Author: Stephanie Karp

But he also calls 8 other women Mama. Likely, if you are a woman seeing him for the first time, he will call you Mama too. So the topic of discussion that Gary and I have been having is in regards to getting Batyrhan to one day realize that *I* am his only Mama. I…

It is 6:20 pm and we are back in our room to rest a bit before heading out to dinner for some real Beshbarmak. Today took the wind out of my sails a bit. The good news is how Batyrhan greeted us — he was brought to us in the music room by our translator,…

Today Batyrhan greeted us beautifully. When Bolot, our translator, carried him into the room, he then let him down and Batyrhan ran right over to Gary. I had this all on video and it was a wonderful reunion. I then went over and he came easily to me and allowed me to hug and kiss…

Where we usually have our visit at 4pm, today were were called at 8 am and told to be ready for 9:30 am for a morning visit since it’s Christmas. When we got in the car, there were the two Belgian couples who we were told about by our coordinator who are also working with…

Fifteen minutes into our visit with Batyrhan today, Gary said to me, “This is 100x better than any day in the past.” It was a Saturday and entering the Baby House already felt different. Quiet. I did not see any caregivers at all. I heard no one and saw no families. I had a good…

More photos to be added tomorrow. This video gives a few minute highlight for now. I will leave you with one photo until tomorrow. Let’s just say — it was a first for me.

Trust grows with each brick laid. Today was the best day yet and now I can honestly say that it is breaking my heart to leave. I didn’t take many photos at all today but what transpired was felt within Gary’s and my heart intensely. I saw the future and the future looked bright. A…

Today was our last day with Batyrhan and while I was dreading its arrival, the visit was as good as it could have been under the chaos of our final day. Batyrhan was brought in to us today by his caregiver, Jameela, in an adorable court jester outfit in celebration of New Years, a very…

Time to travel from Almaty to NYC door to door: 22.5 hoursChocolates purchased in Amsterdam airport: 20 EurosLength of Delay for extra security check in Amersterstam: 1.5 hoursAmount of Hours I Slept During Entire Trip Home: 1.5 hoursNumber of Movies I watched on Plane: 2Number of times we thought of Batyrhan on the plane: Too…

Photo of a snow capped tree in Almaty on a clear day in December 2009. It has been almost 2 weeks since we have been home. Time has been spent with family and friends and we have gotten back into the swing of our lives. It took me a very long time to get over…