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

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.

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