Sunday afternoon here in Shymkent and we are just waiting around and clicking our heels together.  Before we know it, I'm sure we'll be singing John Denver too.

KJ and Tougy just walked over to MEGA to pick up a few more things from the Ramstore to get us through the next 36 hours, but apart from that it has been a mellow relaxing day here at the apartment.

We tried to postpone it as long as we could, but as of this morning we could resist it no longer, and so we dove right in and packed everything up.

Preparing the pack-out is such a wonderful time.  The nostalgia over what has been mixes with the anticipation of the familiar and all that lies ahead and you just find yourself in a slightly dreamlike space.

Tomorrow(monday) we visit Nurai from 1-2 then go over to our 2:30 court appearance.  Assuming that all goes well, we will then register and submit our paperwork, settle up our local accounts, and go to sleep one last time here in Shymkent.

Tuesday we board a 10am flight to Almaty, arriving before noon, and spend the rest of the day without any real plans.  Hopefully we have good weather as it would be fun to go back up to the top of Kok Tobe.

We took the tram to the top with Tougy on our way out in December of 2007 and spent the afternoon walking in the snow with Jen, Marshall, and Aila Robinson.  This time it will be just the three of us.

After what is hopefully a fun and relaxing day in Almaty, we wake up Wednesday to head home.  Thankfully, the return trip on KLM takes only 17 hours to Boston, and because of all the time zones we cross through, we arrive but 6 hours later.

Our plan at the moment is for both KJ and me to return, most likely in early January, for a quick trip to bring home Nurai.  If we fly Lufthansa, we can leave on a Saturday evening and arrive in Almaty just after midnight early Monday morning.

Mid morning that same day we would fly out to Shymkent, go the Baby House to meet up with Nurai, spend a few hours here in town, then board the overnight train back to Almaty.

Arriving back in Almaty early Tuesday morning, we would have four solid business days in which to get things done before flying out early Saturday morning and returning to Boston Saturday afternoon.

If it all works out, we would only be away from Tougy for a week.  After Thanksgiving we will open up the bidding for whomever would like to babysit Tougy in our absence.

These past fews days in Shymkent have really been very nice.  As expected, we visited again with Nurai in the spacious Music Room and everything went great.  She is such a trooper and was full of smiles and snorts and giggles.

When we get home we will post some more photos as well as some video from our time here to try and give you a better sense of her wonderful personality.  I think you will fall for her just as we have.

Yesterday we took a little journey over to the zoo which was surprisingly large, though to a large extent, vacant.  It did have a few surprises however such as a female Bengal Tiger and two cubs, and an unusually high number of different bears in variously small concrete enclosures.

I don't really know what else to say at this point.  We are a little checked out now that just a quick visit and court stands between us and home.  I will write a bit tomorrow night after court to let you know how things went, but then expect not to have much to say until we are home in Maine.

Tougy is so excited about seeing her dogs and her room and of course her friends at school.  She has done so well here with us this past month and we are so grateful for all that she has done to be helpful.

Fun to think that Thanksgiving Day back home will be exactly 2 years after our court date for Tougy's process.  November and December will be packed with special days for both girls as they move through their lives.

Nurai will turn 1 on 28 December, though unfortunately, most likely without her family around her.

For those who missed it in an earlier post, her full name will be:

Nurai Alia Anson Morrison

Nurai of course is the name given to her by her Birthmom and means 'shine of the moon'.  Alia is a Kazakh name and is the name of a famous female warrior.  Anson is a family name on my side of the family and most recently was my uncles middle name.

Take Care.