More Paperwork - This time THEY had to do it!

Throughout the adoption process it seems the paperwork never ends. Today, however, it wasn't us doing the work. We left this morning at 0930 to head to the "registry" building. It seems that this is where all local government paperwork is done. I guess you could equate it to our government buildings where ID cards, property taxes, licenses, etc are taken care of. We went there to sign for and pick up Kathryn's birth certificate and paper saying our adoption is complete! They had to do all the work - we just signed for it! Everything here is still done in ledger books and on paper - no electronic document files. Not sure which way is better, really.

Next we went to another part of the building to apply for her Kazakh passport. After a good 30 minutes of waiting for our interpreter and coordinator to work with the officials on the paperwork, they let us know of a new requirement. They wanted to see Kathryn and compare her to her passport picture. Inna and I went back to the cottage, where Luba was watching Kathryn, and quickly put her in the snowsuit and headed back. We walked inside, let them see her and then left. Apparently this has not happened in the past, but it does make sense. It was really no big deal!


On our way back to the cottage, Dave ran into the Green Market for a few veggies and bread while Kathryn and I sat in the car. Kathryn decided it was a great time for a little shut eye. While she slept, I enjoyed the view outside the car of the snowfall! It really is pretty to watch the snow coming down. It was coming down so hard, it looked like rain.



Kathryn smiling at Luba

The temperature is going to warm up slightly over the next few days. We are hoping for sunshine when we get to Almaty. We will want to get out and see some of the city while we are there. I think yesterday was the coldest day so far. It was in the teens with a wind chill in the single digits - as low as -1 degree in the am. I think we are surviving ok, considering we've lived in Florida for 20 years.