New Beginnings

Hello All, For those of you who followed my adoption journey to Kazakhstan, I apologize for completely abandoning this blog.  I fought for over a year and a half after my last post to bring my baby boy home but in the end I was unsuccessful.  I then tried to adopt a little boy from Astrakhan Russia, that journey went very well until the little boy was sent back to Russia by his adoptive Mother.  Her actions effectively ended my Astrakhan adoption. 

My desire to have a child of my own has not waivered, neither has my adoption journey.

I decided to create a new blog for this new journey. My new blog is called  New Beginnings In Russia.  Please feel free to follow along and I encourage you to comment along the way.  

The URL of the new blog is:  http://newbeginningsinrussia.blogspot.com/

I will not update this blog anymore.  I hope to see you on the new blog, thanks, Chris

Things To Do While Waiting

We all know that there are various waiting periods during this process. Unfortunately some of us, me, get to repeat some of the waiting periods. So what do you do while waiting; fix the house, gardening, reading parenting books, these all sound like good ideas to me. I‘m redoing my dossier and updating my homestudy. I was notified Wednesday that most of my documents are going to expire in early June and since I don’t know when I will be going back to court again, I need to redo them and I need to redo them as quickly as possible. I’m kind of stuck, I don’t know when my court date is, will my documents expire before or after my court date, will my documents be OK if they are submitted to the court before they expire even if the court date is after they expire, what if I get a court date and they are not updated, will that delay court yet again? So I’m incurring the additional expense, redoing a lot of my documents and trying to get this done as quickly as possible so if I do get a court date, I will be able to back again. This should keep me busy for at least some of this repeat wait. Take care, Chris

No New News

This is just a quick update to let you know that I don’t have any new news. They are still trying to find out more information about the court decree. I’m guessing that after they are able to find out about the decree decisions will be made about when I may be able to go back to Kazakhstan again. Waiting and not knowing are hard. Chris

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Some of you have heard me say that this process is one of extreme highs and extreme lows. The joy you experience is often tempered by the reality of the process. This past week I hit what I hope will be the lowest low in my adoption process.


I have to go back to Kazakhstan for another court date. That means that I have taken a huge step backwards in this process. I am now back to waiting for a court date. I am not sure when I will be going back; a temporary legal decree put forth by the higher court in the region prevented me from going before the judge. We are trying to find out when the decree expires so I can go back then.


I was hoping after this last trip that I would be at eight long flights down and four to go. It didn't work out that way, now I'm back to eight flights down and eight more to go.

I would like to thank all of you for your support, kind words and prayers. Please continue to keep me in your prayers so that I get a quick court date and a positive outcome in court.

On a sad note, at home this morning I had to put my cat, Midnight down. I have had Midnight for almost sixteen years and she was healthy up until the last couple of months. She showed her spirit this morning when she growled and hissed at the vet one last time. I’ll miss her. I put some pictures of her below. Chris

Things Did Not Go As Planned

Very quickly, a legal decree stopped us dead in our tracks today. This means that I will have to make two more trips back to Kazakhstan, one for court and one to bring BB home. Before anyone asks what happened today or when I will be coming back, please don’t! Just let me be. Chris

Baby Boy

At about 4 PM today I was able to see BB. It took him a minute or two and then he realized who I was, his large play mate from some time ago. We played with bubbles (I never leave the USA without them) and his See ‘N Say. He has two new top teeth, the two that were making him miserable the last few days I spent with him. He is still not walking; I going to go with he’s saving his first steps for me! I was only able to spend about an hour with him today; then they came in to take him for a nap. My translator questioned that because his nap time is scheduled for 2 to 4 PM. Well apparently little BB has given up on the 2-4 nap so they put him down at 5 PM for an hour before dinner. He is messing with their schedule. I’m not sure if I’ll see him again this trip, we’ll have to see.

After they took him away, the Baby House Director came in to talk to me about court. She wanted to know if I had any questions, if I had my speech ready, what was in my speech, what needed to be in my speech, possible questions they can ask me, etc. She expressed some of the same concerns that Bayan expressed to me yesterday, apparently they weren’t all worst case scenarios. It was very nice of her to take the time to talk to me.

I’m going to re-write my speech now and try to memorize it before tomorrow. Wish me luck tomorrow; I’m going to need it! Good night, Chris

Six Down, Six To Go

I’ve made it to Almaty once again; six of the twelve flights I will have to take to complete this journey are done. From the flight standpoint I’m half way there, from the process standpoint, halfway is a long time ago. This trip took me to Amsterdam with a seven hour layover. Like many others, I spent the layover being a tourist. I went to Keukenhof. Keukenhof calls itself ‘the most beautiful spring garden in the word’. It’s hard to argue, there were beautiful grounds, fresh hot waffles, and tulips everywhere. I’ve added some pictures below.

I just met with my court translator and the CHI Kazakhstan coordinator, her name is Bayan, to prep for court. I had not met the Bayan before, she was filing in for Olga who is with another family today. We went over a lot of what they can ask me, how the process can go, the problems that can occur, what to expect, etc. They told me the best and worst case scenarios. They told me I have to be calm in court; I’ll make an attempt to be calm on the outside. While speaking with them my translator from the last trip called to wish me a happy birthday, she says that since I arrived in Almaty on my birthday, my birthday will bring me luck in court on Tuesday, I hope she’s right! During this meeting Bayan said she had to leave for a few minutes, she said she had to make a phone call. She came back with flowers for me for my birthday; that was very nice of her.

I get to go see BB tomorrow afternoon, I can’t wait!

It’s a nice spring day here in Almaty so I’m going to go for a walk now. Take care, Chris

Happy Birthday to Tommy and Gavin.

Pictures from Keukenhof, Holland

Off I Go!

I’m packed and ready to go. As it turns out I have to be in Kazakhstan early on Sunday May 4th so I can meet with my coordinator. This moves my flights up one day; I am leaving tomorrow night, May 2nd for arrival in Almaty at 5:10 AM Sunday morning. The good news is I will get to see my BB on Monday, I can’t wait! Thanks to all of you for your prayers and good wishes, they really mean a lot to me. I’ll post again when I get to Almaty, take care, Chris

I Believe It's Time For Me To Fly!

At about noon yesterday afternoon I received another of the long awaited calls in this process, I have a court date! It’s Tuesday May 6th. I will be leaving on May 3rd for a May 4th arrival and coming home on May 8th. This will be a very short but very important trip. After the Judge rules in my favor, and of course I hope and pray that he/she will, I will be going back to Kazakhstan in early June to bring BB home. I am still waiting to hear about whether or not I will be able to see BB on this trip, I hope so! I have lots to do to get ready for my trip, I’ll keep you all posted. Chris

Six Weeks

While I'm waiting for my court date I decided I would continue to post to my blog so here you go. Last Monday I went to NYC to try to get the new documents the Judge requested notarized, authenticated and apostilled, it was not as simple as it should have been to say the least! I was able to get six of the eight documents done; they are on their way to Almaty now. Yesterday I received new copies of the other two documents he requested so this morning I went back to NYC to get all of the required stamps and approvals, those two documents are on their way to St. Louis now, from there they will also be sent to Almaty.

Today is six weeks since my papers were submitted to the Ecik court, no update. Missing my baby boy a lot today, Chris

One Month Ago Today

Exactly one month ago today, March 11th. my papers were submitted to the court in Ecik. Today I received an update; apparently I will not get a court date for at least another month. My coordinator in Almaty has frequent contact with the Judge and he has decided to ‘take advantage of all of the time given to him by law’ before he assigns my court date. When I received my invitation to travel in February, CHI was told the time allowed by law to assign a court date is three months, the information CHI received today implied that the time allowed by law is two months, we are not sure which is right and in this process it may be very difficult to find out which it is. I know of two other families adopting from Ecik who have been waiting over four months for their court dates. So I am basically in limbo for at least another month if not two or more. The good Judge has decided to keep me occupied while I wait, he has asked for new and multiple copies of several of my documents. The process to notarize, authenticate and apostille will begin once again for the requested documents.

To those of you who have seen me type Issyk before, Ecik and Issyk are the same place, one is the Kazakh spelling and one is the Russian spelling.

That’s it for now and apparently for quite awhile. Chris

A Shower, But No Rain

Yesterday my sister Maria and friend Emily through a baby shower for me and BB. Many of my family and friends came to help me prepare for the eventual arrival of BB. We received many gifts, clothes, a car seat, a stroller, many books, gift cards, and a hand made blanket to name a few. It was great to see my friends and family. I think a good time was had by all. Thanks to Maria and Emily for throwing the shower and to all my family and friends who came and made the day special. Special thanks to Margery and Ibby who sent gifts but were unable to attend, I hope you are both feeling better soon. Take care, Chris

My Holiday…

Today is a holiday for me; no it’s not the date March 31st. that’s the holiday. My holiday falls on a different spring date every year; my holiday is Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. I have been going to Opening Day since I was a teenager; let me say it for you, that’s a long time! I have sat through the first game of the New York Yankees baseball season on glorious sunny spring days, in the pouring rain, in frigid cold and in blinding snowstorms. The weather on Opening Day is just as much a part of the ritual as the tailgating is before the game.

Every Opening Day offers eternal optimism for the die hard baseball fan, will my team have a chance, will this be the year that my team wins it all? Before I became a partial season ticket holder I used to buy tickets for two games before the season started, Opening Day and the last game of the season. I would have tickets in my hands for the start of something that could truly be magical and tickets for the end of something that just might mean something, who knows, they might have to win the last game of the season to get into the playoffs. Once again, the baseball optimist strikes!

This year I did not buy tickets for Opening Day, tickets go on sale months before the season starts and as many of you know, I am waiting for travel dates to go back to Kazakhstan. So my streak of Opening Day games ends, but only temporarily. Once my BB is old enough, we will have to start another streak, my spring holiday will become his spring holiday and we will share this spring ritual together. I hope I can impart my love for the game and my eternal baseball optimism to BB. I'd like to start that soon!

On that note, I am still waiting for my court date and I have not heard anything yet. I’ll post it here when I hear something. Missing BB…. Chris

P.S. This morning it was very strange for me to get ready for work and to not be getting ready to go to the game. I felt that familiar tug that meant I should be on my way to the Bronx. Right now it is 2:10 PM and the Yankees Home Opener is in a rain delay, they are not sure they will get the game in today. Been there, done that! Go Yanks!!!

As Promised, More Pictures.....

A little boy checking out the pigeons in Paniflov Park.


A little girl feeding the pigeons in Paniflov Park.


A little boy in Paniflov Park.




Taking wedding photo's at Republic Square on International Woman's Day.


On the way to Ecik, these men lit this pit every morning, seems like they were preparing it for lunch.




I think she was a homeless woman in Almaty.


Young men in Paniflov Park.




Women walking in Paniflov Park.


Taking pictures in front of the War Memorial in Paniflov Park on International Women's day. Are they retired soldiers?




A little boy on a horse in Panoflov Park on International Women's Day.




A street vendor outside of the Green Market.


A vendor inside of the Green Market.




Three young men leaving a supermarket in Ecik.


Two men having a conversation almost every morning on the way to Ecik.




A woman on a park bench in Almaty.


On the way to Ecik, people walking to get water.


A future ice skating star and her coach at the ice skating rink at RamStor.




Two men at a bus stop on the way to Ecik. Each bus stop has a unique mosaic design.

Happy Spring!

Today, the first day of spring is my favorite day of the year so I thought I would wish you all a happy spring! I hope you enjoy all the changes and renewal that spring brings. Unfortunately I don't have an update, it's much too soon. I miss my BB. Take care, Chris

Four Down, Eight to Go

I made it safely back to the U.S. today, it took twenty-six hours door to door. I have now completed four of my twelve long flights to bring my BB home. Before anyone asks, I have no idea when I will be returning to Kazakhstan, as soon as I know I will post it here.

I had my last visit with BB for awhile on Saturday morning. He was feeling a little better but not great. He has four teeth coming in on top and he is suffering. The Russian woman was also visiting her son again, this kept BB interested for a little while. I fed him and then was asked if I would like to take him outside. As they say in Kazakhstan, ‘of course’. They gave me a heavy snow suit, I bundled him up and we went outside. They told me, don’t let him fall asleep but they didn’t tell him not to fall asleep. He feel asleep again in my arms, they are probably happy I won’t be visiting for awhile so they can get him back on their rigid schedule. It was very hard to say good bye to him at the end of my visit.

After my visit, I went back to the hotel to pack. A little later in the afternoon, Sara and Julian picked me up; they bought tickets for the circus. It was a water based circus and it was interesting to see what another culture performs in a circus. They had some acts I had never seen before, one was with bubbles of all sizes and another one with trained house cats, I never thought house cats could be trained, I always thought they trained humans! After the circus they took me out to dinner at a Moroccan restaurant. The food was very good, Julian thought it was Moroccan with a Kazakh flare, either way it was very good. It was very nice of them to take me out on my last day in Almaty. I have enjoyed walking all over Almaty with Sara and Julian for the last two weeks. We walked, talked, ate, had many ‘friendly competitions’ and laughed our way through the city and this adoption experience. I will miss spending time with them. I hope they get to bring their beautiful baby girl home soon!

Until I am ready to travel again, I will not be updating my blog regularly. I will post more pictures over the next couple of weeks, so if you’re interested, check back occasionally.

As my translator said to me, ‘Chris, you have to say goodbye before you say hello again.’ I look forward to saying hello to my BB again soon. Take care, Chris

Sleep Little BB

Today I was back on schedule for my 8:30 AM pickup to go to the baby house. Asiya, my translator joined us today, it was a good day to have her with me. Once we arrived at the baby house we went into the office and I had to sign several papers which Asiya translated for me. While in the office they bought BB in who looked a little surprised, but not happy, they said it was because he had never been in this room before. What can you say; you just go with what they tell you. Once I finished signing all of the papers, I took BB into the playroom. Let’s just say I’ve seen him happier. Shortly after we got into the playroom they bought his food in, usually I can’t start feeding him fast enough. Not today, he started screaming when I put him in his chair so I tried the high chair, he was still screaming and refusing to eat. After I walked around with him for a few minutes to calm him down and knowing they would not be happy at all if he didn’t eat, I fed him while holding him in my arms and standing, it worked, he ate about 95% of his food. Well 95% wasn’t making the care taker happy, she told me through my translator that he eats this amount every day and he would have to wait until 2 PM to eat again. She tried to give him the rest of his food then finally decided to tell him to be patient for his next feeding and left. Not long after that he fell asleep in my arms and slept there for about an hour, until they came to get him. The first question out of the caretakers mouth was how long has he been sleeping? Of course we said he just fell asleep because she was taking him for his nap. I thought he was sick, but as it turns out she told us that he did not sleep well that morning. When I handed him to her he woke up with that big bright smile again, all was good for me, not sure how well he slept during his nap after I left but I enjoyed my visit!

Today was an absolutely beautiful spring day in Kazakhstan; it had to be at least sixty-five degrees out. I walked down to Paniflov Park, met Sara and Julian and then we did a little shopping on our way over to Yubileyny. It is a food stand that sells tortilla-wrapped doner kebabs. They are stuffed with meat, onions, carrots, pickles, sour cream and French fries. We picked some up and went and sat in one of the numerous parks here to eat, they were good. While in the park we heard very loud music so we walked to it. There was a stage set up and a rally going on, there were signs and hats which translate to something like ‘For a Green City’. We think it has to do with the upcoming national Spring Holiday on March 22nd. Several different people performed, kids were dancing all over the place, police were everywhere and it was being filmed. We started to walk back to my hotel; the park that was behind the stage was lined with Military personnel, one about every ten feet. It put an entirely different feel on what we had just seen, makes you wonder how peaceful this rally really was. Anyway, it was a fun night and we all got free hats!

Tomorrow will be my last day to see BB for a while. I hope he's feeling better tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to leaving him especially since I don’t know how long it will be before I see him again. Hopefully it will be soon! Take care, Chris

Spring Rally

The stage at the rally, several different performers played.