We are now in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan and its largest city, having completed all of our Monday tasks on no sleep.
Our wonderful team in Karaganda took us to the airport last night for our 11:00 p.m. flight, shepherding us through an unexpected paperwork glitch with the ticket counter agent for a bit of last-minute excitement. :-) There were tears and warm hugs as we bid farewell to these special new friends.
Lily Grace began the flight upset, a combination of being awake when she would normally have been sleeping with the strange new experience of being on an airplane. As the flight wore on, she gradually settled down. We’re thankful for the angel of a young Kazakh woman seated next to us, who happened to know English, wasn’t bothered at all, and pitched right in to help LG adjust.
Upon arrival, we were greeted at the airport by our assigned driver, Emil, a jovial fellow also well-versed in English, who helped get us and all of our luggage safely to our Almaty-based high-rise apartment on the 9th-floor around 2:00 a.m. Unfortunately, the apartment didn’t have a crib (it was supposed to) and, as sleeping in a crib is all that Lily Grace has ever known, she (and we) had a miserable, sleepless night.
After finally getting her down (we think she simply “gave out”) for about two hours of sleep, it was time to wake her back up, dress and be ready to be picked up at 8:45 a.m. for the days’ required activities. We write this now with Lily Grace sleeping soundly during a late-afternoon nap, as our wonderful travel partner family, the Clermonts, were willing to let us use the crib assigned to their apartment, since their new son, Evan, has adjusted well to sleeping without one.
Tomorrow, we have a day off as LG’s passport and medical papers are prepared for our appointment with the U. S. embassy on Wednesday. (Her medical check-up went smoothly today and all of her measurements and other tests were normal.) We plan on resting here at the apartment in the morning, then meeting the Clermonts for lunch and some sight-seeing during the afternoon.
All in all, it’s shaping up to be a brisk finish to an incredible two-month journey, becoming a new family bit by bit along the way.
Steve and Tonya
Our wonderful team in Karaganda took us to the airport last night for our 11:00 p.m. flight, shepherding us through an unexpected paperwork glitch with the ticket counter agent for a bit of last-minute excitement. :-) There were tears and warm hugs as we bid farewell to these special new friends.
Lily Grace began the flight upset, a combination of being awake when she would normally have been sleeping with the strange new experience of being on an airplane. As the flight wore on, she gradually settled down. We’re thankful for the angel of a young Kazakh woman seated next to us, who happened to know English, wasn’t bothered at all, and pitched right in to help LG adjust.
Upon arrival, we were greeted at the airport by our assigned driver, Emil, a jovial fellow also well-versed in English, who helped get us and all of our luggage safely to our Almaty-based high-rise apartment on the 9th-floor around 2:00 a.m. Unfortunately, the apartment didn’t have a crib (it was supposed to) and, as sleeping in a crib is all that Lily Grace has ever known, she (and we) had a miserable, sleepless night. After finally getting her down (we think she simply “gave out”) for about two hours of sleep, it was time to wake her back up, dress and be ready to be picked up at 8:45 a.m. for the days’ required activities. We write this now with Lily Grace sleeping soundly during a late-afternoon nap, as our wonderful travel partner family, the Clermonts, were willing to let us use the crib assigned to their apartment, since their new son, Evan, has adjusted well to sleeping without one.
Tomorrow, we have a day off as LG’s passport and medical papers are prepared for our appointment with the U. S. embassy on Wednesday. (Her medical check-up went smoothly today and all of her measurements and other tests were normal.) We plan on resting here at the apartment in the morning, then meeting the Clermonts for lunch and some sight-seeing during the afternoon.
All in all, it’s shaping up to be a brisk finish to an incredible two-month journey, becoming a new family bit by bit along the way.
Steve and Tonya
2 comments:
How wonderful that you are now on the home stretch! I'm so glad you finally got a crib for Lily Grace, and it was so nice of the couple who let you use theirs. It won't be long now before she will be in her own crib in her own room. Wow! What an adventure. See you in ten days!!!
Love you,
Mom
Well hello there, I have missed your emails and blogs lately. I know you have been busy with everything that has been going on. I am looking forward to my trip to see you on the 4th. I am sure that it will be a memory that will be cherished forever.
Post a Comment