Our Home Away From Home

We were pleasantly surprised to find that our apartment in Almaty was very nice. (If only we had been able to stay here for our first 7 week trip in Kaz!) While at "home," we all tried to overcome our fatigue. Mommy and Daddy were still challenged by the 12 hr. time difference from the USA and Samantha wasn't always sleeping throughout the night. Furthermore, we were trying to keep to her regimented feeding/napping/playing schedule that she had been on at the B.H.:
6 am feeding (way too early for Mommy and Daddy!)
6-8 am playtime (seriously, can't we go back to bed?)
8-10 am nap (this is when Mommy and Daddy would have liked to have been waking up!)
10 am feeding
10-12 playtime
12-2 nap
2 pm feeding
2-4 playtime
4-6 nap
6 pm feeding
6-8 playtime
8-10 nap (shouldn't you be going to bed for good, now?!)
10 pm yet another feeding!
Thank God, it's finally bedtime!!

Imagine sticking to this 2 hr. interval schedule while attempting to sightsee and attend various appointments. Not an easy task, but somehow we all survived (and had fun, to boot). We experienced a number of first's on this trip, including: a bath, sleeping in a crib with no other babies crying around us, bottled baby food, and Mom's 44th B-Day (with Godiva truffles).

Can We Go Home, Yet?

Once in Almaty, there were several legal/administrative things to be done, including: getting her photo taken for her Visa, getting the Visa processed by the US Embassy, having a medical exam conducted, and completing paperwork at our Adoption Agency's office. Throughout it all, Sam was a real trooper. Good in the jolting car (Almaty traffic is like NYC!), patient with waits, and flexible with diaper changes in many different places. We (and others) continued to comment on what an easy-going baby she was!

Pick Up "Peanut" Day

For our second trip to Kazakhstan, we flew into the new capital city, Astana. While we would have enjoyed taking in the sites of this modern Kaz city, we were immediately whisked away to Karaganda that same night. After a 2.5 hour trek in blackness (there are few streetlights along the 2-lane road that links Astana to Karaganda), we arrived in our hotel around 3 am. This hotel was a few blocks from the Baby House. In keeping with our adoption theme, the hotel was appropriately named the "stork," and based on the dirty sheets, buckling linoleum floor, and toilet that didn't flush (but was soon fixed), we were thankful to be flying out of there, with our baby, the very next day!

We were given the option to see Samantha for our usual 10 am visit or sleep in and visit her at 2 pm. While eager to see Samantha, after considering our late arrival, lack of sleep over the previous 24 hrs. of travel, and 12 hour time difference, we decided to get some much needed rest and come energized for our afternoon visit. Our visit with her in the afternoon went by so quickly. We were taken to a different baby group room, as Samantha was now being kept with slightly older children than the room we saw her in during our first trip. After searching the crib room for her distinct black head of hair, we found her awake and looking around. She gazed up at us, seemed to process for a few seconds who we were, then smiled a wide smile and began to kick her feet excitedly! When we picked her up and carried her into the next room we got the sense that she remembered who we were and was happy to see us. And of course, we were thrilled to see her again, albeit in a slightly older looking state.

After playing with Sam and another couple and their little boy (from Belgium, of course!), we had yet another choice to make. Take her that afternoon back to our hotel and keep her with us until our 10 pm departure to the airport or leave her in the Baby House and pick her up that night. Since our hotel room did not have a crib, let alone a clean set of sheets on our bed, we decided to postpone our big exit and pick her up that evening. We left a change of clothes, diapers, and a snowsuit so the caretakers would have her all ready to go.

Sherri had had visions of a ceremonial exit from the B.H. We had been told that some parents throw a "going away party" to thank the staff (which we would have liked to have done). We also wanted to take some photos outside the B.H. with Sam, as we were never allowed to walk outside the baby room with her during our previous visits. Well, as we have learned throughout this entire adoption process, things don't always work out as planned. You have to set your sights on the end goal which in this case was exiting the premises with our daughter! Returning to the B.H. at 9:45 pm, we quietly took her in our arms, all bundled up in her "Michelin Man" snowsuit, thanked the caregivers again, and took a few photos with her inside the B.H. as we were leaving.

Once at the airport, we had a 2 hr. wait for our flight. Thankfully, there was a very nice play room for children outside of the gate area, where we were able to keep Sam entertained. Periodically, we would check to see if our flight had been announced (i.e., were folks still in the waiting area). Peering out for about the tenth time, we suddenly realized no one was sitting at the gate! We hastily gathered Sam and our belongings and ran outside to the gate where an agent yelled down the hall for them to hold the plane! Wow, that was a close call. We almost ended up spending another night at the lovely Stork hotel!:-)

As we were rushed outside into the freezing night air, we soon realized (much to John's dismay) that we would not be flying on a jet plane, but rather a small propeller plane. While terribly loud and cramped for space, we were surprised that before too long, Samantha was sleeping in Sherri's arms. As we would frequently comment during our week's travels, this little "peanut" was (for the most part) quite the easy-going traveler.

We arrived safely in Almaty and were taken to our apartment where Mommy, Daddy, and Samantha hit the hay around 4 am. What a day!

Sam I Am

Here are a few more photos of our beloved, precious daughter!

Never Can Say Goodbye

Bye bye Samantha
After court, we had our afternoon visit with Samantha. I don't think she realized what a monumental day it was for her! We told her how excited we were to officially be her parents, played with her for a couple hours, and then quickly put her to bed. We promised her we'd be coming back soon to take her home! Because we were running late to meet our driver, we didn't have time for a long good bye (which was just as well, as we both would have been crying). We printed a few photos of us with Samantha for the caregivers to show her while we're apart for a month, in the hope that she doesn't forget who we are by the time we come back.

Bye bye Karaganda
Our flight home was scheduled to depart Wednesday morning, Feb. 4. But as luck would have it, Sherri came down with a nasty stomach bug the night before. Around 3 am, after a 6 hour bout of barfing (did we mention before that there's a dishwashing detergent here called "Barf?" Totally true...it's too funny to just make this stuff up), she realized she was in no condition to be getting on a plane. She couldn't keep any food or water down and was feeling too weak to walk more than a few feet. As John would later say to her, "you looked so cute...you were so pathetic." "Gee, thanks dear." We were able to reschedule our flights for the next night, which gave Sherri the needed time to recover.

Our 11 pm flight to Almaty was delayed until 1 am. On the way to the airport, we came to a section of the road that was blocked by parked semi trucks and police. Due to high winds and drifting snow, the road to the airport was closed. Our interpreter told us that this road continues on to Astana (the new capital of Kaz), but that there are no lights on the road and therefore cars often run off the road in these conditions. Our driver got out of the car and gave the police his registration explaining to them that he was transporting us to the airport and would be returning shortly. Perhaps knowing that the police were preoccupied at the blockade, he proceeded to drive extremely fast on the empty road, the rest of the way to the airport. At one point, crossing a bridge, he hit a patch of ice and the car skidded a few yards. We yelped from the back seat and thought we were going off the road! Thankfully, we made it safe and sound to the airport.

Bye bye Eric
As we waited at the gate for our flight to arrive, Sherri and John noticed a man who looked familiar. Sitting at the Efes Beer bar (the only place still open at 1 am in the airport), having a beer, was our drinking pal from The Old Windmill, Eric! Once we boarded the plane, we passed by him and said hello. He was happy to see us and was already, shall we say, "relaxed" and ready to enjoy his flight! While we didn't get to formally say das-vee-dania (phonetic spelling of "good night" in Russian) to our Karaganda buddy, he did stop by our row and asked if we needed a car in Almaty. We explained that Chicago was our final destination!:-)

Our Day in Court

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, we went for our formal court appearance. In addition to the judge, in attendance were a doctor from the B.H., a social worker, our attorney, our interpreter, a prosecutor, and the judge's secretary. Early on in the proceedings, John gave his eloquent (memorized) speech regarding our background, why we wanted to adopt, and how Ayazhan would be raised. Then I was permitted to say a few words about how we had grown to love Ayazhan and how humbled, grateful, and thrilled we were to be entrusted to care for her. During our presentations, the judge did not look at us (which was just as well, as it made for fewer nerves); he busied himself by flipping through the small photo album we had prepared for court. After our presentations, the doctor and social worker gave their professional endorsements of us. The judge then proceeded to go through ALL of the documentation, page by page, in our dossier! Having never seen our dossier, you cannot imagine the amount of information that had to be reviewed, but if you envision a stack of papers approximately 4" high, you get the picture. The judge reviewed, out loud (which was interpreted for us), our birth certificates, marriage certificate, home study, bank information, employment records, finger prints, EVERYTHING! Throughout the 45 minute review, he continued to not make eye contact with us (we tried not to take this too personally even though we thought we deserved at least a glance, as we looked quite dapper dressed in our "Sunday best" suits). During this time, our attorney text messaged his buddies (or so we're guessing), while the prosecutor and secretary took a couple notes and looked blankly into space.

Meanwhile, John and Sherri were occupying themselves with their own thoughts. Sherri began thinking about how we had begun this journey almost TWO years ago, attending an informational session on adoption at The Cradle in Evanston, and here we finally were...in Kazakhstan, at the last step of the legal process! How should one be feeling at this time? Over-joyed? Over-whelmed? Humbled? Grateful? In shock? During this time, she felt a little bit of all of the above, but for the most part, realized she felt exhausted, as she had only gotten a couple hours of sleep the night before. John was thinking "My God? Is this judge going to be going through each and every page of our dossier? If so, we'll be here forever!...Is this attorney, who's never introduced himself to us going to be able to do his job?...Will the judge ask us any questions?"

After the review of our documentation had concluded, the prosecutor stood up and recommended we be granted permission to adopt. We were then told that the judge would deliver his decision in an hour. We went into the hallway to sit and wait. Of all the buildings in Karaganda which we have been inside, this courthouse was the only one that did not have heat. Go figure. About the time Sherri's toes were numb and John's nose was red, we were called back into the judge's chambers. He read his decision and when we heard each of our names read, along with "Samantha Ayazhan Blix" it was a beautiful moment indeed!! As is typical in times of great joy, Sherri started to cry and John was at the ready with a tissue. While we had hoped to take a photo of the happy parents following this auspicious moment, we were told photos were not allowed inside, nor outside the courthouse.

It Won't Be Long Now

We've been out of commission for the last few days, with a bad case of the flu. Sequestered away in our little apartment, we never made it to an internet cafe to update our blog. So here's the latest scoop...

Our pre-court took place last Thursday. It was pretty uneventful and brief. After climbing the 5 flights of stairs to the judge's chamber (no Americans with Disabilities Act apparently exists here, as there's no elevator in the courthouse!), we were seated along with our interpreter, attorney (who we weren't even introduced to) and one of the doctors from the baby house. The judge didn't take much interest in us; he quickly shuffled through our dossier, took the photos we prepared of our home and family, and asked us if we had anything to add that wasn't already in our documentation. He then commented to our attorney (who looks all of 20 years old) that the date on the refusal letter that Ayazhan's birth mother signed reads 2006. The judge chided the attorney and told him he should proof his paperwork more thoroughly (for those of you who know I have a penchant for proofing, you know I wholeheartedly agree with the judge on this one!). For a brief, but fleeting moment, I thought "Oh no, please don't tell us that we're now going to be held up by this typo." Thankfully, the doctor assured the judge that there was additional documentation at the B.H. that would show everything was in order.

Tomorrow, Feb. 3 is a big day for us: formal court! John has prepared a brief, eloquent speech on our behalf. As the "little woman" I was not given the option to present to the judge. I am, however, permitted to say at the very end that "I agree with everything my husband has said" and mention that we love Ayazhan and feel very close to her, etc.. I think I can handle that!