Trip 2 Begins

Here are the essentials from our second trip thus far. There is really only one highlight and that is seeing you know who.

The 24-Hour Plan Ride

We do not have the where-are-we-going anxiety of the first trip, and all goes well. We have lots of room on the plane, something like one flight attendant for every 3 passengers. That’s Monte way over there.

We have a 6-hour layover in Amsterdam and decide to head to the city center which is an easy 15-minute train ride from the airport. Monte and I arrive in the city and walk a mile or so in a pleasant snow to see Anne Frank’s house which is now a museum. I make the mistake of asking directions from a man with a hat with a marijuana leaf and “Amsterdam” written on it. Of course, he is a tourist and lost as well. Duh.

We arrive at the house/museum which is where Anne hid during the war and wrote her diary. Unfortunately, the line is really long and not moving – we hit the Tuesday afternoon rush apparently. Short on time, we have to skip it this trip and instead have a brief walking tour and lunch. The snow breaks and we even see the sun.

Monte sees a bunch of interesting things in windows. Here is one of the milder examples.

The Dutch love their bicycles even in winter. Bikes for everyone! (and a boat for a few)

This cat is running the show in this bakery while the baker is away.

Back on the plane, we're thinkin': “Just because they’re in plastic bags, doesn’t make them unused.”

We arrive in Almaty at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday and speed through customs with the confidence of old pros. We even see some Kazakhstan Olympians returning home with their skis but no medals as far as we can tell.

Our bags arrive and we are looking for our interpreter Anna and driver Adil. Instead, we meet a new gal named Oxana, a triple threat Kazakh Russian of sorts who drives, interprets, and assists in the court representation. We are sad not to see our old friends Anna and Adil, but Oxana is on top of things.

We arrive at our flat which is not as good as our previous apartment (not available), but not as bad as the old farm house (hopefully condemned). No Internet of course. There are small shops to get the essentials within a short walk. We can survive this.

We sleep for 2 hours and then get ready for our appointment with a court consultant who helps us to prepare proper answers for questions the judge may pose. At the end, she casually informs us that we need to make a 30-minute speech to the judge about our history, reasons for adoption, etc. In other words, we need to make our case.

We learn that court date and time is Friday, February 19, at 10:00 a.m. We will spend 1 ½ hours with the judge and leave. In a separate session, Deanna’s mother will arrive at noon where she must sit before the judge and confirm that she is relinquishing her rights as mother. Wow! This is news to us. In the afternoon, we will return to the court and the judge will come back with her decision on whether Deanna will be officially ours. Please pray for Deanna’s mother, for the judge, and that God keeps his hand on this entire process.

Here is an updated timeline (all dates tentative as you know by now)

- February 19 Court date/decision – please pray

- March 8 15-day waiting period ends, apply for birth certificate

- March 15 Birth certificate available, apply for passport

- March 22 Passport available, apply for visa

- March 24 Visa available, ready to come home

After the session with the consultant, Oxana informs us that we are going straight to the baby house to see the reason we came. Oxana may be skilled in other areas but cannot match Adil’s driving ability or speed. While Adil was running at 120-140 km/h, Oxana never goes over 80 km/h and usually much slower. The 3-legged dogs, sheep, and other livestock on the road to Karakastek are safe this trip. I think we were passed by a galloping horse at one point.

Now for the moment we have been waiting for. We arrive late in the day and Deanna must be woken from her nap. They bring her in and she looks great! Her hair is much longer, has a hint of some curls, and is brown with some auburn highlights. It is very thick too, much better than the shaven boy-cut we saw last time.

She has grown so much and seems to be getting along well. She seems very healthy. Her deep brown eyes are as attentive as ever, and her long eyelashes seem to touch her forehead. She inspects Monte’s big buttons on her sweater, checks herself out in the mirror, and laughs and smiles when daddy holds her high.

We are so happy to see her. What a beautiful child! We will return again tomorrow (Thursday) before the big day on Friday. Enjoy these pictures.

Who are these kids in this chew toy?

I remember you.

Got your nose!

I remember you, too. The one with the camera.

Baby Cholepan! The Austrian couple and Cholepan should have their court date set within a few weeks. Natalia was at the court house today, pushing to get a judge assigned. Here she is.

Have you ever felt this way in the morning? Another boy at the baby house who was just selected for adoption.

We cannot wait to bring Nina Deanna home to these two. Next year, there will be 3 Gingerbread houses.