Christmas 2005

A light mist swirled around the tall old lampposts alongside the train carriage. We stood in the light, peering at the faded blue Polar Express-style cars. The old man stepped down from the train with a bag in his hand. The dark and fog concealed his face but we knew his voice. "They're in there," Eugeny said. We waited. Then, slowly, quietly, the train begain to slide forward. Eugeny turned. He knocked forcefully on the closed doors but the train was moving faster out of the station. We both could feel our panic rising. "We'll have to get them at the next station," Eugeny shouted. And so we were off, speeding through the backstreets of Almaty to Station Number 1. It was a scene from a 1940s black and white movie. After 20 hours on that train from Karaganda, it was as though the boys had just slipped out of our grasp.

But Eugeny's skilled driving did beat the train. The boys were being carefully guarded by two doctors from Nezabudka. With warm greetings between adults, the doctors tried to hand off the boys. Big Brother Lonya hid behind one doctor's legs and looked away while Sergey just looked impassively at us. With a little whimpering, they were finally with us and whisked away by car to the hotel. Sergey quietly watched the cars and people hurrying to work in the dawn. Lonya stared straight ahead and seemed entirely disconnected. With a little coaxing and Sue's counting out loud, "one, two, three, four, five," he seemed to spring alive again and began smiling and counting with her. From then on, it was all up.

Today we traded the exquisite Hyatt room for a return to the Kazhol---glitz for function. The Kazhol had a suite that gives the boys much more playspace and it's centrally located next to downtown supermarkets and restaurants.

The boys had their first Christmas stocking experience. We'd agreed that it had to be very minor since they'd likely never had a stocking before. Inside they both found a "la la" (small, plastic baby doll like the one they'd had at the orphanage). There were two finger puppets each and some Kazakh candies. They seemed completely satisfied.

As time passed, they "returned" to us. We'd feared the worst after this three week hiatus. The governmental restrictions are so hard on the children's bonding. But they've come back quickly and are all smiles and laughter and loving.