Aww, you guys knew I couldn’t leave China without a couple more posts!
We had our swearing-in ceremony today at the US Consulate. There were 57 families who were sworn in with their new babies. Helen, our guide, said that the average is about 20-30 a day on Monday thru Thursday. She said it could be as little as nine families or as big as our group. There were a lot of small babies, but then there were a few that were Emma’s age. There was also an older girl there of probably 10 or 11. It is always so special to see the older children getting adopted. The officer who gave the instructions and read the oath had never done it before and she was obviously holding back her emotions. I had Emma in the hip hammock (hey, we have some improvement with the help of diaper pins–it’s amazing what you can come up with when you are desperate!) as she was taking a nap in the van. It was very emotional to say the oath with all the other families who have waited so long and worked so hard to get to this day. Once Emma gets her stamp on her visa at the immigrations line in Detroit, she will officially be a United States citizen on the 4th of July!! We all started clapping after the oath was read and Emma started clapping too. She has just picked that up in the last couple days from playing Patty-cake. It was so cute and sweet to see her smiling and clapping with us.
We then went to Carrefours for one last hurrah to get a suitcase or two and a couple other this and thats. Emma finished off her nap in the Hip thingie that was interrupted when we went into the consulate. We bought some Chinese baby snacks on Helen’s recommendation for the plane ride. We were getting low, and those snacks are my life-line. Mei-mei is definitely a good eater, and she doesn’t like to be without her snacks! One of the snacks is some kind of corn flavored thing. It smells weird. Katelyn likes them, but they didn’t make the cut as I can’t hack the smell of them. I will have to bring one home for posterity. The other snacks look like fat oyster crackers. They seem pretty benign, and Emma seems to like them. I heard one Mom and the consulate saying "Ration the snacks." I think that is on all of our minds for tomorrow!!
This evening we went to try out Papa John’s pizza. It was fantastic and made me so ready to be home. If I didn’t think I am going to be absolutely wasted, I would stop at Outback Steakhouse on my way home! We then came back and should have packed, but we decided to hit the pool for an evening swim. It was Emma’s first time, and she absolutely loves it. She loves her baths too, so water is a hit with her. We came back and finally have everything ready to go. I downed a Coke, so I am still working on the caffeine. But, hey, it is daytime back home, so I am just getting back on schedule, right?!! Ha!
Thank you all for reading and commenting. We treasure each and every comment and e-mail that we have received. They have been so special to us. I have a couple more thoughts and then I am signing off!! Love to you all, see you in about, oh, 29 hours (I hope–that is if all the planes are on time!!)
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