Almost Done in Kokshetau

It’s official … the waiting period is over and our little boy’s birth certificate now shows us as his parents and gives his name as Owen Edward Mechem (in Russian of course)!This incredibly important step happened the way many things here do; we followed Oleg into a government building, sat around for a while, then walked into a small office where we signed several documents as instructed. The woman handed us Owen’s birth certificate and with a big genuine smile wished us “Congratulations, grow strong and be happy”. Then we went to a teller style window in another part of the same building and waited for about twenty minutes for more paperwork; I think it will now all go to Astana (the country’s new capital) to be processed and we’ll get it back along with his Kazakhstan passport once we are in Almaty.

Speaking of which, we are now into our last full day in Kokshetau! We just got haircuts, and will now head back to start packing up. Not looking forward to dragging all the suitcases down the stairs or boarding the Yak again, but we are so looking forward to Almaty and getting closer and closer to coming home. Once in Almaty we’ll meet again with the sisters, go to the US Embassy for Owen’s visa, get his required medical done, and hopefully do some shopping!

It’s actually a little hard to believe that we are finally wrapping things up here. This has been a good trip; we’ve met some incredible people, learned a lot of interesting things about Owen’s birth country, and of course received the greatest gift in Owen, but we can’t wait to be home. I know Bob is most looking forward to seeing Cearra, and also getting back to work, and I am so ready to:

- See friends and family at the airport

- Talk to more friends and family on the phone

- Give my furry babies lots of love

- Take a real shower

- Wear some different clothes

- Enjoy the comfort of our house again

- Finally put Owen to sleep in his crib, in his room, in his home

There are a hundred other things big and small that I will appreciate about being back in the United States. We are very fortunate to live as we do and traveling certainly makes you appreciate our quality of life and freedoms.

Once again, thanks to you all for following along and for all your wonderful comments and emails. And a huge thank you to Alison for making it possible for me to keep you all updated! I don’t know if we will be able to post in Almaty but I promise to try. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel and we hope to see you each of you soon.