The Efland Family

The following is a collection of blog posts the Efland family kept during the adoption process, and still continues to update. To visit the full website, please click here.

Posted Saturday, March 4th, 2006
Our adoption began in June of 2005. It is now March of 2006 and our dossier is in the region of Karaganda, Kazakhstan. We are waiting on our invitation to travel to see our children. There have been many hurdles to overcome to get here and everyone was worth it.

Posted Monday, May 8th, 2006
It is May 8th and we have recieved our travel date. We are to be in Karaganda by May 21st. Many things to do and get organized for. There are to many emotions to explain right now. All I know is this is the best Mother’s Day present. We will keep you all posted.

Posted Saturday, May 20th, 2006
Hi everyone. It took us a day to figure out our internet dial up connection. We arrived on Monday am at 9:45am in Karaganda and were swept off to the orphange. We both looked like homeless people with no shower or sleep for 3 days. We went to the hotel and put our bags down and not even enough time to brush our teeth were takin to the orphanage. Thank God for mint gum! We went into this room with another family and sat down and they brought in a bunch of children. Only one little boy was very playful. Now remember, this other family was looking as well. So we really felt weird talking to a child with others interested as well. None of the children were younger than a year. One of the girls was abused as a baby had marks on her face. So the first two hours we along with the other family were very upset and disappointed. None of our requests were granted. We went back to our hotel and showered and slept until 3:45, when we were able to return. We met up with our facilitator Tamara and Lena who we told of our concerns. They were in court that morning. She apoloigzed and told us that she has children picked out for us and doesn’t know why they didn’t show them to us. Bob and Gina saw their little boy and were excited. Then we were told that we could only have two children if they were siblings. We went and met up with a little girl who just turned 4 years. She was beautiful and shy at first then she was very playful. Her brother was brought in and he is 1 year and 10 months he is cute and a lady killer. He is so shy. It took us until yesterday afternoon before we got him to laugh and play. This morning we went to his room and he came right to us. Tuesday we decided that these were Efland kids. We have until this weekend to come up with names for their new birth certificates. Her name is Alyona and his is Vonya. Her name will be Alana so as not to confuse her. His name will be Noah or Nathaniel, but which one? We need a middle name for her. Look at their faces and help us out.

Posted Saturday, June 10th, 2006
Well everyone, tomorrow is the BIG DAY! You all guessed right, my birthday. Ha Ha no really. It is our COURT DAY. We will be in front of the judge at 10:00 am and you guys will be sound asleep. Afterwards we will be partying with the care givers at the orphanage and then another party back at the hotel for all the new parents. Today we get just one visit being that it is Sunday. We are going shopping this afternoon for souvenirs. I want to get Nate and Alayna something from their birth country that they will always have. Yesterday we recorded a short video of the orphanage and the kids for all to see. Our days here are starting to fly by now. We have been able to pass the time with other families here in the hotel, but we still miss home. Some days we all feel like we’re on "Survivor". We sit at the tables while eating our Ramen Soup and talk about how when we get home what we want our first meal to be. So far burgers are the top choice followed by a steak on the grill with baked potatoes. When we touch down in Memphis I will be heading for Starbucks, then on to this barbecue place we ate at on the way over here.

Posted Tuesday, June 13th, 2006
It’s offical!!! We were granted TWO wonderful children on the 13th of June. Sorry we didn’t post sooner. There was a tidal in our wave that was unexpected, but there is clear sailing ahead. We celebrated many things last night. My birthday, our new parenthood, Lillie’s birthday (Annie is her mom), Owen’s birthday (Kathy is his mom), and Annie’s new parenthood. The poor waiters in the Apollo restaurant had to call in the reinforcements who spoke some English. I had my 1st beer in Kazakhstan it reminded me of Coors Light. We all had a guessing game at the store to buy a cake. It turned out to be okay. They use a lot of marshmallow in their baking. Maybe that explains why these people are so skinny. We had a great afternoon at the orphanage, being we were in court for our morning visit. I recorded Chandler racing the other kids in Alayna’s group, boy is he out of shape. Nate sported his new ball cap with tools all over it. Jason you would be jealous! He will get a Jets or Panther hat once we get him home. These pink hats have to go. We will have our last two visits today. Our interpreter will help us talk with them so they won’t think that we left them forever. These will be our hardest visits yet. This is going to be our last post for now. We will be heading to Almaty tomorrow the 15th and leave there on the 16th for Charlotte, NC. Thanks to all who followed our journey and posted comments. They have helped us get through our long days here. We will post again once we return home.

Posted July 11th, 2006
Sorry it has taken us so long to post. We arrived home on July 7th. We were greeted by many family members. Alayna and Nate did pretty well on the plane rides, as we changed planes 3 times for a total of flying hours to be 15. Once we landed in Detroit Alayna and Nate became American citizens. Our first night at home was sleepless. It has been 5 days since we have been home and we have made it to our own bed. Alayna has picked up many new English words for example, Dora, soap, shampoo, water, the dogs names and of course mama and papa. Most of her language is related to her bath time being that she is a water lover. Nate has just started withPaige, no, and goodbye. Oh and how can I forget his chants of mama at 2am, 3am,.... They are so much fun, all of the sleepless nights are worth it. We have taken many pictures since we have been home which I will put on in the next day or so. Alayna and Nate went swimming in their pool the other day they had a blast. Alyana has a big wheel that she rides every chance she gets. Although I think the outside play gym is her favorite. Nate has really started to come out in the last two days. He pets the dogs and uses the slide on his own. His facial expressions are priceless. Chandler has been back to work the last two days and I have been home enjoying every minute.

Chandler & Alyson Efland