10/15/04-Reposted: Timeline for trip

In cleaning up some duplicated posted, I deleted the entry with all the dates. This is a reposting of that message.
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We've been getting many questions about the timeline of things, so I thought I would take a moment to answer some of them.

We are in the middle of the 14-day bonding period. This is the time when we go to the orphanage to get to know our kids. The clock started on our first day at the orphanage, which was Monday, October 4. So, the 15th days should be Monday, 18th. We believe we will be able to take the kids out of the orphanage on that day. We have asked that, but have not gotten an answer from Tamara the facilitator. She has been busy with a group of families going to court. She is also working on our files.

Here is the schedule of events as I remember them:

Oct. 17 – Move out of the hotel into one of the apartments, after the current families leave.
Oct. 18 – 15th day – kids can come and live with us.
Oct. 25 – GMA Jan arrives from the states
Oct. 26 – Court Day – The Kids become legally ours; however, there is a second “probationary” period where they cannot leave the country. This is the reason for the MJ/GMA tag team.
Oct. 28 – MJ heads back to the states, leaving Bill and GMA Jan to fend for themselves in the harsh Kazakhstani wilderness
Nov. 16 – We leave Karaganda and head to Almaty, where the US Embassy is, to begin the immigration process
Nov. 20 – We depart for the long trip home at 4:00 AM Almaty time. We arrive in the Pittsburgh airport at 6:00 PM the same day. Ah the joys of time travel…

I hope that answers everyone questions. Please send more if I missed anything.