Sleep vs. mobility

Steve here. For breakfast this morning we had baranki, a traditional Russian hard bread that is in the shape of little rings (like mini bagels). We spread cherry jam on them as recommended. It was a nice break from our usual pop tart breakfast. Apparently, the weather service lied to us as we rudely found out when leaving the apartment this morning. Instead of a predicted warming trend it was –24ºC! Ouch.

Today was a really good day with the boys. Before leaving we made sure we had no cookies with us, so that when Yan dug through our bag he would find none. It seemed to work as he took everything out, finding no treasured cookies. Instead, he pulled out the animal flash cards and Terri worked with him for a while getting some really good eye contact with him. Sergei joined us after having to be changed—having left a bit of a toxic mess for the caretakers this morning. Both boys were in good spirits. We were pleased that we were making progress with keeping Yan’s attention. We praised him often for success and he is becoming a pro at high fives. Sergei crawled around and pulled himself up, again we lavished him with praise. He has really changed since we first saw him. His face seems much more relaxed and he seems more calm and peaceful. He is making more sounds and best of all, he smiles a lot. Closer to the end of the visit I was holding Yan on my lap, rocking back and forth and to my surprise ‘energy boy’ fell asleep—snoring and making suckling sounds. Sergei started to cry towards the end, but I think he could hear the lunch roundup in the next room, that and all the other babies that were crying waiting for lunch.

Between visits we did some sightseeing. Our goal is to have a lot of video and pictures of Ust so that our boys can know about their hometown/country when they get older. We will always have a bond to this country and want to share it with our sons. We went to a park, named after a hero of the revolution—there are a lot of things named after heroes of the revolution. There were statues from Russian fairy tales lining the snow-covered footpaths. Also in the park was an old tractor from the time of Stalin, and some 1820’s era cannons. We next went to an impressive World War Two monument followed by a monument to those who fought in Afghanistan. This memorial seemed particularly somber as floral arrangements, dusted in snow, were placed around the monument. We went downtown and had a nice meal at the Turkish Café. We ended our sightseeing by visiting the local Mosque and walking through a Yurta, a traditional Kazak nomad home. Kaz is remarkable in the fact that Christians and Muslims live in harmony here.

The afternoon visit was our short visit. Sergei pulled himself up to the walker and I put him in it. Man, was that boy mobile! Terri was running around after him as he did laps around the room. He was having a blast. I played with Yan, tossing him around, playing airplane and letting him ride on my neck. The boys had a great time—so did mama and dada.

When we got back we spent a quiet evening at the apartment, watching 24, having some light snacks and sampling a couple of good regional beers, Baltica and Klinscoye. A fitting end to a good day.

Tick Tock

We went to the baby house this morning at our usual time. Yan showed up in his winter hat—it cracks me up. Both boys were in good spirits at the start of the morning. Terri and I played with both boys for quite some time our usual tropical hot spot. After a while Terri gave Yan a couple of cookies. When he did not receive any more cookies he showed his displeasure. At least today there were no toys to throw around like Godzilla strolling through Tokyo. Terri held him in her lap to reassure him—it looked like a WWE move to me. He calmed down a bit and was soon running around with toys—the moment quickly forgotten. We did have a nice little breakthrough with Yan this morning. He kept looking at our watches and we kept saying tick-tock as we showed the watch to him. Shortly before it was time for him to go—eureka, he said tick-tock!

Sergei was having a good time crawling around playing with a crab rattle and picking up crayons that Yan had scattered on the floor. He also seems taken with Terri's hair. It was only at the end of our time that he became unhappy. You could tell it was because he was hungry (as with all the other babies that we could hear in the background). He kept crying as he waited for his caregivers to come get him. It broke Terri’s heart to not be able to feed him at that moment. Before we left we saw him sitting in his chair with a bowl of food ever so slightly out of his reach (the caregiver was doing something else at that moment) as he desperately tried to get it.

We went downstairs to the director’s office and received medical histories for the boys. It appears March will be a busy month in our household as both boys have their birthdays about a week apart in that month. Both boys appear to be developing normally, although we found out that Yan can be a little bossy in his playgroup and occasionally jealous of other kids. I think this is what would be called foreshadowing in the literary world.

After we left the baby house we went to eat. We went to a place that was called Pizza East, yet we did not have pizza but rather Eastern dishes (Kazakh, Korean, Georgian). Terri wanted a salad to keep it light but what came back was a plate of ham, potatoes, boiled egg, cucumber and tomato in a generous supply of mayonnaise. It was tasty but so much for light! I had a Kazakh beef dish with rice and -Korean carrots that was really good. We all shared a Georgian dish that is a soft flat bread filled with cheese and garlic. Little Caesar’s should switch to this recipe for their crazy bread. We have really enjoyed the opportunity to try different foods while we are here.

Our afternoon visit was shorter but productive. What was really great on this visit is that we got to go up to Yan’s play group and bring him back to our bonding room. It was quite a hilarious sight to walk into the playroom and see potty time, no, not party time, potty time. Apparently that is the way it is done—group potty training—all the kiddos sitting quietly and patiently on little pots after lunch. When Yan came out from his constitutional he saw us and smiled. This is the first time he has done this when seeing us. Maybe he sees us more fondly with fresh bowels. No matter what the reason was it was a good start and we took him back down to the bonding room to be joined by Sergei moments later. The boys are officially brothers now as Sergei tried to grab hold of a coloring book Yan had. Yan remedied this by picking up the book as well as a couple of other toys and moving out of arms reach from Sergei. The first brotherly friction and we aren’t even out of Kaz yet! Sergei also pulled himself up to a standing position and we cheered him on. This produced a huge smile on his face. Let me tell you, this boy has some real soulful eyes. It was great to see him so happy. Yan and I played until we were dripping in sweat—honestly, you don’t have to play that hard to sweat in the playroom, but we were both pretty worn out.

After we left we stopped at the coffee house and then went to the supermarket where we picked up a few items and our translator and driver helped me select the best regional beers. Good times.

Balshoye Spaseeba (big thanks)!

Terri here! Steve and I wanted to thank all so much for your encouragement and support. We have gotten tons of emails and comments and want you to know that while we have not had the time to respond individually, that we have read and truly appreciate each and every one. It means a great deal to us to hear from you and share the day's events. We really look forward to hearing from everyone!

A smile and a mini tantrum

Steve, yet again. This morning was sunny and clear and seemed a bit warmer. I did like yesterday’s snow but I am sure we will see more of that before we leave. On the ride to the baby house, I helped Anya decipher some English from The Who’s, Behind Blue Eyes. I also think Anya appreciates that at least we have made an effort to try to use a few rudimentary Russian phrases as butchered as they may be.

Our morning visit was a mix of success and setback. As you may remember, I did promise to make Sergei laugh—or at least smile. We got quite a few smiles out of him this morning. He seemed to enjoy the extreme close up game, you know, moving toward him and back while generally acting foolish. He very much enjoyed this and he seemed to really enjoy more of the baby sky lifts (see photo). Terri and I have been working on our songwriting ability—with our smash baby hits, Baby Got A Mohawk and Boopy, Boopy, Boopy. Mohawk is definitely our deeper tune inspired by Sergei’s hair, which does seem to mostly be in the center of his head. Our first work, Boopy, is a simple song that is meant for more Top 40 mass appeal. Make no mistake—Terri is really the talent behind the lyrics. Yan came in and seemed a little more distracted. But the new toys were a hit. On the down side he was very focused on them instead of us. But I did make him giggle with the tickle game. His laugh really cracks me up. After playing a bit, Terri gave him a couple of cookies. This is when things went in a more southerly direction. When Terri would not produce any more cookies Yan became upset with us and ended up going over and plopping himself against a wall pouting. Apparently he wants to test us. Unfortunately, our visit ended, too.

After our visit we went to lunch at the same restaurant as yesterday. This time we had the noodle soup—much like chicken noodle soup and we split a blini. Anaya and our driver Bulat joined us. I like Bulat. He seems to like music and movies, including a lot of films I like. He also was familiar with the San Antonio Spurs—my kind of guy.

Our afternoon visit was short. There were no tantrums and a few more smiles all the way around. Two of the high points were helping Sergei walk around by bolding his hands and teaching Yan to give a high five. They seemed to really enjoy this. I played airplane with Yan a little bit and he seemed to laugh and enjoy this. Terri got Yan to relax a little as well and I think a bond with Sergei is starting to take place. Sergei seems to be getting comfortable with us and watched us intently as he was taken back to the nursery. I still think we have quite a ways to go with Yan, as he seems ready to leave when his time was up. While I am sure the caretakers have explained to him what is happening I don’t think he really gets it yet. Right now we are the people who come to play with him twice a day and are won’t give him all the animal crackers he wants.

Of course, no one said this would be easy. It is just a fact that attachment challenges will exist. It is almost like you can’t win initially, because we have been cautioned if they are too accepting of you it is just as bad as them not accepting you at all. I do try to keep it in perspective and it was only day three.

After the last visit, we went to a coffee house and had American style coffee and played 1950s rock ‘n roll. We ordered lattes and ice cream and chatted with Anya and Bulat. After this we went to the video store to look for the epic Kaz film Nomad. We had hoped to find a copy to take back with us but it was not available in the store we went to—maybe in Almaty. It was amusing to see all the movies that I was familiar with their Russian titles. I tried to find Caddyshack for my friend Doug, but to no avail. I was intrigued by a Russian film about the Soviet struggle in Afghanistan, unfortunately, it was not subtitled.

Tomorrow we visit with the orphanage doctor and review the medical records of the boys during our visit. Tune in tomorrow, same Kaz time, same Kaz channel.

The baby house

Sergei smiles!

The Gaines family

Hugs, kisses and a headache

Steve here. It snowed 2 inches today and the high was 25º F. The snow was very dry and the flakes were huge—the size of pennies. It was a quiet and beautiful day.

Today we went to the baby house at 10AM for the first of two visits. This morning both Yan and Sergei were bundled up nicely and wearing hats to protect them from the cold. While this seems to make sense it is about 100 degrees (slight exaggeration) in the baby house. We got off to an uneasy start as Sergei seemed very anxious and was not happy, especially when he was sitting on the floor. Yan came in next, and came over and gave us hugs (the first of many we got throughout the day). Sergei remained apprehensive for quite some time, and did not seem to warm up to Terri during this visit. Yan played with some of the toys. He loves dumping crayons out of the box and then putting them back in only to do it all over again. Repetitive functions, hmmm, sounds like he is ready for life in the working world. I spent the early part of the visit with Yan, and then switched off with Terri to see if any of my best one liners would work on Sergei. He was not really impressed but he did seem less displeased as I walked around with him, occasionally bouncing him around to the tune of Bonanza. He did seem to smile ever so slightly as I did what seemed like 50 reps of lifting baby skyward. Okay, I know I am out of shape a bit, and Sergei is a pretty healthy boy but I do think it was the near sauna conditions that just about killed me. By the end of the visit I was ready to go back out in the 25 degree weather. Terri had Yan’s loyalty with some strategically placed animal crackers. The boy already understands manipulation and was continually trying to score more crackers. We worked with Yan with some animal flashcards trying to use the Russian names followed by English names. Our visit seemed to go by quickly as it was soon time for the boys to have a meal and their naps.

Speaking of lunch, we had traditional Russian fare with our translator, Anya. Terri and I split a bowl of borscht (beet root soup) and we also each had a blini (like a crepe but can have sweet or savory fillings—we had the ham and cheese), and bottled water with gas (carbonated). The meal was very good and my misgivings about the borscht, undeserved. Sitting next to us was another American couple here to adopt. We briefly chatted over lunch about our trips to date. After lunch it was back to the apartment for a brief stay before our afternoon baby house visit.

At 2PM it was back to the baby house. This time we actually remembered to take the diapers that were requested of us. Sergei was still not at ease but Yan was making nice progress. I got Yan to giggle as I used him as the highway for a toy car. Terri gave Yan a few more animal crackers, which he ate at quite a leisurely pace. This is somewhat odd, as we have read so many stories of the baby house kids just scarfing down food. We played around like this for a little bit as Sergei was content to sit and watch. Terri keeps trying to make the little guy comfortable—obviously, it is going to take a little time. Yan wanted to look out the window so I obligingly lifted him into the window seat, only to practically give myself a concussion as I hit my head on a VERY sturdy inner window that was slightly open. I saw stars, birds chirping, and oddly enough, Cyrillic letters dancing around my head. Sadly, this was the same accident-waiting-to-happen that I warned Terri to avoid earlier in the day. So now I have a goose egg on my head as I write. Terri has had some near mishaps too. She keeps tripping over the freakishly tall door thresholds. It’s just what these guys needed—clumsy parents. I made Yan giggle with 50 more reps of toddler sky lifts—man, I gotta start working out. Terri held Sergei for quite some time and kept him calm, but he didn’t seem that interesting in participating right now. Tomorrow, Sergei will laugh, okay, maybe smile—we’ll take a smirk. Again the time flew by and it was time to go.

Before heading home we went to the store to buy some more engaging toys. We had traveled with just a few toys since we did not know what age children we would be presented. So tomorrow we are armed with some stuff we think the boys will like. On the drive home we passed an ornately decorated car with a bride and groom in the backseat. It had a very sophisticated blend of gaudy and cheesy decorations. My favorite was what appeared to be Barbie and Ken clones on a simulated wedding cake located on the hood of the car. We had seen them getting married this morning down by the river—outside, in the cold with snow flurries. I bet you the vows were very short.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow it is back to the baby house to see the boys.

Boy, Oh Boy!

Steve, aka Papa, here. We were not sure if this was going to be our day to go to the baby house. We were up early ready to go, not knowing what our schedule would look like. Lunchtime came and went. Nothing. As the afternoon crept by we were convinced we were not going anywhere today. Just as we popped in another “24” DVD we got a call. We were going to the baby house! Happiness and nervousness came flooding over us all at once. This was it.

As we went out to the car we could see snow flurries in the air, it was beautiful. The baby house was a short distance from our apartment but seemed like a very long way away as we spent the time wondering how this would all play out. We arrived at the baby house, which, by the way, was as hot a south Texas summer day. Going into the director’s office I have never felt so intimidated in my life. Inside were the orphanage director, a member of the Kaz Ministry of Education, and our adoption coordinator. Our translator gave us all the official details that became a blur in our heads. My primary focus was to get through the meeting without looking like the lost fool that I felt like. I suspect Terri felt a similar feeling.

The legal pleasantries aside we were shown two infants and two toddlers. They were all so cute. Terri was immediately drawn to one of the two years olds. His name was Yan. I scored a small victory when none of the kids went screaming from the room, which is often the case when meeting men for the first time. Sergei, one of the infants, did give me a furrowed brow—either he was concerned, or possibly pooping in his pants. It is healthy for the kids to be apprehensive of you when you meet them—we are strangers after all. After much thought, we finally choose Sergei and Yan to join our family!

Once we had chosen the boys we went to a play room where we got to interact more privately with them, take pictures of them and have them get more comfortable with us (as comfortable as one can get with strangers who don’t speak your language). We had a few toys that we tried to entertain them with. The picture flash cards and crayons seemed to be popular, and the trucks seemed to have some appeal. I think Terri has a good start as a mom today, running around after the highly mobile Yan. It did not seem very long at all before the boys had to call it a day. We were told we could come back twice tomorrow and to bring diapers—oh no, not diapers! (This is a running joke as everyone makes fun of me as I am a little nervous about changing a diaper.)

The ride home seemed surreal and I don’t think it really sank in until we downloaded the video. It was at this time, we sat back and knew the boys were ours—we were parents.

"Papa, can I see the camera?"

"I think this makes us brothers!"

"Thanks for the toy, Mama!"

Ust at last

Steve again. This morning 007 picked us up at our apartment at 6:30AM for our 8AM flight to Ust. I do not believe Terri and I got any sleep last night in anticipation of the next leg of our journey. 007 helped us through everything at the airport and as we headed to the gate I felt bad that we had to leave as he made every effort to make us feel comfortable and welcome in Almaty. We went through security and ticketing with no problem. As anticipated we had to pay a little extra because our baggage was over the weight limit. Apparently our cost was nothing compared to what we have read about others, some paying a couple of hundred dollars and we only had to pay the equivalent of $27. All those pop tarts and cheese crackers don’t weigh as much as we thought.

‘Boarding’ our flight was amusing. We exited the gate to an awaiting bus that drove out across the tarmac to an Air Astana 50 passenger, dual prop Fokker F-50. We loaded like the good old days, climbing up the aircraft’s gangway, two seats on either side of the aisle. Here in Kaz, you push your way through and cut line as often as possible, all the things that in the states that would make someone call you some unpleasant names. So stowing our bags in the overhead bins and getting back to my seat was a real treat. But I can play this game too so all was well. Surprisingly, this flight was not the nightmare that we envisioned it could be. There was minimal turbulence and no need for the air sickness bag. As we lifted off we saw the awesome sight of the mountains around Almaty. As we were flying we watched the ground progress from brown desert to brown fields—after awhile the brown fields became fields sprinkled with a little white, and eventually to white as far as the eye could see. All of this was in a two hour time span. Landing was uneventful but the real fun was exiting the gangway to a really nice burst of cold air. We (quickly) moved inside and met our coordinator, Albina, our translator, Anya and our driver, Bulat. We grabbed our bags and it was off to our apartment. We were told that we were not going to be able to go to the baby house today (which we were later told was because there was a Ministry of Education meeting that was occupying the time of adoption personnel). At the time we were only told that we wouldn’t go to the baby house today and maybe not tomorrow—with no explanation. We called our agency for clarification, and were later told we would go to the baby house tomorrow. A little explanation early on would have helped us manage our expectations.

We were taken to the supermarket to grab some items and went back to the apartment to email home. It turns out that we need a different internet card in Ust. Our translator and driver came back right away and took us to get a card. Our translator also became our internet support as the instructions were all in Russian. We did make some small talk with her, feeling bad that our earlier mood was not her fault, showed her pictures of the family and our dogs back home.

Once reconnected to the outside world we watched some episodes of 24 but we were so exhausted that even the suspense of the show was not enough. I worked a little bit and then went to bed early—this time, no trouble sleeping.

Here are a couple of quick shots of a view from our window and the living room of the apartment.

A day in Almaty with James Bond

Steve here. Today we decided to get a late start since there was nothing we really had to do today. Terri and I spent a lot of last night watching episodes of “24”. Now I know why everyone on my staff treated it like a drug habit, watch one episode and you are hooked. We got up this morning and made sure our bags were ready to go on the off chance we would travel today. Jorik and Artur arrived at 11:00 this morning to take us out to have some lunch. Today we decided to have a traditional Russian meal. We all shared a couple of salads, traditional Russian soup called “salyanka” and Kazak national bread. One of the salads was called “bird’s nest” and was like a chicken salad served over a “nest” of crispy noodles and topped with two sour cream “eggs”. The salyanka had a combination of ingredients you might not think work together (sausage, vegetables, sour cream, olives, and lemon wedges), but the end result was very good. Over lunch, we had our small talk that comes with having a translator that speaks mostly broken English. We found it amusing that so many people had trouble with Jorik’s name that people started calling him James Bond. Frankly, the name fits, because if you need a driver in Kaz this is your man. He is fearless on the streets. We found out he likes American football so we will have to see about bringing him back a football on our next trip. We learned that Artur likes American pop, rap and hip hop music. His favorite is Britney Spears (I winced at that).

I am probably the first person in Kaz to ask to go by a golf course for a souvenir, although the translator said that this was not the oddest request. We did go to a golf course in the middle of the city, where I was able to get a polo shirt with the club logo on it. I will be the first person in my golf group to sport a Kaz golf shirt. To my golf group—sorry guys there were no Almaty golf balls/trinkets to bring back—next trip, maybe I will go to look for the really fancy course.

Our next stop was the high point of the day—Panfilov park. Scattered amongst the fir trees are monuments to the fallen soldiers of the Soviet Union. The main feature of the park was a massive bronze statue honoring the soldiers who stopped the German army at the gates of Moscow. I have always been a big fan of the Soviet era art and seeing this monument you can’t help but be moved by its impact. In front of this sculpture is an eternal flame with a plaque in remembrance of the 601,000 Kazakhs who died in World War Two. There was also a memorial that paid tribute to the soldiers who fought and died in the Soviet’s protracted struggle in Afghanistan.

Adjacent to the park was a beautifully ornate Russian Orthodox church.

This was all we did for the day as tomorrow we leave early for Ust. And it looks like we will be traveling to Ust with another American couple on their second trip. We could be meeting our children very soon!

So which do you want first, the good news or the bad?

Well we finally found out our destination city today—Ust Kamenogorsk (Oskemen is the Kazak name). We are very happy with this selection because we know of another family from our agency that had a fabulous adoption experience there just recently. We’ve also heard it is very beautiful. The bad news is that all flights out to Ust tomorrow are booked and we have tickets for Thursday morning. They are going to try and see if there are any cancellations during the day tomorrow so we’ve gotta be on standby with our luggage. The main attorney insists we will not be delayed longer than we had planned to stay—we will see what happens. This is why international adoption is nicknamed "therapy for control freaks".

Today our driver Jharkan, a Kazak, arrived at around 10:30 am with a translator—a 20 year old university student, Artur, eager to try out his English lessons. The communication was not perfect but better than none and he was sincere about wanting to help us. Jharkan is willing to take us anywhere we want or need to go—he really is a great guy. He seems very protective of us and extremely polite. He opens doors for us, carries our bags (even when we try to insist on helping ourselves) and he took my purse at the market today to allow me to look without worrying about pickpockets.

Our first stop was to buy a computer mouse so Steve can do some work while we’re away. We had to stop at two different computer stores because apparently we wanted an “outdated” wired mouse and most places now only carry wireless. After that it was on to the Green Market to find Steve an authentic beaver fur hat (I know, we’ll get pictures uploaded soon).

For lunch we asked to be taken out to a place with authentic Kazakh food. They took us out for pizza yesterday and were ready to take us to an Irish pub but we really wanted to experience the culture. Jharkan took us to a place called “Alasha” that is at the foothills of the mountain range and serves traditional Kazakh and Uzbek cuisine. Everything was very authentic including the building architecture, the décor, the wait staff attire and menu. We had freshly baked traditional breads, a tomato/cucumber/goat cheese/olive salad, flat breads filled with cheese and spinach with sour cream—and those were just the appetizers. Steve had a lamb and veal dish and Jharkan recommended a beef dish for me. It was all fantastic and a great experience.

After lunch, we were taken to the mountains just outside the city—they are beautiful and snow capped. We saw the giant ice skating facility nestled in the valley. Artur said they are very proud of this new facility and hope it will help Almaty’s bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympic games. Both Jharkan and Artur are native to Almaty and are very proud of their city of 2 million. I think it is a wonderful city with a rich culture and heritage. The peoples integrate well—Kazakhs and Russians as well as Muslims and Russian Orthodox—something that the rest of the world could learn from.

Thank God, Almaty!

Steve again. Well, Amsterdam is behind us now. But it turned out to be a very nice inconvenience. Everyone we talked to was incredibly nice. You would never know you were in The Netherlands as everyone spoke English as well as their native tongue. It was amazing how many nationalities we saw in such a short period of time.

We left Schipol airport without incident, our KLM 767 free of technical difficulties. We had an amusing moment when a couple and their daughter were getting settled in front of us. I told Terri that I thought they were American, and a couple of moments later the lady leaned over and said, “You’re going to adopt children from Kazakhstan aren’t you?” A bit stunned we just nodded yes. “I recognize you from your blog site," she said. As it turned out they were going to Kaz as well. We got a good laugh at our really small celebrity status. We also talked to another gentleman going back to adopt his third child.

We landed at Almaty airport at 2AM and waited in line for a while to get processed. The customs lady made me take my glasses off and scrutinized my passport photo quite a bit. Not sure how I felt about this… maybe she was trying to tell me something about my looks. We had a sticky moment when an official gave us some grief about the phone board we were carrying for a local humanitarian group. Yep, it was the ‘big shake down’. I was starting to get a little mad and Terri just dug her heels in and was not going to give in. After what seemed like forever they let us go, realizing that we weren’t going to give up any cash. Our translator was briefly drawn in to this intrigue as she was trying to explain the situation of why two Americans were carrying a phone board. The obvious answer; you never know when you will need one.

That being resolved we were taken to our apartment, getting there at about 3:30AM. It is not a bad apartment, thankfully on the first floor. We have joked it is better than the ‘Shangri-la’ an apartment we stayed at while our house was being built. But we won’t be here long, as we will soon move on to our next destination. Here's a photo of one of th rooms in the apartment:

Really, it is very nice—newly renovated, modern fixtures, hot water and quiet.

On our way, sort of

Steve here. Friday we embarked on our marathon travel for Kaz. I think Terri and I were actually glad to get on the airplane as that meant we could no longer run errands, pack and repack our luggage, or do any of the other small things that conspired against our sanity. Our flight from San Antonio to Minneapolis was uneventful. We met a young lady going home to visit her parents in Wisconsin. I was compelled to make a cheese joke. The great irony was that here parents actually owned a cheese store. We arrived to a toasty –7 degrees… who would have guessed Minneapolis could get so cold? It was so cold, in fact, that our next flight was slightly delayed because the temperature caused the door sensors to show that the doors were not closed properly. At least that was the story they were telling us, and I am going to stick with it. The flight to Amsterdam was nice. We had a little more legroom (although after 8 hours my legs took no comfort in this fact), we could listen to music and got to select from movies on demand. My personal favorite perk was the free booze. We tried to get some semblance of sleep but being hunched over in a coach seat doesn’t make for the most restful slumber.

So everything was going somewhat according to plan. And then we got to Amsterdam. We wearily departed our plane only to go up to the helpful video screens which proceeded to tell us the flight to Kaz was canceled. I think I heard the screen snicker. Never being ones to fully trust technology we discussed these unfolding events with a human. The lady from KLM was incredibly nice, so nice that you didn’t really feel bad when she confirmed that we were indeed going nowhere fast. Apparently, there was a technical problem with the plane, which to me always means an engine is about to fall off. As Almaty is not the most popular destination they did not roll out another airplane to keep us on schedule. The nice people at KLM put us up for the night in the very cool Museum District Hotel and comped us dinner and breakfast. This beats flying a plane with an engine that is going to fall off any day of the week. So Terri and I just got back from taking in the sights of Amsterdam, and in all honesty, I can’t say I am completely broken up by not getting to spend another 8 hours on a plane. There’s always tomorrow, assuming tomorrow they have that technical issue fixed.

Here are some photos from Amsterdam—one is of the street our hotel was on looking down the canal and one just for the dog lovers out there, a sign we passed by while walking around.

Shout out!

We'd like to give a shout out to some important folks who have helped and continue to support us throughout the process. Thank you Nicole, for setting up this great blog site for us (note the photos of the horse milk and yurt in the photo gallery)!! Thanks to Mom and Dad Golightly for house and dog sitting. Thanks to all our family and friends for the support and listening during good and bad. And a special thanks to the staff at The Clockwork Group who will be taking care of business while we're gone and probably won't even miss us!

We got our visas today. Our flights our booked. We're leaving on a jet plane next Friday.

It's time to Rock the Kaz Blog!!

After months of waiting, it's finally here!!! We've received our Letter of Invitation to travel to Kazakhstan to adopt. We've been on this journey since March of 2005 and it is all about to come full circle. Here are the details of our journey so far:

4/20 - signed with agency
5/1 - started homestudy
5/27 - sent in I-600A
6/24 - fingerprinted
7/9 - received I-171h
7/14 - sent dossier to agency
8/12 - dossier sent to DC (DC stopped accepting 8/12 - 9/8)
9/30 - sent dossier to NY instead
10/28 - new paperwork requirements sent to NY
11/9 - dossier approved at NY
11/15 - dossier in KAZ
1/25/06 - received LOI

Right now we're waiting on visas and expect to leave on Friday, February 17th. We'll travel over 21 hours from San Antonio to Almaty. From there we will be going to Shymkent and hope to share our progress with you each day.