Embassy Day

Wednesday, August 25th - Almaty, Kazakhstan
I can't believe it's almost over. Today, our group of four had appointments at the US Embassy in Almaty to sign the final paperwork and get our children's visas for entering the United States. I did have a moment of panic, though, when after handing my paperwork to the authorities, they told me Janie had to be there because she had signed our I600 as the petitioner. Rush of crud to the heart! I could just see me being stuck in Almaty another 4 or 5 days waiting on new paperwork and appointments!

Fortunately, my wife was smart enough to sign a blank I600 as the petitioner's spouse in the event we got it wrong the first time. And that's why I married her - brains and beauty! I'm going to quit telling blond jokes for a few days...

Come to find out, Sue and Al had it wrong the first time as well, but Sue was also smart enough to redo the forms (before traveling). That's it. No more talking about how smart our wives are. On second thought, look who they married! How 'bout it Al?

Tomorrow night late, Sue, Lisa, and I will travel to the airport to finally return home with our new children. Sharon will return the US the next night. Hallelujah!

I took the above picture tonight in my hotel room. What a good looking couple. Hey Brian Meckler - notice that the bottles in the background are WATER! I've been Coca-Cola free since we returned from Karaganda!

It's a long story, but the four of us ended up in two different hotels. Lisa and Sharon are staying at the Astra, and Sue and I are at the Holiday Inn. Yes, they do have a Holiday Inn in Kazakhstan. Yeah, I was shocked too! Turns out to be a right nice place.

So last night, Sue and I decided to order room service instead of trying to take the children out to a restaurant when we had absolutely no idea where to go. Besides, it's much easier to let the children play in the floor while you eat. You can imagine the room service lady's confusion when I ordered two meals, one for room 808, and another for room 809. But deliver them to 808. The girl that delivered the meals had a weird grin when she brought in our food.

Well tonight, the four of us gathered at the Holiday Inn after our embassy appointments. And yes, we ordered our dinner via room service, this time for all to be delivered to my room. Now there's four babies playing in the floor. The girl that delivered the meals this time had a confused look when she saw our particular arrangement. Shoulda told her I was Mormon!

So before we broke for the night, I took this "family" photo. Pictured are Sue and Astana, Lisa and Tia, Me and Livea, and Sharon and Alec. Oh yeah, I am a lucky guy.

Yesterday, Sue and I took our kids for a stroll around town. Actually, I strolled and Sue used a... whatever you call those things that let you carry a baby on either the front or the back. Almaty is way different than Karaganda. It's actually a fairly modern city, and many people speak English. However, the people here drive like they think they are Dale Earnhardt Sr. And I'm not sure why they go to the trouble of painting lines on the roads...

I took the above picture of the Holiday Inn on an afternoon stroll with Livea. You don't see a lot of architecture like this in the US. Fortunately, you don't see the underlying structural quality in the states either! We tried to take the children out in strollers this morning, but got rained out. Seriously, I think it only rains a few days a year here, and we've been here for 3 of them!

Here's Sue and Astana in front of some statue commemorating Kazakhstan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1986.


We have a whole day to kill tomorrow, and Sue's husband Al Strong Man Blond is "encouraging" us to visit a place that you have to climb 1200 steps to get to the destination - a view overlooking the city and the new Olympic soccer(?) stadium. Let's see here, we carry two kids, one 20lbs. and the other 22lbs, up over 60 stories-worth of stairs! And then you have to come back down again! OK Al, here's the deal. If I can pull it off without lagging embarrassingly behind your wife, I expect a box of fresh New York apples on my front porch sometime in October!

Skype has been a lifesaver for us. Here is Lilliana and Livea "skyping".


Since I had time tonight, I've included some video for your viewing pleasure.

Sunset over Almaty from my hotel window.

Livea playing in a chair.

Livea making faces. The female voice in the background is Janie connected in via video Skype.

I can't close out tonight without thanking the God of Creation for calling us to this mission, and then supplying our every need to make it happen. And as a bonus, he threw in 5 new friends for life. Sue, Al, Sharon, Lisa, Brian - we love you guys!

To God be the glory.

Dean