Three years ago this week...

Craig and I brought home our two new sons from Kazakhstan. Here's what I had to say then:

Saturday, January 24, 2009
Home at last...

The past 48 hours are a blur...here's a synopsis of events.


Waited all day Thursday (1/22)with crossed fingers in Almaty to hear that the boys' passports had been flown to Ust and back and were finally correctly stamped so we could go home

Received the call from Oleg around 6:00pm that he was bringing the completed passports to us

Much screaming and cheering could be heard from 2 excited boys and their parents

Called kids in US around 6:15pm KZ time/7:15am US time to relay the good news

More screaming and cheering over Skype

Several hours of waiting to go to the airport at 1:30am

Madiyar asked at least 10 times how many more hours before we leave and proclaimed he wouldn't be able to sleep

Woke two sleepy boys to ride to the airport

Held our breath as the boys' passports and stamps were reviewed at passport control

Started breathing again once we were cleared for our flight

Waited for 2 hours to board our 4:10am flight

Madiyar asked at least 10 times how many more minutes until we would board

Dad spent the last of our tengee on over-priced airport candy

Boarded our flight and smiled as the wheels left the runway

Experienced much playing with tray tables, seatbelts, window shades, etc.

Eventually experienced much-needed sleep

Landed in Frankfurt at 5:20am for a 6 hour layover

Parents drank life-giving lattes while feeding the children M & M's, distributed Mom's stash of emergency Russian comic books, encouraged GameBoy playing, watched a movie until the computer battery died

Introduced our sons to the joys of playing on escalators and moving sidewalks, calling it exercise

Explored every inch of terminals A and B while trying to teach Aniyar to push a baggage cart without maiming someone

Visited several bathrooms, elevators, and more escalators and moving sidewalks

Instructed our children on the finer points of not pushing buttons or opening alarmed doors

Fed our kids their first McDonald's Happy Meals, including an ice cream sundae for Aniyar, a desperate attempt to bribe our way through the last part of our layover

Finally meandered to our gate at 11:00am

Responded to Madiyar's 20th request about how many more minutes until our 12:15 departure

Boarded our flight and walked through Business class to get to our cheap seats in Economy

Answered Madiyar's question as to why we didn't just sit in the nice big seats of Business class, dispelling his fantasy re: his new parents' vast wealth

Enjoyed Lufthansa's good service and food...for 8 long hours...with Craig seated 2 rows away from the rest of us

We travel back in time, chasing the sun across the sky and regaining a day in the process.

Gave Madiyar hourly updates on how many more hours until our arrival in Boston

After 6 hours, returned from bathroom to find the boys belting each other over rights to the window seat

Mom pulls darling boys apart and sits between them

Dad walks by on the way to the bathroom and wonders why Madiyar is now in the aisle seat and sulking

Mom reads and ignores sulking

Madiyar decides to stop sulking and asks how many more hours to Boston

Aniyar gets teary-eyed and asks why it's taking so long

Mom tells him stories about doggies who will give him kisses at home

Boys are distracted by the movie Wall-E and a snack for the last 2 hours of the flight; Mom is distracted by a small glass of purely medicinal cognac offered by the flight attendants.

Wheels touch down in Boston around 2pm on Friday, January 23 as new sons flagrantly attempt to flaunt seat belt rules while straining to see out the window.

Mom and Dad smile at each other across the rows as our new sons become US citizens when wheels touch US soil.

Mom tells boys they are now Americans

Aniyar asks if he can have a fishing pole now...he has seen Boston Harbor and wants to catch us some dinner

We proceed triumphantly off the plane and to passport control and immigration

No one throws a temper tantrum like Max did at this point in 2005

We go to the room where the boys' visas are entered into the computer system and they are welcomed to America officially as its' newest citizens

Everyone smiles and off we go into the main terminal by 3pm...over 5 years after we met the boys in this very spot, they've finally returned.

Our friend Deb picks us up and drives us home

We search the house for our kids but no one's home

Aniyar and Madiyar are greeted warmly by the dogs and new friendships are formed

Our kids arrive home from our friend Laura's house a few minutes later, screaming and yelling

Mom is assaulted by screaming children who knock her down with hugs

Other family members, new and old, are similarly and enthusiastically asssaulted

A maelstrom of greetings, showing the new kids around, opening overdue Christmas gifts, etc ensues

After an exhausting frenzy, various children engage themselves in movies in various languages, then videogames, then remote control vehicles

Around 6:00pm, Mom and Dad order take-out Chinese food since a home-cooked meal seems like an impossible dream.

By 6:30pm, we sit down to our first dinner as a family of 7...and we're all smiling.

Look at my guys (and sister Kate) now!