We have already put deposits down and have given final counts. If for some reason you are not able to make it please let us know but understand there can be no refunds.

What to wear?
I have gotten several questions about this. The entire weekend is casual. On Saturday night we will all be wearing our Kazapalooza tees. If you did not get a tee (my hubbie and I did not) make sure to wear your yellow and blue! If you still want a tee, it is not too late...see below!

DEADLINE: t-shirts

If you missed the deadline date to order a t-shirt, you're still in luck - the supplier, Shari, has extended the date, so you can still order. If people still need to order, you just need to e-mail Shari (heartandseoul@cox.net) and let her know the date you are leaving home so she can be sure to get your order to you on time. She will be shipping everything that has come in so far on Monday (today). Remember that Canadian families (due to the high shipping costs) will have their orders shipped to me, Michelle, and I will bring them to the event.

So... there's still a little time!!!

Here is the direct link to do so: http://www.heartandseoul.com/Kaz.htm

The deadline for the slideshow was last Friday. I received a ton of pictures last minute, so if I haven't sent you a return e-mail yet, I will be doing so today!

Aqtobe, Petropavlovsk, and Shymkent

Here are our families from Shymkent, Petropavlovsk, and Aqtobe

Teresa and Winston
Martina age 12
Jasmine age 4
Sophia age 2- Shymkent

Regina and Frank
Milo age 2 - Aqtobe
South Carolina


We first met Milo in May, 2008 and brought him home in August 2008 at exactly 2 years old. He is a sparkling, silly, cheerful, exuberant, loving and charming little imp. He loves the water, airplanes, trains, cars, tractors, books, animals and shoes. He loves to play chef, play doctor, give hugs and leap from tall buildings in a single bound. His favorite foods are tomatoes, apples, broccoli, yogurt and ice cream. We live in Charleston, SC, and we looking forward to seeing our Kaz friends very soon!
www.ruopoliadoption.blogspot.com/

Janice with friend Laura
Brenna age 3 - Aqtobe
Kentucky

Todd and Lisa
Hannah age 12
Nolan age 10
Lucas age 8
Angela age 6 - Petropavlovsk
Kentucky
mortensen946.blogspot.com/

Jim and Jennifer
Gianna age 2 - Petropavlovsk
New York
www.convergentpaths.com

DEADLINE

I briefly interrupt this blog to remind you all that TOMORROW, May 15th, FRIDAY, is the deadline to send me, Michelle (SpEduc8er@aol.com) pictures for the slideshow. I will be turning the slideshow into a movie (big process for the program I use) when I return this weekend, so I really won't be able to add any pictures to it after that. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get me your pictures if you want to be a part of this by TOMORROW, FRIDAY, MAY 15th or unfortunately your family will not be a part of the slideshow.

Information needed:

Family name (ex: Sapp Family)
Child(ren)’s name: (ex: Mateo Timur & Natalia Grace)
Area where adopted: (ex: Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan)
Month and year traveled (ex: October ’05)

Pictures can be of just the children, the entire family, or a combination of the two. It's completely up to you.

Also, TOMORROW, May 15th, FRIDAY, is also the deadline to order t-shirts.

Here is the direct link to do so: http://www.heartandseoul.com/Kaz.htm

Thank you!!!!!!!!


Now look below again at all the beautiful families we have featured this week ;-)

Almaty Region Families

Here are our families from Almaty region

Cathy
Joseph age 7 - Almaty region
Lilly age 7 - Almaty region
Tennessee

Sara and Julian
Zoe age 2
Almaty City, BH#2
Canada
We brought Zoe home from Almaty (BH #2) in April of 2008. The past year has been full of sugar and spice with plenty of snails and puppy dog tails thrown in for fun. Zoe is amazingly happy and well adjusted. Her curiosity and zest for life keep us entertained and on our toes. She loves music, books, tofu hot dogs and blueberries - and is as happy playing with dolls as she is digging in the dirt and looking for snails and caterpillars in the park. We have started the paperwork for a second Kaz adoption.

yeomans2kaz.blogspot.com/

Gerri and Joe
Ella age 6- Almaty City
Lexa age 6- Le Chang, China
Danielle age 14 Anshan, China
Tennessee

Stacye and Mark
Lainey age 8
Andrew age 3- Almaty City BH#1

Missouri
moorestory@blogspot.com/

Mark and Dawn
Anastasiya "Staci" age 12- Almaty City
Jacob age 11
Alabama

Tom and Angie
Lydia age 5- Almaty City

We met our Lydia in Dec. of 2004 at Baby House #2 at the age of 10 months. She is an exuberant, inquisitive, and happy little girl. She absolutely loves animals, running and jumping, talking, and music. She rarely meets a stranger. Though born in Almaty City she is a child of the steppes as she delights in wide open spaces where she can run and she adores horses. We live in Alabama near Auburn University. This will be our first Kazapalooza and we look forward to meeting other families.
Alabama

David and Kim
Noah age 4- Volgograd, Russia
Josh age 2- Almaty City
Tennessee
www.prudhomme-family.blogspot.com/

Carolyn and Mark
Sadie age 3- Esik

Texas

Lori and Ruth
Madina age 4- Issyk
Nicholas age 1- Semey

I am Lori and I became a mother for the first time in April of 2005 when I travelled to Ecik and met the beautiful baby that was to become my Madina Grace. Madina has been the light of my life for the last 4 years and this winter she got to be part of her brothers adoption as she travelled to Semey with her Grandma and me to adopt Nicholas Adilet. Nicholas was a ball of energy when he came home in Feb. at 12 months and hasn't slowed down a bit! After the initial "sibling shock" Madina has taken right to her role as big sister and is having a blast with her brother.
Illinois

Pam
Natalya age 3- Ecik
Tennessee
bringinghopehomefromkaz.blogspot.com/


Stacy
Addison age 5
Haven age 2- Karakastek
Missouri
We are Brad, Stacy, Lindsay, Charlie, Addison and Haven Segebarth. We traveled to Almaty Kazakhstan (Karakastek) in April - June 2007 to bring Haven home. She definitley adds a little spunk to our lives and WE are truly BLESSED beyond belief with her addition to our family. She has a sunny personality and a happy dispostion. She is the most strong headed one of the kids (she must get that from her Daddy) and always knows how to get what she wants. She does not have shy bone in her body (she must get that from her Mommy) and truly lights up a room when she enters it! She puts the life into everyday and we can't imagine our lives without her!!!!! We truly are the blessed ones. We can't wait to meet everybody!

Our blog is www.godslittlegifts.blogspot.com
Our travel blog is www.thestoryofyoux2.com/HM.html

Dave and Mary
Ashling age 9
Orin age 4- Karakastek

We are Dave, Mary, Ashling and Orin Keogh. Dave and I (Mary) were born in Ireland and moved to Canada in the late '80s. We have two kiddies - our Ashling is bio and is 9. She is a lovely kid, full of life, humour and sweetness and great big sister to our Orin. We met Orin in April 2006 and brought him home to Toronto in June 2006. Orin is a little spitfire - his nickname is hard work!! He is very head strong, out going and full of energy!! We laugh as his care taker in Karasatek BH said her lasting memory of him would be how calm and good natured he was - NOT!!!
We met great friends for life, other adoptive families in Karakastek in 2006 (Moon and Dave and Mirko and Snezana from below) only to name two couples. We have had a reunion with them in 2007 and 2008 - this year we are combining our 2009 reunion at Kazapalooza - we can not wait!!
The Keoghclan - Toronto, Canada


David and Moon
Nicholas age 4 Karakastek
Luke age 4- Karakastek
Louisiana

Snezana and Mirko
Philip age 4- Karakastek
Canada

Chris and Gretchen
Serik age 2- Karakastek
Austin age 2
Asa age 9 months
We travelled to Kaz in May of 2007 to meet our oldest son, Serik. He is such a joy in our lives. The quiet, shy underweight baby has become a big, loud, friendly toddler. He loves to eat and play with his two younger brothers. His favorite toys are cars and trucks and knows the names of all the big heavy machinery. We have had lots of big changes in our family in the past two years and he has rolled with the punches each time. We are so blessed to be Mama and Papa of Serik and his brothers. I am so excited about KP and look forward to seeing all of you!

Tennessee
journeyfarjourneynear.blogspot.com/

Thad and Ann
Jabari age 5 Astana
Gunnar age 3- Karakastek
Indiana
www.kazakbaby.blogspot.com/

Astana Families

This week our featured families are from Astana.

Daniel and Kerry
Quinn 2 yrs old
Michigan
www.KZ4youandme.blogspot.com

Tony and Maegan
Taylor 2 yrs old
Michigan
Blog address: http://www.babygirl-kaz.blogspot.com
Info about Taylor: Taylor was adopted from Astana in August of 2007. We have been so blessed to have her as a part of our family. She is very outgoing and active, always surprising us with new things and sayings! She loves to play outside, draw, and sing. She is very tiny (weighing only 22lbs and being only 32 inches tall!) but you would never know it by how active she is! She is always running around, jumping and rolling. She attends school part time for the summer, and she is very smart!

www.babygirl-kaz.blogspot.com

Adam and Sara
Rylie 2 yrs old
Arizona
Hi! We are Sara, Adam, and Rylie Tennen. We live in Phoenix, Arizona. We traveled to Astana in October of 2007 and brought Rylie home in December 2007. Rylie just turned two and she is seriously the coolest kid in the world (objectively speaking,) and is much cooler than either of us. We are in the process of adopting again from Kazakhstan and hope to travel sometime in early 2010.
We cannot wait to come to Kazapalooza and meet all of you.
Our family blog is http://thetennenfamily.blogspot.com
It has links to our two adoption blogs.


Jennifer
Andrew 3 yrs old
Pennsylvania
www.mowgie.blogspot.com


Kate Fakih Astana 07
Marwan, Annette and Kate became a family one warm summer morning in July of 07 in Astana, KZ. They have been inseparable since. Kate is almost, always shy the first few moments of an encounter but lights up the whole room once she gets going. She loves pink (shade:rose pink), watermelon and baby jaguars (pretty much most baby animals). Kate also enjoys feeding time with the penguins at the NiagaraFalls Aquarium and sliding down on her knees at the park slide. Marwan and Annette learn from Kate everyday. She inspires them to laugh to their hearts' content, hug everyone who is sad and kiss every boo-boo that hurts (could be challenging in their line of work, possibly an infection control concern!), say hello to the nice lady who gives people bags of fruit and milk at Wegman's (THE grocery) and to always, always take time to stop and smell the roses during wagon rides around the block (when the temp is not subfreezing). Annette specially loves it that Kate adores Marwan (see photo).

See you all soon.
Marwan and Annette
Kate 2 yrs old
New York

Michael and Jennifer
Matthew 2 yrs old
Canada

Brad and Corrine
Andrew 2 yrs old
Kansas
http://www.reedfamilykc.blogspot.com

Dana
Serena 2 1/2 yrs old
New Jersey
www.lovemykazbaby.blogspot.com
www.lovemykazbabylife.blogspot.com
Serena is a very happy girl and continues to amaze me with her spirit. She loves yogurt, the beach and being chased around the house. Her laugh is infectious and one of a kind and I truly can't imagine my life without her. She is my heart.


Stephen and Kjersten
Aitugan 2 yrs old
Maine
www.aitugan.com

Soraya
Maxium 2 yrs old
Ohio

Max was born January 7, 2007 in Astana. I held him for the first time , August 10, and the world changed forever for me from that day on.
Like all Kaz children, he is so smart, gorgeous, loves to be a boy, and can he sing! From a baby, he would rock and shake in his car seat when we drove, and now repeats any song. He attracts the ladies, loves to build things and move them, has a very funny sense of humor( our first meeting we both were laughing) and is very sweet if you ignore the 'terrible two' episodes. :)
We cannot express how excited we are to see everyone in June, as I feel this is so important for our children. At church today, they were thanking the mom's, as it is Mother's Day, yet I thought, I am so grateful to have Max in my life, and to have shared our journey in Kazakhstan with amazing familes in Astana. Yes, Annette, I was crying like a baby at church! lol
Warm regards,
Soraya and Max

Jaimie and Gena
Berik 3 yrs old
Texas

Our blog as you know is www.berikjames.blogspot.com but the original blog was/is www.frogssnailsandpuppydogtails.blogspot.com . We live in Huntsville, Tx. about 1 hour north of Houston. We both work for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Daddy is the Captain of the Food Service Department and mommy is a Parole Officer. Berik turned 3 on March 27. Here is a fairly recent picture of all of us. Thanks, Gena Lloyd


Maren and Peter
Rinat 2 yrs old
DC

We are Peter, Maren, and Rinat Leggett from Washington, DC. We were lucky enough to go to Astana in 2007 to adopt our sweet boy who is now 2 years old and, in the process, get to know a great group of people who were there adopting their little cuties at the same time. We can't wait to see them all in Nashville and make some new Kaz friends too! See you there! www.stanwardbound.blogspot.com

Thad and Ann
Jabari 5 yrs old and Gunnar 3 yrs old (Karakstek)
Indiana
www.kazakbaby.blogspot.com

Jila
Kiana 2 1/2 yrs old
Canada


Jila met Kiana, then 6.5 months old, on May 23, 2007 in Astana and was grateful for the lengthy in-country stay that followed which gave Kiana the time to get used to her and Jila the opportunity to explore Kiana's birth city. They arrived in Canada on July 19, 2007 and now live in Winnipeg with frequent excursions to Toronto to visit Kiana's grandparents and uncle. Kiana is delightful in every possible way and Jila loves everything about being her mother with the one small exception of wishing there was more time in her life to do things like update her blog.
Blog address: http://jgkazandbeyond.blogspot.com/

Let's get to know each other...

We thought that we should all get to know each other before Kazapalooza. Since there will be over 60 families at Kazapalooza this year (wooohooo), we will be featuring a few families each week on this blog. We will be posting information from the registration form. Please let us know if you do not want your family to be featured on this blog. We are going to start with the four planners.

The Elrod family:



Hi, my name is Muriel, and I am so looking forward to seeing all of you. I have been married for four years to Jerry and we adopted Sophia Hope from Karaganda in 2007. Sophie will be three in July and our son Jack (home grown) is 8 months old. I am a trial lawyer and Jerry is in banking. We live in Chicago. When I came up with the idea of Kazapalooza I was hoping 10 families would come! I am thrilled that it has grown into such an amazing event. Adoptive parents are amazing people and we feel blessed to be a part of this community. See you all soon! Our travel blog is: www.2kaz4sophie.blogspot.com. We also have a private blog I would be happy to invite any family attending Kazapalooza to. Just e-mail me at murielcollison at hotmail.

***If you are interested in how Kazapalooza came about please read the sidebar!



The Struck Family

Hi, my name is Kristan. My husband Mark and I will be married 14 years in June and are the proud parents to our Kazakh angel, Sadie, 2 1/2, and her big brothers Ryan, 10, and Tanner 7. Sadie will be home two years in June.

Our boys traveled with us to Karaganda and the love affair between each of the boys and Sadie started there and has grown even more over these two years.

I have been a Stay at Home Mom for 9 years now. Prior to that I was a child and adolescent therapist working with children with behavioral problems as well as with attachment disorders.

One day in the future I plan to continue my career, but as what exactly is still undetermined, however I like the idea of using my background and experience to some how benefit adoptions.

Mark is an air ambulance pilot and we have a real estate investment business (we are not Realtors thought).

I am very excited about the 2nd annual Kazapalooza. The relationships that I have built through our adoption journey and beyond has far surpassed my wildest imagination. I love that I have continued to bond with families in the Kaz community since coming home, and in the adoption community in general, who understand some of the dynamics of our family that people outside the adoption community truly have no understanding of. I hope that over the upcoming years Kazapalooza will continue be a forum to further build relationships for Kaz families that last a lifetime. See you in June! Kristan

The Bilbro Family




Hi my name is Gretchen. My husband, Chris and I have been married for 6 years and have three boys. We traveled to Kaz May-July of 2007 to bring home one year old, Serik from Karakastek. Austin and Asa were born in Kentucky and we were thrilled to finalize their adoptions this past April. My husband and I own our own businesses, a trucking company and a rent to own company that specializes in storage sheds. I have been a stay at home Mom since coming home with Serik but prior to that I worked as a Registered Nurse specializing in Psychiatric care at a hospital in Nashville.

Kazapalooza was so fun last year. I can't wait to meet all the families this year! You can follow our blog and read more about us at Journey Far, Journey Near.


The Sapp Family





Hello :-) Sapp family here... I'm Michelle Sapp, proud mother of my two amazing children, Mateo Timur and Natalia Grace. It has always been a dream of mine to adopt since about the second grade. In October of 2005, that dream came true when I finally traveled to Ust-Kamenogorsk to bring home my children. Mateo will be 6 this month and is full of curiosity, energy, and courage. Natalia is 4 and has a tender heart, sassy spirit, and desire to talk your ear off :-)

I'm currently a special education teacher at a middle school. My primary focus is learning disabilities in reading and behavioral/emotional disorders. I believe my profession helps me to be a better mom and my parenting two children with diverse needs helps me to be a better teacher. I also co-direct the school musical, as music has always been something I have an appreciation for.

I have a passion for adoption and feel quite blessed that I belong to a community of people who have also shared this joy! Kazapalooza is such a wonderful event for both our children and us, as we meet and build relationships with people who have taken a similar journey! I'm looking forward to this year's event and the many, many more to come in the future!