Welcome Danielle!
The Newest Addition to Our Family
The Journey Home
Since there was only one flight a week from Kyzl-orda back to Almaty, we waited until Saturday to pick Danielle up. With tearful goodbyes and thank yous in English and Kazakh, we loaded into the cars that would take us to the Kyzl-Orda airport. What a plane! It looked like a very old bus with wings. It had shower curtain-like pieces of fabric on the windows and open storage compartments above the seats. We were so thrilled to be starting our long journey back home, though.
In Almaty, we had an appointment at the American Embassy. We were presented with the original medical records for Danielle as well as a handwritten letter from her mother relinquishing Danielle to the orphanage. How very sad she must have been as she wrote it. We hope that if she ever learns about Danielle’s adoption, she will feel some peace in knowing that Danielle is greatly loved and cared for by us. She gave us a tremendous gift.
Early Tuesday morning we flew to Moscow. This was a 4 hour flight on a regular jet. In Moscow, we had an appointment at the Medical Center and the American Embassy. It was a very rushed day with a lot to do. With all approvals in hand by the end of the day, we were ready to head home. Our hotel in Moscow sat a block from Red Square. We saw many sights as we drove, and more from our hotel window, but unfortunately didn’t get to see much in person, as our flight out was early in the morning the next day. We were ready to head home, though!
We got on our plane in Moscow at 7:00 am, flew through Frankfurt, and arrived at Dulles airport at 1:45 p.m. The flight went very well, considering we were in the air 12 hours or so. Boy, were we glad to be home! Danielle was asleep a few minutes after we got into the van and never woke up until late that evening. It took a few days to adjust to the time difference, but of all of us, I think Danielle was the first to sleep through the night.
Above: Father and daughter getting some rest before the long trip home. Below: In Moscow.
