These next few photos are just a sampling of the phenomenal spread put on here at the Hyatt tonight. We would likely have had another evening in our room with more cheese, bread, and Pringles had it not been for the invitation to share the evening with Aila's family.

For all of you who have been following both of our adoption blogs, I ask you why you never told us the other was out there. We came dangerously close to passing in the night. Thankfully we did not.







Aitugan moments after receiving her first ever Christmas gift (from the Robinsons), proving that sometimes the wrapping becomes an unforseen bonus gift.



Finally an excuse for hair loss.



Marshall and Aila



Jennifer, Aila, Kjersten and Aitugan saying farewells from this side of the world. We'll reconvene this festive gathering back in New England soon.





And just like that, our time here in Kaz comes to an end. I can think of no better way to close out the experience than through sharing Christmas Eve dinner with fine friends and an amazing meal.

We are so fortunate this year in so many incredible ways. Aitugan is certainly our greatest blessing, but the friends we have made along this amazing journey, and the fabulous love and support of our families and friends are surely treasured and highlighted at times like these.

With luck we will have an uneventful day of travel tomorrow and will find ourselves safely home in Maine by night's end. We wish you all a wonderful holiday and look forward to continuing to share this amazing journey with all of you from a more familiar setting.

I cannot begin to express how much it has helped us to know that there is a wide and wonderful community of people out there who have taken an interest in our process and have helped welcome Aitugan to her new life. Thank You All. Take Care.

What better time to make a trip up the gondola to the top of a scenic mountain than during a snowstorm.



You know you've arrived when you realize you now share common experiences with the likes of Steven Segall and Gerard Depardieu









At some point during everyone's experience here in Kazakhstan, you just have to stop asking why and accept it for what it is - in this case, the Beatles in life sized glory, albeit a little underdressed.















These shots are all from our outing to Kok Tobe on the 23rd with Jennifer, Marshall and Aila. It is now the evening of the 24th, and we are on track to leave in the morning to fly home.

Our interview at the embassy - our last bit of official business of the adoption process - went smoothly this morning and now we are getting ready to head down to a Christmas Eve dinner with the Robinson's. We have been so fortunate to share so much time with them all these last several days and look forward to getting together once we all settle back home.

I will try to get on after dinner and post a few more photos and make one last entry before we hop on our flights tomorrow. Take Care.

Here come some photos from the last several days.

We will begin with our Astana apartment. We took these just before we walked out the door for the last time. You can be sure that it never looked so go during the time we were living there.







For reasons that remain mysterious, there appear to be many a bed throughout Kazakhstan comprised solely of a box spring, and lacking even a semblance of a mattress. Maybe it's a function of a misguided lay-a-way program, or maybe simply regional differences in sleep habits, but it takes some getting used to for those of us who consider the mattress a fairly integral part of the whole sleep system.











Before leaving Astana for good, I had to stop by the Ice City one last time. Though unfortunately we did not get to see it completed this year, I enjoyed watching the process immensely.





Unfortunately it is difficult to get a sense of the massive size of this wall of wild horses running. Take my word for it, it is impressive.



































And lastly tonight, Marshall, Jennifer, and Aila Robinson, our new friends from Rhode Island.