The Morrison Family - meet our 'moon' girls.

2010-10-08T11:14:00.000-04:00

July 2010

2010-10-08T10:54:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a while. For whatever reason I was unable to load new photos for a while early this summer and just stopped trying. I logged on this morning for the first time in months and see a new Blogger format for uploading photos and found I can again resume putting up photos.

For those of you who might still check in to see what is new, thank you. Here are a few shots from the June.

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2010-01-17T22:21:00.004-05:00

Life is good...

We are home and well and settling in to our new world. Thank you everyone for your support, and thank you Marshall for the photo. It will be one of my most treasured, and chokes me up each time I look at it.

I am an emotional guy, and after holding it together as best I could on the plane and then going through customs, walking through those doors and seeing KJ's Parent and the Robinson's waiting to welcome us, well the tears just overwhelmed me.

We have posted a few videos from our first day together here in Maine and welcome you to check them out at:

http://gallery.me.com/steve_morrison#gallery

You will see the most recent ones directly under the 'Movie' heading and are welcome to look through any other as well. You will also see a batch of photos from Kazapalooza in Nashville last June. Feel free to look through those as well. As you do, you will see a great number of beautiful children and wonderful families who have been brought together through adoption.

As I recognize that blogs such as this one are both entertainment and a means of communicating with friends and family, they are also a real and tangible source of information and hope for families either in, or contemplating, the process of their own adoption and so to that end, I hope to write a few entries soon that relate to more of the nuts and bolts of our experience and our thoughts on the adoption process.

Enjoy the videos.

Take Care.

2010-01-15T02:54:00.002-05:00

Our last outing in Almaty

The Cathedral of the Holy Ascension

24 hours from now we will be in Frankfurt getting ready to board our flight to Boston. I still can't believe how quickly this week has gone.

Nurai continues to be terrific. She is really bonding with us and gives large broad smiles with her accompanying dimples when she is happy.

We went for a good walk this morning and I had Nurai in the Ergo Carrier the whole time. If you ever want to see some interesting reactions and long blatant stares from both Kazakh men and women, follow a man wearing a baby while his wife walks beside him.

We are so looking forward to getting home and reunited Tougy and her sister Nurai. What a great moment that will be. Realizing that all of this is in the past and a family of four is our future.

Take Care.

2010-01-14T07:51:00.001-05:00

What began in the summer of 2008 is now just a couple of days from completion. When we touch down in Boston Saturday afternoon, this adoption process will have reached its end, and Nurai Morrison will be an American citizen as well as our daughter.

Our American Embassy visit this afternoon went smoothly and quickly as anticipated and now we are back in our room counting down the hours.

We went up to Kok Tobe this morning to take in the perpetual brown/grey haze and imagine the city below and the snow covered mountains beyond, and took what seems to be the obligatory adoption finale photo with the Beatles.

We continue to be overwhelmed by the amount of support and love we receive from all of you and are very grateful to have such a wonderful team behind us cheering us on and sharing in both our joys and frustrations.

Thank you for all of your comments, they really are manna over here in country.

Take Care.

2010-01-13T13:33:00.003-05:00

I can’t believe that we are now just more than 48 hours away from boarding our plane to Frankfurt and then onward to Boston.

It is Wednesday night here in Almaty and we had nothing scheduled for the day. In fact our next, and last, scheduled event is our Embassy Appointment at 2:30 Thursday.

Our journey over was as uneventful as we might have hoped. The planes went up and down, our bag pushed through the flaps and presented itself upon the conveyor, our Almaty team met us with our onward tickets to Shymkent, and our Shymkent team took us to Nurai.

That said, I will make one comment. Really Frankfurt? Is that the best you can do? What an enormous and sprawling mess of an airport. Our house has more bathrooms!

Lufthansa might have newer planes and a swankier reputation than KLM, but given the need, I would choose KLM without a second thought if for no other reason than to fly through Amsterdam.

We arrived in Shymkent exactly 36 hours after leaving Boothbay, and went straight to our hotel to check-in and unload. That done, we hopped back into the car to buy diapers and formula and a few food things for ourselves. A few errands later we were off to the Baby House.

Nurai has been a dream. Her attitude has simply been amazing. Of course all this may change at any time, but to this point, she has been so unbelievably easy.

She learned to army crawl in our absence and now has no problem getting about the hotel room to investigate and explore. The only fussing comes to remind us that it is either time for more food to go in or that more food has come out.

She plays engagingly and though she vocalizes quite a bit, there is no distress in her tone. When she get tired she simply takes longer and longer blinks until her eyes stay closed. There is no thumb sucking or pacifier, or rocking required, she just checks-out peacefully and without a fight. Can’t argue with that!

She is oh-so-close to her first signs. KJ and I have been doing lots of Mama and Dada signs along with the words whenever she makes eye contact with us, and she now opens her hand up with all fingers stretched and holds her hand up in imitation of us.

She is so much more alert and engaged than she was in November. Her eyes track everything and she appears very curious and inquisitive. She seems quite comfortable in the Ergo carrier and seems at ease with both KJ and me. She sleeps soundly and doesn’t seem to mind our music or voices in the room during naps.

Today we took a walking journey up to the Green Bazaar and then to Tsum(large department store) and were gone for several hours without complaint from her. She rode right along in her Ergo drifting in and out of naps to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the busy markets.

The Green Bazaar was my kind of place, and though I would have loved to have had a camera out, sometimes it is more fun (and certainly simpler) just to enjoy it in real time and take it all in for what it is.

The orderly rows of uniformed meat venders with separate areas for the various animals, each displayed on open counters and hooks, lent an immediacy and bluntness to the process.

There is no ambiguity about from where your dinner came when you first locate the row with the correct visual representation of your desired animal, then select your cut from amongst the heads, hoofs, legs and torso of that animal.

The other areas of the market are similarly intuitive. Need just the right spice, head over to the spice sellers with their open sacks and colorful mound of most every spice you can’t name but can identify through smell or taste. Want fruits or vegetables, how about fish or dried fruits and nuts – “a place for everything, and everything in its place”.

The third floor of Tsum is a great place to search out Kazakh souvenirs. In our case, this meant a collection of various felted animals, people, and decorations to be both gifts and mementos for the girls.

“The Girls”. That may be the first time I’ve used those words to reference our family, and while I am sure that I will come to do so without a second thought in the future, at this point it merits a pause and a smile as my eyes well up and the lump in my throat subsides. I have daughters!

Speaking as I am about our daughters, for those wondering about Tougy, she is at home in Boothbay looking after her dogs. Looking after her are the wonderful sister act of Kerry and Wendy who stayed in our house and looked after ‘the boys’ while we were all in Shymkent for the month of November.

Kerry has known Tougy since Tougy came home in December 07. Tougy simply adores Kerry and though Tougy no longer attends the Day Care program where Kerry still works, Kerry is still revered by us all.

Together with Wendy, they have had a wonderful first few days and send daily updates regaling us with their adventures and endeavors. I want to include a snippet from one such email to illustrate the competent and nurturing care Tougy is receiving in our absence:

We had a great day together! Shortly after I wrote you this morning, Tougy had a bath and then went off and did her scavenger hunt!

I left silly little clues, starting with one on BoBo's collar. Tougy giggled when she saw him walk in with it. She took it off and Wendy read it to her and together they had fun!

The first clue went like this:

Congratulation! You found the 1st clue!

To find the 2nd clue, this is what you must do:

Go to the room where you can find your bed

And then look at the place where you rest your head.

Of course the next clue was waiting for her on her pillow. Wendy read it to her and again they ran to find the next clue. It went like this:

Yay! Great job! You found clue number 2!

To find clue number 3, this is what you must do:

Find the table where the trains go round and round,

Be sure when you crawl under, you look on the ground!

Tougy giggled when she found the clue laying under her train table and she was excited, nearly bumped her head as she rushed to give the clue to Wendy to read. The last one went like this:

Wow! You did it! You found the last clue!

To find your present this is what you must do:

Find the place where your duckies love to swim!

Your present is waiting for you there, so jump right in!

Wendy and I recorded Tougy as she found the last present sitting in the tub. She couldn't figure out how Mommy left it there when we had just been in the tub a little while earlier. She just laughed and giggled. When she opened the box of puzzles, at first she just grabbed them and said "Mine, Mine, Mine!" But then when she realized that meant that she would have to do the puzzles by herself, she quickly changed her mind and decided to share them. lol Wendy and I are desperately trying to figure out a way to send you the video. We recorded it on the computer and we can't seem to transfer the file, so we may have to wait until you come home.

How could you ask for more than that? I also want to include a bit from Tougy as relayed to us by Kerry and Wendy:

I just read your email to Tougy and she laughed and wanted to send you a message. I will write it word for word so you know it's from you're adorable little girl. I can't help but laugh as I write it so bare with me:

Tougy says:

"I not crying. Momma, Dadda, I don't cry I'm a big girl, no crying. That's silly!" (chuckles)

And now she's singing a song: the closest I can describe is a tune to "Oh my darling Clementine)

"Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy, Coming soon with my sister! Today! Today! Today! Soon, soon! For a long time! And you can't come for a long time! Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy! Coming soon! My Mommy and Daddy coming soon! Them can come home soon! Oh silly Mommy and Daddy! Oh silly Mommy and Daddy! Oh silly Mommy and Daddy! You're too silly today!"

Tougy also has a message To Nurai, too!:

"Thanks for coming home Nurai!"

So now the tears are back in my eyes and the lump back in throat. How extremely fortunate are we?

Well I think I will leave it there for now and will return to bed where KJ and Nurai are cuddled in sleep behind me. Take Care.

2010-01-12T15:54:00.008-05:00

Lives were changed today…

To be sure, lots of effort, emotion, desire, and provenance preceded this moment, but tonight it is all in the past, for tonight Nurai shares a bed with her mother and father.

Imagining all the things that Nurai is experiencing for the first time, it truly breaks your heart.

The reunion at the Baby House was without fanfare save for one older caregiver, Rosa, who was very happy for Nurai and asked about Tougy.

Nurai was brought up the steps in a blanket and, without first letting us see her, was moved into a separate room to be weighed and measured. A few minutes later the caregiver came out to ask us for clothes and then retreated back into the room to dress Nurai.

When the door opened again, Nurai was brought out and handed to us, and that was basically it. We asked a few questions of one of her doctors and took our leave down the stairs and out the door to the car.

In those few brief moments, everything about her world and ours was irrevocably changed, and yet for those around us, it was just another moment in time. I don’t know how I imagine it should have felt different, but I was alternately saddened and elated.

So begins Nurai’s second year of life.

We love you Nurai and are so overjoyed to be your family.

8am flight from Almaty to Shymkent.

Following the mountains and looking into Kyrgyzstan.

Our apartment building from November. We went in the blue door on the right and were on the second floor on the back side of the building.

Caregivers bringing Nurai up the stairs to meet us.

The final presentation. Nurai was not at all sure what was going on. The green around her nose is a crazy tincture that they apply for most everything. In this case it was a sore nose from a cold/runny nose.

Getting reaquainted.

Caregiver Rosa.

In the getaway car and headed back to the hotel.

Settling in and looking to mom for reassurance. About to leave Shymkent on her first airplane.

Farewell glance upon Shymkent as we climb.

Sound asleep on our hour long flight from Shymkent to Almaty.

The many face of Nurai

Looking strong Nurai. Lots of growing lies ahead.

Take Care.

2010-01-09T09:15:00.002-05:00

And We're off...

Just less than 2 hours before we leave the house and head to Boston for our flights this afternoon. Nurai we will be there soon sweetheart.

We arrive in Almaty Monday morning and a few hours later take a flight to Shymkent. By midday we should have reunited with Nurai and by afternoon, should be snuggly holed-up in a hotel room. Tuesday morning we will fly back to Almaty and begin our embassy exit paperwork and medical clearance. We will have a few days in Almaty and will fly home on Saturday 16 January.

There is of course much more to write about the emotional side of preparing to bring Nurai home and to finally be a full time family of four, but it will have to wait as time is short right now. Perhaps on the flights over I can capture a little of what we are feeling to post from Kaz. Take Care.

2009-12-28T19:51:00.001-05:00

Happy First Birthday Nurai

We are so sad to be thousands of miles from you today. Just days ago we still planned to be with you this morning and to make this your 'Gotcha Day', but much to our dismay, that plan has come and gone. Our new plan has us back in Kazakhstan the morning of 11 Jan to pick you up, with an anticipated arrival back in the US of 16 Jan.

We think of you constantly and miss you dearly. We made of video of the family singing Happy Birthday to you, and your sister made a birthday card for you at school today that she will give to you when you get home. Take Care of yourself my little girl. We love you.

2009-12-23T19:09:00.002-05:00

So close, and yet...

Yesterday we had a call from our agency informing us that there were issues with obtaining Nurai's passport and, while it was not certain, it looked likely to interfere with our timeline.

Today came the confirmation that our timeline would need to be altered. As it stands, rather than leaving this Saturday and arriving on Nurai's birthday (28Dec), we now expect to be back in country Monday 11Jan.

So yeah, more than just a small change. I know that the great majority of you checking in on our blog are adoptive families and so you can fully appreciate both how these things happen, and how they in turn affect you and your world.

Adoption requires a great deal of flexibility and we are grateful to have understanding family, friends, employers, etc., as we continue to revise and/or completely rewrite our plans every few days.

Beyond the logistics, it is of course emotionally challenging as well. The cycling of anticipation that ebbs and floes as our timeline alternates between close and faraway plays havoc with your sense of calm.

Like a meteor with an erratic orbit, we spin out of control, somedays feeling on the cusp of a new beginning, and other days feeling as if we are racing off in the opposite direction.

It will of course all happen, and like so many other things, these days and delays will be but a small part of the history of the whole, but for now they loom large in our lives and minds.

Bounder, we love you and we are doing the best we can to bring you home and shower you with the love, family, and support you deserve. Hang in there.

Take Care.

2009-12-18T13:23:00.001-05:00

We have a plan...

(these are not new pictures - no we are not there right now)

After numerous iterations, we now have come up with what may likely be our return trip itinerary (how's that for non-commital?).

Tickets were purchased last night for KJ and me to return to Kazakhstan for our final trip to pick up Nurai and bring her home. We will leave here on the 26th and arrive in Almaty in the early hours of 28 December.

We are so excited that this date appears to be working out since 28 December will be Nurai's 1st birthday, and now looks likely to become her 'Gotcha Day' as well.

For her part, in the interest of making this trip as short as possible and to minimize the risk of getting stuck in Holiday Limbo, Nurai will be escorted to Almaty to meet us on the 28th and will begin processing paperwork that morning so that we can get everything completed as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately our return options are very limited during this week. The only two flights we could find for seemingly reasonable fares were KLM on the 30th and Lufthansa on the 3rd, so we are going with the 3rd.

It would be fun to think that there might be a chance to fly out on the 30th, but we need more than 48 hours in country to get everything sorted in Almaty, and so while we are likely to be all set by the 31st or 1st, we will have to await Sunday's flight on the 3rd.

Tougy will stay here at 'her' house and look after the dogs and after Christmas she will move up from the older toddler room to the pre-school room at school, a change she is very excited about making.

I know that we have not been great about posting photos and videos from our first trip to Kaz as we previously stated we would do, but if it makes you feel better, I can promise that you will see them before you get our Christmas Card!

Take Care.

2009-12-14T16:33:00.001-05:00

Sisters

Nurai and me at the Shymkent Baby House November 2009

Aitugan and me at the Astana Baby House November 2007

2009-11-28T04:46:00.000-05:00

Home at last, home at last...

What a busy week it has been.

Monday of course was court. We had a nice pre-court visit with Nurai at the Baby House then headed over to court. The actual court session was quick and painless and we left with an immediate decision in favor of our adoption of Nurai.

We left court, drove over to register her passport application and then headed back to the Baby House to take a quick group shot of the four of us post court.

As you can see, though Tougy was done with all pretense of holding it together by this point in her napless day, KJ and I were just beaming to finally be here at this moment, a family of four.

Nurai, as you will see more clearly in shots later, greeted us on this last day with a bit of a battle scar. Of course the care giver initially walked in and handed her to us without saying anything about the obvious bruising to her cheek, then seemed surprised when we asked about it.

Turns out it was a bit of a love bite from a friend and left distinct upper and lower gum marks. Thankfully no teeth were present. Poor Nurai, though honestly she seemed unaware, or at least unaffected.

Following our quick trip to the Baby House, it was back to our in-country team's office to sign the last bits of paper, review a timeline and settle up payments for our apartment, our translator, our driver, and our coordinator's fees.

By this point we were all just ready to flop down on our pillows and await the morning. We were emotionally and physically drained and had little to offer to the outside world.

Tuesday we flew from Shymkent to Almaty and had a most beautiful sunny and blue day - observed mostly from our hotel window. We did get out for a mid-afternoon walk up to Tsum to find the oft-mentioned 'third floor', home of the best selection of Kazakh curios, but the was the extent of our outing.

We stayed at Hotel Kazhol and had a very nice two room suite with a true king sized bed(well box spring anyway) and a huge bathroom. We had stayed here once before as we were leaving the country after our failed initial trip in July 07 and had a horrible dank, tiny room, with a small box spring for roughly the same price of around 170USD.

The exchange rate difference helped a lot as then it was 115/dollar, and presently it is 150/dollar, but I also know that the hotel as a whole has undergone some rather major renovations and changes. All in all very pleasant, and as a room, far better than our 500/night Hyatt Room in December of 2007.

As we were flying out on KLM rather than Lufthansa, we got a full night sleep before heading to the airport at 7am for our 9:20 flight. The flight left right on schedule and we had a comfortable row of four in the middle for the three of us.

By this point, I was well and truly sick with something and spent much of the flight alternately shivering under a hat, jacket, hood and blankets, and then sweating and clammy in just a shirt. KJ did an amazing job of holding it all together and guiding the three of us home.

Tougy really didn't sleep that first 8 hour flight to Amsterdam, nor did she sleep during our 2.5 hour layover, and so KJ had to stay awake with her and be the one to keep her busy and content to sit quietly in our seats.

For our flight to Boston we were in the back of the plane in a middle row of three and again Tougy refused to sleep for the first 5 hours of the flight, only finally relenting to close her eyes and lay down for the final 2.5 hours of a 20 hour travel day to Boston. At this point, KJ finally got to close her eyes as well. And to think, at one point I entertained the idea of making the return trip for Nurai alone - yeah right!

Of course, Boston still does not mean we are home and so we are met at the airport by KJ's mom who lovingly drives us the last 3.5 hours back to Boothbay. Tougy slept the whole way, and I through much of it while KJ sat up front with her mom.

Arriving back at the house was magical. To see Tougy's excited dance when she got out of the car and saw her dogs was just such an exclamation point to the whole journey. At that point, it was over and we were home.

Well, that part was over anyways. I will write more and put up photos and video soon. I hope that all our stateside friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that the rest of you are happy and well.

It was so nice to come home and actually see the blog, and fun to be able to look through all of the Nurai photos from beginning to end and to see the changes in both her spirit and her physical abilities. I know that these next few weeks will pass quickly and that we will soon enough find ourselves making plans to return to Kaz. More soon. Take Care.

2009-11-23T07:05:00.001-05:00

Done and Done!

The courts approved our petition and we are now the proud parents of TWO Kazakh daughters!

The day was long and all of us are a bit wiped out. Don't get me wrong, we are thrilled that it all went well, but now, with all the anticipation released, our collective energies have just found new lows.

Certainly looking forward to a throwaway day tomorrow in Almaty with little to do but sleep, eat, and get ready for Wednesday's longer flights. All that is left at this point is just to sit and await the paperwork's completion - from home of course.

Take Care.

2009-11-22T06:28:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon here in Shymkent and we are just waiting around and clicking our heels together. Before we know it, I'm sure we'll be singing John Denver too.

KJ and Tougy just walked over to MEGA to pick up a few more things from the Ramstore to get us through the next 36 hours, but apart from that it has been a mellow relaxing day here at the apartment.

We tried to postpone it as long as we could, but as of this morning we could resist it no longer, and so we dove right in and packed everything up.

Preparing the pack-out is such a wonderful time. The nostalgia over what has been mixes with the anticipation of the familiar and all that lies ahead and you just find yourself in a slightly dreamlike space.

Tomorrow(monday) we visit Nurai from 1-2 then go over to our 2:30 court appearance. Assuming that all goes well, we will then register and submit our paperwork, settle up our local accounts, and go to sleep one last time here in Shymkent.

Tuesday we board a 10am flight to Almaty, arriving before noon, and spend the rest of the day without any real plans. Hopefully we have good weather as it would be fun to go back up to the top of Kok Tobe.

We took the tram to the top with Tougy on our way out in December of 2007 and spent the afternoon walking in the snow with Jen, Marshall, and Aila Robinson. This time it will be just the three of us.

After what is hopefully a fun and relaxing day in Almaty, we wake up Wednesday to head home. Thankfully, the return trip on KLM takes only 17 hours to Boston, and because of all the time zones we cross through, we arrive but 6 hours later.

Our plan at the moment is for both KJ and me to return, most likely in early January, for a quick trip to bring home Nurai. If we fly Lufthansa, we can leave on a Saturday evening and arrive in Almaty just after midnight early Monday morning.

Mid morning that same day we would fly out to Shymkent, go the Baby House to meet up with Nurai, spend a few hours here in town, then board the overnight train back to Almaty.

Arriving back in Almaty early Tuesday morning, we would have four solid business days in which to get things done before flying out early Saturday morning and returning to Boston Saturday afternoon.

If it all works out, we would only be away from Tougy for a week. After Thanksgiving we will open up the bidding for whomever would like to babysit Tougy in our absence.

These past fews days in Shymkent have really been very nice. As expected, we visited again with Nurai in the spacious Music Room and everything went great. She is such a trooper and was full of smiles and snorts and giggles.

When we get home we will post some more photos as well as some video from our time here to try and give you a better sense of her wonderful personality. I think you will fall for her just as we have.

Yesterday we took a little journey over to the zoo which was surprisingly large, though to a large extent, vacant. It did have a few surprises however such as a female Bengal Tiger and two cubs, and an unusually high number of different bears in variously small concrete enclosures.

I don't really know what else to say at this point. We are a little checked out now that just a quick visit and court stands between us and home. I will write a bit tomorrow night after court to let you know how things went, but then expect not to have much to say until we are home in Maine.

Tougy is so excited about seeing her dogs and her room and of course her friends at school. She has done so well here with us this past month and we are so grateful for all that she has done to be helpful.

Fun to think that Thanksgiving Day back home will be exactly 2 years after our court date for Tougy's process. November and December will be packed with special days for both girls as they move through their lives.

Nurai will turn 1 on 28 December, though unfortunately, most likely without her family around her.

For those who missed it in an earlier post, her full name will be:

Nurai Alia Anson Morrison

Nurai of course is the name given to her by her Birthmom and means 'shine of the moon'. Alia is a Kazakh name and is the name of a famous female warrior. Anson is a family name on my side of the family and most recently was my uncles middle name.

Take Care.

2009-11-19T12:17:00.001-05:00

Yeah, things were better today...

As you can see, our swanky new digs are a far cry from the dregs of old. I cannot tell you how amazingly different everything was given this new space in which to visit with Nurai, though I think you can no doubt feel the difference in the photos. Such a wonderfully different vibe.

Nurai was a completely different child as well today. So devastating to think that as she approaches eleven months old, this is likely the first time she has been given the space and opportunity to roll around and explore.

She was incredibly chatty and inquisitive. She maneuvered herself in full circles and numerous times brought herself up into crawl position, though never actually made any way.

Tougy was wholly different as well. She finally had the space and permission to be a toddler during our visits and could move around, run, jump, climb, and be noisy all without getting so much as a sideways glance from us.

It was so liberating to not bear, nor transfer on to Tougy, the stress that came from visiting in the hallway outside the director's office. I can tell you it was a great day and yet I feel both joy and sadness watching Nurai blossom. The joy is obvious. The sadness comes from thinking of what could have been, and perhaps should have been.

Sad also to think that beginning next week and continuing until we return, her days will reinvent themselves into hours of idle awaiting. I don't fault the Baby House nor its staff necessarily for the fact that the children get so little attention and development, it is a mostly a matter of finance, but it is sad none the less.

As you can see, given our new found privacy and space, we also forwent the masks today. I can't help but lament the absurdity and randomness of this measure. KJ and I were asked to wear them, Tougy was not. Our translator wore one, our driver (who moved around the baby house far more than any of us) did not, some of the staff wore them always, some never, and some always seemed to have them at the ready near their chin.

All the same, it was nice to interact with Bounder in a more intimate and personal way and for her to see our facial expressions, and our faces in general. Sure there is voice and tone and other things to latch on to, but primarily she is bonding with a face and learning to respond to our expressions. To strip that away in the overly optimistic hope that our wearing a mask will keep the children healthy has been just another frustration to this point.

So now we have one more of these wonderful visits to look forward to tomorrow before our last weekend here. I am grateful for the chance to visit Nurai in such conditions, and for these to be our parting memories as we prepare to leave for a number of weeks.

I don't yet know what Mondays schedule will look like, though as our court session is set for 2:30 and as the music room is not available until after 1:00, it seems unlikely that will will have anything but a hallway visit Monday.

We have asked if it might be possible to return to the Baby House following court to hold her again and to tell her of the courts decision and to take another photo of the four of us before leaving.

It is difficult to second guess what might have been, but given that we came over to Kaz intending to stay the duration of the process, I imagine that the likelihood of that having happened would have been infinitely greater had we been able to visit Nurai in conditions such as we had today. In time it will be but a piece of our story, but tonight it weighs heavy upon us still.

Today's photos of the four of us are actually the first we have taken together. So glad we finally had the space and light to do so. It was so very nice to leave the flash in the bag all day long as I have never been fond of flash images, but obviously had little choice until now.

I am thrilled to finally have some of the sorts of images of Nurai that we have of Tougy from her process. It is an important part of her life and I am grateful to have images that now honor both the gravitas and humanity of the moment. We love you Nurai and are overjoyed that we will all soon be a family.

Take Care.

2009-11-18T19:56:00.001-05:00

We will see if Blogspot lets us on tonight. It has been a day to day thing around here for whatever reason. Though we still can’t view our blog by going to aitugan.com (it just won’t load), until the last few days we had been able to log in to our blogger account and create new posts or edit old posts. Now we seem unable to do even that. We will see if tonight is any different.

Much has happened since we last spoke, so let’s dive right in.

Nurai is doing wonderfully well. She is bright eyed and cheerful, has a wonderful little giggle, and of course those sweet dimples.

She is doing very well with both sitting and standing, and on a few occasions has gotten up into a crawl position with her knees under her and done that gecko mating dance thing of ramping back and forth whilst terrific grunting noises emanate from some primordial place within her tiny body.

A steady hand placed in the small of her back allows her to play upright in a sitting position for minutes at a time before the inevitable forward flop, while a single hand gently under an armpit allows her to stand and rock quite successfully for five or more minutes at a stretch.

Visits to the ‘Cell’ continue as they have since the beginning, though today may have marked a real, if grossly overdue, changing point. I don’t want to belabor the point, but it truly is a tiny space measuring 4’6” wide and 4’8” long and bounded by 3 walls and a table. I spend most of the visits sitting on my ankles because my legs simply take up too much valuable space otherwise.

Making matters worse is the fact that the Baby House Director’s office is just a few feet away from our space. On a number of occasions when Tougy is acting up or being loud, a head will pop out of the doorway and look disapprovingly at us and ask what is wrong with her. It is truly maddening.

I mentioned that today, day 22, may have been a turning point because as I was visiting with Nurai, a woman I had never seen before was standing at the director’s doorway motioning for me to pick Nurai up off the floor and indicating through Russian charades that the ground was cold and the baby would get sick.

Having been witness to the irrational fear of cold a number of times before, I dutifully ignored her and attempted to get back to my visit, but she was persistent and began a tirade of motions and words to which I eventually looked up and responded ‘Nyet’ with a haphazard wave-off with my hand.

Well that wasn’t the end of that. She disappeared for a bit but then came back with one of the baby house higher-ups and asked where Zhenia (my translator) was. A few minutes later I see them all talking at the other end of the hall, and not long after that, Zhenia asks me to come downstairs and talk with the Baby House folks.

As it happens, the woman I tried to ignore is the Director, not of the Baby House, but of the children’s rehabilitation center in which the Baby House has temporarily set up shop while renovations continue at the official Baby House. Confusing I know, but essentially at the moment, she is higher than the Baby House Director, and as such, asked them to find a more suitable place for us.

Turns out, with just two visits left, that the large, sunny, warm, and carpeted Music Room is vacant from 1-4 everyday, and ‘would we mind changing our visit time’? Well damn that sure seemed simple. Couldn’t have thought of that, oh I don’t know, maybe three weeks ago.

That visits had been so impractical as the four of us in the small space is the reason why we, on several occasions, have left one of us back with Tougy at the apartment while the other visited, and certainly played a large part in our decision to return home immediately following court.

Now of course, as this new and vastly superior space looms, we are frustrated by both the loss of bonding and development that could have occurred over the past 3-plus weeks, and that which may have been had our plans been to stay a little longer.

Why Kaz adoption is so full of such trials is really beyond me. We try and remain positive and want desperately to believe that our agency and its affiliates want both what is best for the child and what is best for the family, but really, it is difficult at times to see the logic in the choices made and the degree of confusion that results from the seemingly arbitrary withholdings, misdirections, and mistruths.

On this topic, we recently found out that Aitugan’s birth mom was reportedly from Shymkent. We heard this a couple weeks ago from our in-country coordinator here who had spoken with her counterpart in Astana with whom we worked in 2007. This was certainly news to us.

As we approached our court date for Tougy’s adoption, we had been given a long and fairly detailed story about whom the birthmother might have been, but it never involved a location I assure you. As KJ spoke with this our old coordinator today for the first time since we left Astana, it was suggested that we were told, but must have forgotten.

No, I don’t think so. Given that we have clung to every detail we were given and still remembered the story exactly as it was retold to us again today, it is truly not possible that the one detail we did forget was that the birthmother had a hometown, and that that hometown was here in Shymkent.

A further confounding mistruth(is that less accusatory than saying lie – we still need her help) was confirmed today. I hesitate somewhat to write this for we now know that Nurai is a wonderful completion to our family, but you all know we had our doubts and fears early on, so I will just be honest.

We were specifically told to show up here in Kaz ASAP as there were two available children that matched our criteria. As you know, we spent a considerable amount of energy and money moving our travel date up as much as we possibly could and were on a plane four days later.

Soon after arriving at the Baby House that first day, we asked about other available children and were told another family ‘from America… or maybe Europe’ had arrived ahead of us and was bonding with one of the children.

Well we were suspicious then, grew doubtful as weeks went by and we never saw sign of them, and know now that we are in fact the only family to have visited since the Baby House moved the facilities a few days before our arrival.

So why the lie ( okay I said it), and why the false hurry up over kids we were never shown. You just want to call them out on their crap, but at the same time they are all you have here in country and you need them to continue. It flat out sucks! Deep Breath…

So we have a court date as I think I have mentioned previously, and that day is next Monday at 2:30pm. As we are now to be visiting Nurai in the new space at 1:30pm, I am doubtful that we will get a full visit in on Monday, though we have asked to return to the Baby House after court for a final visit.

We then plan to spend Monday night here in Shymkent, fly Tuesday morning to Almaty, then fly Wednesday morning from Almaty to Boston through Amsterdam. You may recall we had hoped to meet up with Sara, Adam and Rylie Tennen in Astana for a few days and then hoped to spend some time in Almaty with Gary and Stephanie Karp… well plans change.

The Tennens arrived here in Kaz a couple days ago now and, as seems to be happening with greater frequency, were shown children who fell entirely outside of their Homestudy/USCIS approvals. They are en route to a different city here in Kaz in the morning in hopes that their child does indeed exist in Kaz.

As for the Karp family, I have not talked with Steph to know exactly what has happened, I just know that their travel plans have been delayed and they remain at home. Our hearts and thoughts go out to both families.

We are looking forward to being home, and have been led to believe that court here is a simple and straightforward affair with little if anything to fear, and so we hope for a smooth last few days here in Shymkent.

Continuing with the idea of being honest, this process has been very difficult emotionally for all three of us and has taxed us all in ways we probably don’t yet fully realize. Having Tougy here with us this time has been the biggest difference, and while we certainly can’t imagine her not being with us this whole time, it changes everything.

For her, the lack of peers, structure, familiarity, and general freedom has been palpably difficult, while for us, the lack of personal time and down time is draining. We are with Tougy all day long and then try to take care of other things, like this blog, after she is asleep, but she is not sleeping well or regularly, and as a result neither are we.

The lack of freedom to plan and move through your day as fits the needs of the family is also difficult. Of course this was the case in Astana as well, but then it was just KJ and me.

Hoping that whatever time our in-country team has selected for a given anything will agree with Tougy’s schedule and current position along what seems to be a limited continuum ranging from merely tired to wiped out is taking its toll on all of us.

The amount of energy expended coaxing and cajoling Tougy to hold it together for ‘five more minutes’ repeatedly throughout the day leaves us all on the empty side and there has been little with which to recharge or rebalance. Tougy so misses her school and her friends, and I miss it for her as well.

Likewise, I selfishly miss my freedom. I love Tougy dearly, but that doesn’t mean that I would choose to spend every minute of every day with her. Sounds like such a horrible thing to say, but the things that make me happy and recharge my soul and, in that state, enable me to be a good father, are things that I do alone, mostly through working and creating with my hands. Being removed from those parts of me leaves me depleted and seemingly incapable of being both the father I want to always be for my kids, and the husband I want to be for KJ.

And so we are looking forward to home even though it will mean leaving Nurai here without us for the time being. It is a depressing prospect, though we know that as a family of four, it is what is best as the five hours a week that we can spend with Nurai at the Baby House can’t quite account for all that is forsaken in the remaining 163 hours of the week.

It will be with mixed emotions that we turn and head for home next week and we will think of Nurai constantly and look forward to the day we are all together as a family forever.

Take Care.

2009-11-14T11:33:00.001-05:00

Turkestan - the country that isn't.

Today's field trip took us north and west of Shymkent a bit more than 100 miles to the town of Turkestan where the impressive Mausoleum of Khodja Ahmed Yassaui was commisioned by Timur, or Tamerlane as he is more commonly known in the west. Construction began in 1399, but when Timur died six years later, work on the project ceased, and the building remains unfinished to this day.

Yassaui was a Sufi mystic who lived in the early 1100's and, without wanting to plagiarize my guide book nor make up something that is perhaps incorrect, I'll just say that he helped bring Islam to Central Asia.

Of course after Tamerlane commissioned the mausoleum to be built on such a grand scale, the town and region took on greater importance. It is now a most important pilgrimage site and draws a great many pilgrims each year.

Because of its importance within Islam, the area surrounding the mausoleum has become the burial place for a great many former rulers and military leaders and their families. This mausoleum from the 15th century was built for the remains of Rabi'i Sultan Begum. (don't ask me who she is, this isn't a history lesson, these are photographs, just roll with it.)

Lots of Islamic design and architecture really resonates with me. I appreciate the symmetry, the robustness, the graceful arches, and the calculated engineering that such structures exhibit.

Details around the dome of the Begum mausoleum with its repetitive arabic script.

Had to put myself in at least one photo. That's me in Landscape Pose with camera bag on hip.

The impressive, if unfinished, front portal of Yassaui's mausoleum. Still present are a number of the original timber supports jutting out from the building at regular intervals. On the front face of the building you can see the grid pattern of small holes.

In the main portal you can see a mix of original and modern day supports and scaffolding.

The sides and back of the building are finished with tile mosaics in geometric designs consisting of arabic letters and sayings from the Qur'an.

Each of the three finished faces of the mausoleum employs a different mosaic pattern and inscription.

This dome lies above his burial chamber within the mausoleum.

I loved the Escher-esque feeling to the back side of the portal, with its various stone stairways, doors, domes, and angles.

This was the only interior shot I was permitted to make. This is the present day mosque inside the mausoleum.

These next three are from the inside of a Hamam that was built in the 1500's. There are 5 domed chambers in all.

I have long been fascinated with domes and had the opportunity to work on the construction of 8 mud brick dome buildings of this same style while in the Peace Corps.

This last shot is the ubiquitous Saturday afternoon wedding party. In this case visiting the mausoleum for good luck.

I promise more about us here soon. We are well and are loving our time with Nurai. We have our court date set for Monday 23 November, not as early as we had hoped, but it will do. Take Care.

2009-11-12T11:04:00.004-05:00

Bazaar Time

You just knew I was going to end with a bang didn't you?

Such a fantastic afternoon at the Bazaar. Incredible to think that this town sat along the fabled Silk Road and has served as an active market town for centuries.

We met some of the most wonderful and friendly people we have yet met in Kazakhstan, here this afternoon. Of course not everyone welcomed the camera, but by and large, the sellers were very curious and wanted to see their pictures on the back of the camera. Sure makes me wish I had a small printer with me. We will definitely try and head back before we leave.

I love markets like these. There is so much vitality and rawness to it all.

I think that it is a wonderful thing for Tougy to be exposed to as well. We stopped and took a long look at a pile of stomach lining and talked about what it was and then watched women stuff all sorts of bits and parts into the large sausage, and then we ogled at the feet and talked about to which animal they had been attached.

The Bazaar really had a bit of everything as I tried to represent, though I left out the clothes which hold little genuine fascination. Absent however were the short skirts and stiletto heels, as heavy woolens and flat heeled boots reign supreme with these working women.

I find it interesting/telling that when asked about interesting things to see and do here in Shymkent, our translator could not think of anything apart from the Mega Mall. Even when asked about the Bazaars, he mostly dismissed them saying they were old and dirty and had lots of flies.

Our time here in Shymkent is so very different than our time in Astana in 2007. There we ate out after nearly every visit to the Baby House with our translator trying restaurant after restaurant and talking about all sorts of things ranging from politics to religion, to family.

Here in Shymkent we have yet to spend any time with any of our in-country team apart from going to and from the baby house, and signing legal documents at the office. They know absolutely nothing of us nor we of them. The one person with whom we can communicate directly, out translator Zhenia can best be described as pleasant. Dull, robotic, disinterested, but pleasant.

Our coordinator here, Farida, is all about business, though it is not exactly clear what that business is. Like Zhenia, she is not rude nor discourteous, but seems to have little time for us nor interest in our process apart from making it happen. Of the hour or so that we have spent in her presence, the bulk of that was to sign documents.

Our driver Nurshai is the one who really seems to be the interesting one, though unfortunately we cannot communicate directly with her. It is she that seems connected at the baby house, and it is she who fields our questions about Nurai and finds out details for us about her beginnings and present life in the Baby House.

It isn't that I lament the lost opportunity to make life long friends as much as I am surprised that there isn't more anima within these people, more of a spark of interest within what they are doing and whom they are doing it for.

You get the sense in asking questions about the local area, or details about the baby house that they have never been asked such questions before when in fact it must be about all they are asked by the families with which they directly work.

Our time here in Shymkent is already drawing to a close. We have now completed our 14 day bonding period and should find out tomorrow the date for our court appearance to petition to adopt Nurai. It is presumed that it will be late next week, and that being the case, we will in fact make a trip up to Astana to visit Tougy's baby House and to see some familiar sights with her before heading home.

She is excited, as are we all, to get back to Maine. Yes of course it will be difficult and frustrating to have to leave Nurai behind for such a lengthy time, but that it will be such a long time only reinforces our decision to return home. I honestly cannot imagine doing a Kaz adoption in one trip the way the timeline seems to be giving the protracted amount of time required on the back end of court.

It used to be that you had court, you waited through the 15 day appeal period for the adoption to be official, then you had your 'Gotcha Day' wherein you brought your child out of the Baby House and began a 7-14 day paper-chase clearing through Almaty and heading home.

Now that Gotcha Day may be followed with between 4-6 weeks of in-country paper-chasing and waiting, how many will stay through that - especially in winter? Not us. Not this time.

The week has been a good one apart from the fact that all three of us got a stomach bug on consecutive nights, beginning with KJ Sunday night, then Tougy Monday, and finally me on Tuesday. KJ had it the worst, we felt worst for Tougy, and I was the worst at feeling sick.

As a result of all of that, on Tuesday, I visited Nurai alone and Wednesday KJ visited alone. Though I was sad that KJ and Tougy did not get to visit on Tuesday, it was nice to be there all by myself with Nurai, and not to feel like we were playing in a human 'shuffle the tiles' game as we visited in our penalty box.

As far as photos of Nurai go, it was understandably a slow week for that as well. Apart from the general inability to remain inspired given our repressive enclosure, that two of the visits were solo also detracted from the available pool of visual intrigue. But tomorrow is another day, and certainly this afternoon's spiritual rousting will help get that feeling back again.

Take Care

P.S. - In the interest of looking at prices, the exchange rate since we have been here has held steady at 150 tenge = $1.00, and most things are sold per kilogram, so therefor 2.2 pounds.

2009-11-09T13:14:00.006-05:00

All in all, a mellow past few days. The weekend came and went without much fanfare, and we mostly stayed in and enjoyed some quiet time as the weather turned a little colder. We awoke this morning to a dusting of snow and continued to have light flurries throughout the day, though no real accumulation.

Along with the slightly colder weather came the first of the heat. Throughout the cities in Kaz, and my assumption is, this whole Central Asian, former Soviet Bloc region, the principal form of heat is State run steam / forced hot water. The government picks the date that it comes on and the date that they shut it all down, and it doesn't always agree with the weather and popular consensus.

We have been using a portable space heater in the apartment since we arrived, and I must say, that while the space heater makes a nice clothes drying rack, the radiators do a far better job of heating the apartment.

Saturday night KJ got quite sick with some sort of stomach bug and spent much of the evening making offerings, and generally began to feel better as Sunday wore on. This evening it seems to be impacting Tougy as she too has begun a rather unpleasant purge cycle though she is such a trooper about it all. I must admit that if it comes my way, I am not going to be happy.

I know that I previously stated that our bonding period would end tomorrow, though having met with our in-country coordinator, we learned that it actually ends Wednesday as our first meeting with Nurai does not count for some reason, and therefore the 14-day bonding period began on Thursday 29 Oct.

As we met today, we talked of an anticipated timeline for our court hearing, our departure, and our subsequent return. Given a petition date of this coming Thursday, they feel we are likely to have court late the following week, so either Thursday the 19th, or Friday the 20th.

Assuming that to be the case, we plan to fly to Almaty that Saturday (21), offload most of our luggage in Almaty, and catch another plane to Astana for the weekend. We should get in Saturday afternoon, and plan to spend Sunday touring around the city with Tougy, then Visit Tougy's Baby House Monday morning before flying back to Almaty that afternoon.

With any luck, Sara, Adam, and Rylie Tennen will be able to join us for a bit in Astana as they will be in Karaganda(a few hours away by bus or train) pursuing the adoption of a second child. It would be so amazing to join up again in Kaz, as we went through our first adoptions together in Astana in the fall of 2007. We will soon see if a reunion this side of things is possible.

Arriving back in Almaty Monday afternoon, we plan to then fly home on Wednesday 25 Nov. While in Almaty, we hope to revisit some of the places we went with Tougy in 2007, as well as possibly meet up with Steph and Gary Karp who will be in Almaty beginning their adoption process.

It seems so many families in our blog orbit are traveling to meet new children this fall and winter. It is an exiting time for many of us for sure.

So all that means that we should be home in Maine just in time for Thanksgiving.

As for when we will return to pick up our little Bounder, well, that got a little farther away as we met with our in-country team. We made the mistake of assuming that our being roughly a week ahead of Tougy's 2007 timeline might mean that we would end up coming home a week or so earlier than we did with Tougy (Christmas Day 2007).

What we did not factor into all of this was progress and modernization. Kazakhstan no longer issues simple paper passports, and the new microchip versions take weeks to obtain instead of the old few days needed for this in the past.

What this looks likely to mean is that instead of bringing Nurai home in time for Christmas, we will likely not return to Kaz until early in the new year and probably not get home with her until around the middle of January. Certainly a disappointment for all involved.

Sad that we will move through the holidays without Nurai and that she will most likely spend her first birthday (28Dec) without her family. All this of course is secondary to the greater consequence of her remaining in an understaffed Baby House for weeks longer than might otherwise be necessary.

We will see what happens and hear updates about the progress of the document as we wait at home in Maine, and of course things may move quicker than outlined, but time will tell. We will certainly be willing and able to travel as soon as we get the okay to come get Nurai.

Nurai continues to get stronger and more capable with each visit. As you can see in the photos, she has quite a beautiful smile complete with amazing dimples. She loves watching Tougy and interacting with her, and Tougy of course is equally fascinated with Nurai. It is so incredible to watch the 'sisterhood' develop. I know that they will share a special bond that will transform our family. More later.

Just love that face and those dimples.

It is amazing to see just how expressive Nurai has become in just more than a week.

She, like Tougy, loves being tickled.

Of course, as it is with most babies, everything has to be tasted to be explored.

Daddy asserting his defiant side and going mask-less.

Tougy reading In The Night Kitchen.

Making the best of our closet, and trying to give Nurai's little legs some exercise.

Booties made especially for Nurai by Elizabeth of 'Andy and Elizabeth', fellow Mainers who will also be coming here to Shymkent to adopt with our agency(MAPS) very soon. They are amazing - and yes, they could refer to any and all of them.

Over our mellow weekend here at the apartment Tougy and KJ did lots of face/body painting. As you can see, Tougy loved being the one with the brush.

Tougy's finished masterpiece. Okay so maybe it wasn't exactly done in Tougy's eyes, but we eventually had to convince her that saving some paint for later would be better than using it all on mommy's legs.

Take Care.

P.S. Still not happy that I cannot view our blog from here in Shymkent. Don't know why that is, but it seems to be fairly permanent and not just a temporary issue. I also don't like that Blogspot changed the way photos are uploaded just as we arrived and I am not sure exactly what makes what look how. I have heard that many of the photos appear to have the right side cut off and that many of the images don't appear in the familiar square format I most often use. I had been selecting the 'x-large' option on the past entries her in Kaz and today chose the 'large' option when adding photos, we will see if that makes any difference. Also I can't tell if the photos line up along the left margin as it appears here in compose mode, or if they center in the column as I think I have indicated they should in the formatting options. Details I know, but what is life without the details.

2009-11-07T10:35:00.007-05:00

What follows is a mix of things from our time here that have not already appeared elsewhere.

As anyone who has been to Kazakhstan knows, fashion is king if you're female and young. I will try to get more street scenes at some point but unfortunately, with Tougy with us everywhere we go, our street walking/exploring capabilities are dramatically more encumbered this time around than they were in Astana.

It seems the only people in Kazakhstan permitted to wear color other than black, grey, and red are the old babushkas, and they apparently can wear anything and everything at all, often at the same time.

This group of women was sitting outside the maternity hospital when we visited. As it is not especially easy to be casual about pulling out a big camera and taking pictures of random people on the street, I often hold my camera at my hip, or let it hang from my hand as I shoot on the street and just hope for the best. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you just get a lot of sidewalk and trash.

The footwear is among the most interesting things about Kazakhstan, okay that sounds a little derogatory, so let's just say it is among the most obvious differences to most of our lives back home.

Everywhere you go there are high heels, and I mean, theatrically high. How they do it is as much a mystery as why they do it. It sure doesn't seem to be for the men, as there appears to be a cultural dictum mandating an outward demeanor among men that is as monochromatic as their wardrobe.

Among the many many things KJ brought to keep Tougy entertained was a book on face-painting and a paint set to go with it. Tougy has loved it, and on several occasions, KJ has pulled it out and made fun, simple designs for Tougy.

This of course was Tougy's version of Halloween this year. No trick or treating and no real costume as such, but KJ did a fantastic job with Tougy's chosen design.

Tougy was so proud of her look that she wanted to sleep in it. Getting the green, somewhat sickly, hue from her face took a few days.

This is an outdoor park that is a 10-15 minute walk from our apartment. It has a number of rides and things for Tougy to enjoy, and it is her favorite spot to spend time when the weather is nice. It costs nothing to enter and walk around, and the rides themselves cost 65 cents.

Yes, I think if we had cameras in the back of our heads, we would see that reaction far more often. Could be the backpack, the colorful shirt, the flat shoes, the blond hair, or the fact that neither KJ nor I look like our Filipino daughter.

As a family, we were in Mega(the modern shopping mall next to our apartment) this afternoon and were up in the food court area when out of nowhere, two woman/girls approached and gave Tougy a small stuffed animal and asked her name. Of course you can guess they had a hard time pronouncing it, and then were surprised to learn that she was Kazakh. Seriously people?

It is so nice to see her having fun while we are here. She really misses school and her friends and has taken to insisting through large parts of the day that she is Tina(her teacher) and that I am Nick and KJ is Liam(two of her classmates). In this game she bosses us around and reprimands us for all sorts of imaginary transgressions.

All day long we hear "no, I'm Tina", followed by such things as "sit in the circle", "stay on your mat", "no fighting", "stay behind me", and various methodical activities such as counting and reciting the alphabet while pointing to imaginary things of the wall.

Tougy has an incredible imagination and, among other things, carries out long detailed conversations on her pretend cell phone to friends and family telling them all about our day and her sister, and so on. We will have to find a way to put some video up soon.

Tougy loves spiders and thinks it is fun when she can get them to crawl on her. Here she is showing off her latest find while in the park.

There is both an outdoor and an indoor component to Ken Baba Park, and here Tougy braves a rope bridge I never thought she would do, but true to form, she just cruised right through it.

Food was a concern for us in our planning to come over with her though, as is so often the case, we misjudged our little girl's adaptability. Here we are at a restaurant and she is having tea and pancakes. She also is a huge fan of Plov.

We brought over pounds and pounds of things for Tougy, among them, a large box of legos. Keeping her active mentally and physically has been our first priority here. Today was a rainy and colder day and we enjoyed just having a relaxing lazy day in the apartment, and finished the day with a family movie (The Incredibles) on the computer in bed tonight.

Given the drastic departure from her routine, she has done amazingly well with everything.

She loves 'reading' books and now has about 6-8 that she knows well enough to recite entirely without us. It is fun to hear her at night in her room by herself reading her books to her stuffed animals. She has also read several of her books to Nurai during our visits and relishes her new role as big sister.

As I think we recently mentioned, Tougy's first encounter with Nurai was rather traumatic. A sickly looking Nurai was brought out wrapped in a blanket which we were asked not to remove and she had a strip of tape from one side of her face to the other that crossed her nose and held in place a plastic tube that was inserted into her nose. Meanwhile KJ and I had large cloth masks that the baby house made us wear that covered most everything but our eyes.

Naturally, I would say, Tougy was a little freaked out and began crying. The whole scene broke down and we tried to remove ourselves and Tougy from it, only to be chastised by our in-country coordinator for not having prepared our daughter well, and were asked to consider arranging someone to stay with her while we visited in the future.

It was all I could do to not lash out. Unprepared? I think Tougy was exceptionally well prepared for most things involving meeting a future sibling, I just happen to think that a large bundle exposing nothing human apart from a snippet of face with tape and a tube fell outside of all of our expectations. I may not have cried outwardly, but I was sure unprepared for that as well.

In talking with Tougy that night and explaining that Nurai was sick and needed the tube in her nose to get better, Tougy took out her stethescope (yes we even packed her stethescope), and having put tape across the face of her animals, began to play doctor with them and telling them that she would make them better. Yeah, right, unprepared!

Here is Monkey and his tape job.

And even Tougy's frog hand puppet that she and KJ made that day got a tape strip across its nose.

This was the space in which we first were given to meet with Nurai during our visits. To think at the time we thought it was awful as it was so public and uninviting. I think we would go back there in a heartbeat if they let us. At least it had a big window with a decent amount of natural light. Our present space is down the hallway leading off of the right side of the frame.

Our first moments with Nurai on the day we arrived in country(Wednesday 28Oct). Tougy was sound asleep through the whole visit in the Ergo Carrier on KJ's back.

When the process is truly blind, this period is the craziest of the whole experience. Days before this moment, we had been told by our agency that there were two kids that met our criteria (6-18 months, either gender, correctable disabilities) that were available at the Baby House in Shymkent, and that we should arrive as soon as possible.

You already know all we did to get there ASAP, and so we walk in expecting to see 2 fairly healthy kids from which we will have to choose. Without any sort of advance notification from our in-country team a child is brought to us and it is explained that she is 10 months old. My first thought was that Tougy came home from the Baby House at 9 months and was walking at 10. This child weighed 13 pounds, could not sit up, nor bear her own weight if held in a standing position and her head seemed as unsteady as a newborn. We were simply taken aback.

There is so much you feel you cannot say in this circumstance as you are strangers to your own in-country team, and are not at all sure who, if anyone, in the room might understand you, or at the very least is reading your body language and tone.

Under Kazakh law for international adoption, you are to be shown more than one child and to have specifically chosen the child with whom you agree to adopt. Because of this, and for lack of a more polite and delicate way of putting it, it is common practice to first be shown a child outside of your expectations that you would be expected to decline, and then to be shown the child they believe best represents a viable match.

As we held and attempted to interact with this first child, we were completely unsure what to think. Was this the child they expected us to decline and another one was waiting with a caregiver in the hall. After all, we still expected that there were two children that matched our criteria, and this did not appear to be one of them.

Upon asking to see a second child, we were told that there were no 'other' healthy children available, though soon appeared a very fearful and scared little boy nearly 3 years old and diagnosed with Atonic Cerebral Palsy. Our minds raced and confusion set in. Our Home Study only approves us for a child up to 18 months, plus this boy is 4 months older than Tougy, chronologically. How could we even consider this?

Of course by now you know that we have begun the process of adopting that first little girl and that already Nurai seems to have transformed so far from that first day until now, but I must admit that it required nothing short of a personal paradigm shift to see the way forward. Of course a week and some later and it already seems distant history.

So what of the 'two children' that met our criteria? We were told by our in-country team (upon asking) that there was an American or European family that had arrived here ahead of us and began bonding. I cannot empirically say that is a lie, but I can say that I know that during the course of our time here, we have been at the baby house within every hour long period from 9:30-3:30 and have seen no sign of anyone else visiting a child. That they have somehow been doing so out of view is beyond reason.

This was the first photo we took of Nurai. Looking back at it alone, it seems hard to believe we doubted our path, but when I remember the experience as I whole, I vividly remember the inner turmoil.

On Monday we had a local American doctor come in and help us evaluate Nurai's health and medical needs. As you can see, our unprepared little girl did a pretty good job of faking it. ; )

Tougy was so concerned about Nurai all weekend and we spent a lot of time talking to her about what Nurai had been through since birth. To be honest, all three of us spent the weekend trying to better understand the inherent delays of a child born 2 months premature who spent her first three months in a hospital, and the seven after that in a Baby House.

It was in large part due to the shared experiences of so many others who had adopted emotionally and physically delayed children from kaz, that we became more comfortable with our own decision. Seeing the pictures and hearing the stories of children like Nurai who were now home with families and thriving really helped us to see beyond our initial shock and to reassess our situation and take a fresh look at this beautiful gift of a daughter, Nurai.

I will go that one further - our beautiful gift of a daughter Nurai Alia Anson Morrison!

Any lingering doubts we had going in to the meeting with the doctor Monday dissipated soon afterwards and we left that setting certain of our intentions.

She is a little thing from the waist down to be sure, but we have already seen dramatic improvement in her ability to support her weight that we know she is on the right track.

Somewhere during our visit that first Friday I called her Bounder, and I think it just might stick, so Nurai, if you are reading this years from now and you have always wondered why I call you Bounder, know that it just came out, and that beyond the irony that it represented at the time lay the foundation of my belief and faith in all that you could become.

Keeping a two and a half year old still in a confined space can require the assistance of 'special friends' like Alex the Lion, Mater, Donkey, and Dory.

So this next part represents the journey of Nurai's beginnings starting here at the Maternity Hospital in Shymkent.

This is the building where expectant mothers stay and where we believe Nurai would have been born.

This is the Children's Hospital in Shymkent where Nurai stayed until just before her 3 month mark.

And here is the Baby House in Shymkent where she lived from 2 months and 28 days, until the weekend we arrived some 7 months later.

As mentioned before, the Baby House was moved entirely to its present location just days before we arrived so that this facility may be renovated. On the day we came by, there was work going on, but not on any great scale that might make the suggestions of completing the project in 4 months(as we've been told) seem plausible.

In fact, looking at it just days after it was emptied, it seemed eerily vacant. It is hard to imagine kids having run about the place just days prior.

It certainly has space and grounds that the current location lacks.

I was intrigued by the signs that lined the driveway leading to the baby House.

I would love to know what messages they convey, and to whom they are directed, for they look rather foreboding and seem to portend a certain bleakness (apart from this one). Unfortunately our translator does not read or speak Kazakh, and therefore could offer no insight apart from suggesting they were simply decorations. Insightful!

So there you have it, a whole lot of information thrown in there where you probably didn't expect it. We look forward to another Lazy Sunday here with temps in the mid 50's. I hope you all have a nice rest of your weekend. (Go Pats!) Take Care.

2009-11-06T10:54:00.002-05:00

OMNF - Oh Man, Not Friday.

So now we have to wait until Monday to see Nurai again. She is doing so well. She actually made efforts to quasi-crawl this afternoon in an attempt to reach her toys. The fact that in doing so she plunged face first into the floor is just a minor hiccup, a small matter of style yet to be perfected.

The visit began, as most kaz visits begin, with a lengthy wait. The first shot of the day is of us waiting in 'the visit room' where we decided the bench was better placed further up the hallway to give us a decent amount of floor space and to act as a further privacy barrier.

In conjunction with the coat rack, the new bench placement gave us the confidence to once again remove her hat and outer sweater. If you promise not to tell, I'll admit that we actually pulled up her shirt at spied her belly button at one point.

It was a good visit, but I must admit that I am tiring of trying to find new and exciting way to photograph within our darkened closet, and thus, there are not a great number of new shots from today's visit. I lament that Nurai will not have the same voluminous record of our time visiting her in the Baby House as does Tougy. And the inequity begins.

Following our visit, we promised Tougy we would go to the outdoor park (Ken Baba) again if she took a good nap, and thus the next lot of photos is from our afternoon there. We have now been there 3 times, and weather permitting, we will go there a number of times more before we leave.

It is a good sized park with a number of OSHA denied rides and amusements that Tougy finds irresistible. Easily her favorite is the swing pictured here that she and KJ ride together. They have such a good time that it almost makes me want to do it, but alas, I recognize that spinning and I are not on friendly terms.

The last group of photos might surprise those of you who know me and my rather dispassionate relationship with food, though we like this restaurant so much we just had to mention it. It is just a block or so from our apartment, and is really quite casual despite its more formal decor. It is rather an anomaly here in Kaz to find a restaurant with such panache and swagger, but the food and presentation really are exceptional given that the three of us get out of there for around $30.00.

KJ had a grilled chicken Caesar, I had a wonderful lentil soup followed by a very flavorful and well prepared piece of Mr. Ed, and Tougy had a stylishly plated chicken fingers and fries. Who plates children's dishes with a flower of ketchup and tartar sauce with Parsley leaves? No other place I know.

At this point we have no real plans for the weekend, just a lot of hang out time with Tougy, and if weather permits, more outdoor park time. We have asked to head off to Turkestan next Saturday and, at least at this point, expect to have a sunny and 60 degree day for that.

Come Monday (yes Jimmy a little bit of you is never far away), we will already be at day 13 of our 14 day bonding period, and expect to know our court date by the end of next week. Once we know our court date, the rest of our time in Kaz this time around will begin to unfold.

We hear that court here in Shymkent is a rather tame affair, and that is just fine with us. Prior to applying for a court date next week, we still have to come to a final determination for Nurai's complete name. We know that Nurai will lead off and that Morrison will bat clean-up, but what is unsettled is who is in between.

We feel compelled to follow the format we used for Tougy's name wherein her first middle name relates to her place of birth and the second comes from family, but truthfully, Shymkent is not a pretty name for a beautiful girl, and we have yet to come up with a good alternative.

As for the family component, we are looking at two names from my side of the family. The first was my uncles middle name and the second is an older family name. Let me just say for the record that naming is difficult business.

Speaking of names, while we were out at the park today we actually heard Nurai's name. It was a family of 3 girls in which the infant daughter was named Nurai. It is not a common name, and really caught us by surprise to hear them use it. When we tell people here that Tougy's name is Aitugan, most act as if they have never heard it. Could be our accent or it could just be that unusual, even here.

Another interesting thing is that on more than one occasion we have seen a look of surprise upon someone's face when they learn that Tougy is Kazakh, and twice we've heard that people here assumed she was Filipino. We might expect that in the states, but it has surprised us that here in Kazakhstan, a great many people don't immediately assume she is Kazakh. Maybe if we were in Manilla.

That's all the energy I've got tonight. Over the weekend I hope to post a menagerie of photos shot here over the past week that don't necessarily have anything to do with our adoption. Take Care.

2009-11-05T08:10:00.004-05:00

Does she look like anyone else we know?

Hard to believe we are upon the eve of day 10. Next Tuesday our 14 day bonding will be complete and a day or so later we should know our court date. As mentioned yesterday, we began the day taking Nurai for a CT scan to check out her spleen and liver. Questions about her liver appear resolved, though her spleen remained unusually enlarged. We should know in a day or two what, if anything, doctors believe this means.

Because we began the day with a medical appointment, our visit was accordingly shortened and so we decided to go on a bit of a field trip after leaving Nurai at the Baby House. Among the things we wanted to see before we left town were the places in which Nurai had lived before we knew her. All three of these places were here in town and so we visited them and took pictures of them for posterity.

The first was the old maternity hospital where she was born. We don't know exactly how long she was there, though it was probably not more than a few weeks. She then went to a different hospital where she remained until she was 3 months old. At that point, she went to the Baby House here in town where she remained until just a few days before we met her.

As we have said previously, she, and all the other children from that Baby House have now been brought to a temporary facility while the old Baby House goes through renovations. When we stopped by the old Baby House today, it was just an empty, and mostly lifeless shell of its former self. A handful of workmen stood about outside, and the occasional sound of hammering and drilling could be heard coming from somewhere within. While taking pictures of the building, I was admonished for doing so while it was in such a state and told to return in 4 months when it is to be finished. Any bets on that?

I have more photos of this part of our day that I will put together with other shots about town somewhere over the weekend as we will not be visiting Nurai either Saturday or Sunday.

As you can see, Tougy is loving her role as big sister. She is so sweet to Nurai, and as you can see in the first photo I posted, Nurai looks astonishingly like her big sister did when she herself was a baby.

Thanks Annette for referencing the photo I was thinking of back in Nov 07. We still are unable to view our blog and so I was unable to go back and look myself, though I knew there was a very similar photo of Tougy and I from early on in our bonding in Astana.

We are still trying to figure out our exit plan as we know we want to get Tougy back up to Astana for a visit before heading home later this month. It seems most likely to occur after court as we are on our way, and we hope to spend a day or two in Astana and a day or so in Almaty before boarding our plane home.

By then, we are hoping that Adam, Sara, and Rylie will be in Karaganda and might possibly swing into Astana for a brief visit, and then that perhaps Gary and Stephanie will be in Almaty bonding with their son as we come through. It wold be so incredible to make these things happen on this side of the process. Time will tell.

Take Care.

2009-11-04T06:47:00.003-05:00

Now that was a good day...

in the slammer.

We had so many new faces and sounds from Nurai today. She is getting healthier everyday and we no longer believe she is sick and suffering from Diarrhea as she was last week, though no one seems able to confirm this for us.

Given that a week ago she was weak and lethargic, and was presented to us with a tube taped inside her nose, she has become an entirely different little girl since then, and we could not be more happy to watch this transformation.

We had giggles, laughs, smiles, hugs, loving stares, inquisitive touches, and even dimples. Who knew those were in there? Tougy relishes her new role as big sister and so enjoys holding Nurai on her lap and reading to her.

Tougy's favorite book of the moment is Where The Wild Things Are, and she no longer allows us to read any of it, instead insisting that she read it to us, and of course now to her little sister. Tougy is a born performer, and never disappoints a willing audience. Several times here in country she has found a stage or other appropriate venue to sing and dance to any and all who would listen.

At the Baby House, Tougy is quickly becoming a big hit as well with her Russian phrases and general charm. It is fun to watch though, as mentioned before, we know that she would be happier back at school with her friends.

Tougy has taken to life here amazingly well all in all I must say. Before coming over, I worried about her feeling cooped-up and isolated, but of course I underestimate her resilience. While I don't think she is yet of an age to more fully comprehend all that is going on (and for that matter neither do I) she is at a point where these experiences will stay with her as she gets older and we can fill in the significance of it all well after the fact to be matched up with her memory.

I would have to say that through this experience, she is becoming so much more aware of her own beginnings. She verbalizes that she was born here in Kazakhstan and that we came to get her at the Astana Baby House, just as we are now here to make Nurai a part of our family here at the Baby House in Shymkent.

I don't know if we will be able to make it happen, but we talk of finding a time to get up to Astana for a day or so to visit her Baby House before we all head back. I think that in another week or so when we know our court date, such plans can be looked at in earnest.

Tomorrow morning we take Nurai for a CT scan of her abdomen to verify and or refute statements and diagnoses found in her medical history. Not expecting it to be a big deal either way, just looking for clarification. It will be nice to get her out of the Baby House for a bit and to have her away from the watchful eyes of the caregivers and staff there.

Off to bed now as we continue to have a difficult time catching up on sleep given that we are with Tougy when she is awake, and feverishly trying to keep in touch when she is asleep. Given how little Tougy seems to be sleeping lately, it is a losing strategy. Take Care.

2009-11-03T08:50:00.003-05:00

7 Down, more than a few to go.

Well now that we are past the "Shock and Awe" of yesterday's announcement, I thought I would write today about our experience thus far and attempt to outline the remainder of the process.

Shymkent is an industrial city in the southern part of Kazakhstan, just north of the Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan borders. Within Kazakhstan it has a reputation for lawlessness and seems to enjoy a sort of renegade spirit despite being the third largest population center in the country.

As it is some 600 miles south of Astana (where we had been this time of year two years ago for Tougy's adoption) it has a far more pleasant winter. As an example, the weather calls for a high of 83 here tomorrow vs. 51 in Astana and 69 vs. 30 the next day. It may not be ideal in the summer, but we'll take it this time of year.

The Baby House here in Shymkent is currently undergoing renovations, we have found, and over the weekend before we arrived, the whole facility moved in to a temporary building. As this temporary facility is all we have seen, I have no idea how it compares to the original, but I can tell you it is less than ideally set up for most every purpose it is being asked to perform these days.

How long this present building will serve as the Baby House seems unknown, though it seems likely to be many months if not more than a year, and I can say without reservation that this is unfortunate for all involved. We hear that there are but three main rooms for the nearly 100 children, and the space that they have found for family visits is nothing short of prison-like.

On the plus side, the space affords a small amount of privacy. The negatives list includes the fact that it contains no natural light, affords no place to allow us to place Nurai down, measures 4 feet by 6 feet, and is situated at the dead end of a narrow hallway made narrower by a small bench and table.

Partly on account of this marginal arrangement, and partly as a function of the Baby House's restrictive visitation schedule of just 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, we have decided to return home after court and for just one of us to return to bring Nurai home later in December.

Our 14-day bonding period wraps up on 10 Nov, and we expect to have court on or close to the 20th, such that we anticipate being back in Maine for Thanksgiving. If this happens, we would expect to return for Nurai somewhere in the mid to late teens of December and to arrive back in Maine before Christmas. It looks most likely that KJ and Tougy will remain home as I come back for the second trip.

It had certainly not been our plan, but given a limited amount of time off from work, it makes the most sense to spend our time away from work at home as a family of 4 rather than use a further month of time racking up 5 hours a week in a small closet together. It will be hard to leave Nurai, but using our time this way is what we know will be best for her.

Additionally, getting Tougy back to a normal routine and back to a social network of friends will benefit all of us. As the days pass we can see her looking longingly at other children and wishing that she could engage with them, but of course, given the language barrier, this proves difficult. She is such a social child that we feel that this is a real priority for her right now.

Nurai continues to look better and better with each passing day, though as I mentioned previously, our primitive bonding space coupled with the requirement that we wear masks in her presence is more than a little counterproductive to the idea of bonding.

Our time here thus far stands in stark contrast to our experience with Tougy in Astana. There the Baby House was well appointed with a large and bright, if unbearably hot, visitation room, a fairly generous visitation schedule (2hr/day, 6 day/week), and a host of other families with which to interact. Another key difference is the physical and emotional level of our two children at the time of their respective adoptions.

Tougy at 7 months was crawling ably, was intrigued by everything, and was a very physical child. Nurai on the other hand is much less developed at 10 months. Her physical and emotional needs correspond to a child significantly younger and she will require a more concerted effort to catch up, something we can better do once we get home to Maine.

I know that there is so much more to expound upon, and I will do my best as time and energy allow, but at the moment KJ and I are pretty beat and so we will procrastinate a little longer. I cannot begin to convey how much we truly appreciate the incredible support we have enjoyed over the years here on this blog. How very different this experience would be without you. Our sincere thanks to you all. Take Care.

P.S. As some of you may have noticed, we have written our daughters name two different ways, and just wanted to say that her official spelling will be Nurai. As for the rest of her name, we are still working on that and probably won't announce it until we have to present it for court later this month. Of course with Aitugan, we primarily call her Tougy, so time will tell if we will happen upon an abbreviated or variant form of Nurai's name, or whether we will simply use Nurai. Knowing my family's penchant for nicknames, I should suspect we will stumble upon something before too long.

2009-11-02T06:14:00.005-05:00

What a difference a few days can make...

Meet Tougy's (future) little sister Nurai!

I bet that catches more than a few of you off guard and leaves you trying to imagine how we got from the last post to this one. Truth is, it took a village. We are so eternally grateful to our greater community of family, friends, and most importantly in this case, fellow Kaz adoptive families. The perspective, reassurance, advice and counsel from so many of you kept us moving forward.

We met Nurai last Wednesday and visited her again both Thursday and Friday of last week, though only felt truly confident in our path this afternoon during our visit. She is impacted by both her premature birth and her institutional delays and it took a lot for us to begin to see past the fact that this 10 month old girl was really more of a 5 month old developmentally. That said, we now feel as confident as we can that these delays are surmountable and should present few, if any, lasting effects.

Her name is pronounced Nur-eye, and it means "light of the moon" or Moonlight, so once again we have a 'moon' baby. She was born on 28 December 2008 and we expect to be back in Maine in time for her birthday. Oddly, even though we are just announcing her today, tomorrow marks day 7 of the 14 day bonding period after which we petition the court to officially adopt Nurai. Before we know it, we will be a forever family.

Tougy has really done exceptionally well. She is so excited about being a big sister, and now we can proudly say she will have a little sister. Tougy has been remarkably tender and understanding throughout our visits and gleefully talks about Nurai in her absence. What more could we ask for at this point.

Interestingly, when we asked Tougy if Nurai was Bobek, she said no, though when we asked Tougy if Nurai was her little sister she said yes. So there you have it, Nurai is not Bobek, but she is Tougy's little sister. Probably best for all of us that way.

We'll give you all some time to catch your breath and jump onboard with us. Again, we are so grateful to be loved and supported by so many fantastic people all over the world and look forward to introducing the newest member of our family to her greater community.

So, deep breath in and deep breath out... we now have TWO daughters! Take Care.

-KJ, Steve, Tougy and Nurai

P.S. - Sorry Christopher, looks like you are on your own to carry on the Morrison name, as Nurai will soon have a big sister, 5 girl cousins, 1 boy cousin, 4 aunts, 3 uncles, and 5 grandparents.

P.S.S. - For whatever reason, we have been unable to view our blog with our internet connection here in Shymkent. I hope that everything formats well. Thankfully all of your comments come straight to our email and so we are able to enjoy and appreciate them all even if we can't log on to the blog. If things look out of sorts, or are not loading correctly, please let us know.

2009-10-31T12:10:00.002-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM TOUGENSTEIN!

2009-10-29T11:11:00.002-04:00

If you’ve wondered if it were possible for lightning to strike the same place twice… it looks as if we may actually be coming home empty handed once again.

We are awaiting further guidance from our agency, but at this point it seems clear that Bobek is not in Shymkent, and may not even be Kazakh. Who knew.

No immediate plans to return home though it seems most probable within the week.

2009-10-28T23:27:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to make contact with everyone to say that we arrived well and are now safely in Shymkent. As you might imagine given the unusually long silence, the path to Bobek has not been a clearly defined one. We are working through some things and hope to be able to come to you all soon with more information, though that still may be a day or more away. Know that we are thinking of you all and greatly appreciate all of your love and support. Take Care.

Love,
Tougy, Kjersten, and Steve

2009-10-26T10:30:00.002-04:00

"Signs point to yes" - or at least so says my Magic 8-Ball.

We have word that the number is in the system, the visas are being processed, my brother is en route to the Consulate, and KJ and I are making final preparations while Tougy is in school for the morning. The plan calls for us to leave home around 1pm to give us time for a relaxed drive down to Boston and hopefully set up a tone of calm anticipation for Tougy. As always it is so hard to leave the boys (our dogs) here at home though I know that they will be well loved in our absence.

Waking up this morning, we began to think about the 'lasts'. The last morning to wake in this house with only one child, the last diaper free time for a while...

Tougy is so excited to be a big sister, and we are equally excited to see what Wednesday has in store for us. Adoption can be such a strange and seemingly random undertaking. To imagine that there is a child living in a government run Baby House in Shymkent, Kazakhstan right now, and that within a matter of weeks, that child will be our child, and that child will come be a part of our family in Boothbay, Maine - what are the odds?

Perhaps they are no greater than for any other child. Of all the children born the day I was born, what were the odds that I would be who I am. Did I have an equal shot at being born to a family in France, or Niger, or Kazakhstan?

I need to remind myself that this is not the time for such thinking, I need to keep packing. We'll talk again soon. Take Care.

2009-10-24T12:49:00.002-04:00

Oops, did I say a week from tomorrow, I meant the day after tomorrow!

To no one's great surprise, things have again changed. We received a call from our agency yesterday (friday) morning saying that our in-country(Kaz) person recommends coming as soon as possible. Hooray, we'll be on the next plane out, except, wait... we still don't have our visas/passports back from NY.

Oh yeah, that! Well it seems that they cannot be processed just yet because the LOI confirmation number is still not in the system. They have the number, and New York knows what that number is, it just hasn't shown up 'in the system' and therefor our visas cannot be processed Friday. Of course weekends being what they are, the next possible chance for that number to show up in the system is Monday.

Of course changing your tickets is not something airlines take lightly, nor do free of charge, and so, taking a few leaps of faith, we have changed our tickets and put a somewhat tenuous plan into play that looks something like this:

We pack and plan as if we are flying out of Boston Monday evening. Monday morning we wake up, take Tougy to school as usual, then wait until the NY Consulate opens to see if the number is now in the system. If it is, my older brother(who lives outside of NYC) goes into the city and picks up our passports and visas then goes to Kennedy Airport to fly to Boston.

On our side, we will finish packing, and have KJ's parents drive us to pick up Tougy, then drive the 3.5 hours to Boston to meet my brother and get on our flights.

If the number is not in the system, then we drop back and punt and accept that we may in fact have to pay change of ticket fees all over again and hope that our old itinerary is still available.

Yeah, it has been a hectic 24 hours here, made no better by the fact that KJ is working all day today and I am here with Tougy as I try and make all of these plans and changes. Thankfully Tougy's two new friends Nemo and Shreck stopped by on this cold rainy Saturday.

Was it all worth it, time will tell.

Take Care.