Thursday,
September 11, 2008
OATH AT THE U.S. CONSULATE
“For me,
Chinese adoption is a continent of contradiction, a place where
elation is paired with regret and hope stands as a companion to
sorrow. Adopting a child from China puts you through a
transformation, gathering you up from one place, spinning you
around, then setting you down somewhere else, facing backwards.
It changes your life in ways you never could have forseen.” ~China
Ghosts written by Jeff Gammage
Today, we took a bus to the U.S. Consulate here in Guangzhou .
Once we arrived, we were required to go through a security check
and were ushered into a large gathering room. We were then taken
by family to a window and were required to show all three of our
passports/visas. The woman behind the counter confirmed that we
were the ones pictured on our passports. We then waited for the
other 27 families to complete this process. Afterwards, a woman
greeted us as an entire group and congratulated us. She briefly
gave us information about those families completing the process
today such as which states the different families live in, the
various occupations of those in the group, and how many times
the families had adopted from China. She said the record is held
by a family who has adopted 12 times! There was even a couple
today adopting beautiful twin girls! Following this group
introduction, we were asked to stand as an entire group and to
raise our right hand. The woman read a statement, and we were
required to swear that all information provided for the adoption
was correct and accurate. After our group responded together,
there was much cheering and many congratulations! Sweet Sophie
slept through the entire ceremony! We were not allowed to bring
bags or cameras to the consulate today, so I don’t have any
photos to share. Because of this, I have decided to post a few
photos from our past few days here in Guangzhou . I think our
boys will love some of the photos from the street market! We ate
dinner at a Thai restaurant called The Cow and Bridge with the
other families in our group tonight. They all leave for home
tomorrow, so we exchanged contact information and said our
goodbyes. It has been fun getting to know them!
We did a little shopping around for the best deals today and
spent some more time in the Swan Room with Sophie. Today, she
has decided that it is ok to call us mama and dada. So, so
sweet! She surprised both of us a couple of times! I’ve
mentioned how much she loves the new squeaky shoes we have
bought for her. Well, when we are in our hotel room, we usually
take them off for her. While she was playing in the room today,
she sat down and put her shoes on all by herself! Right shoes on
the right feet and all! Later in the day, Ian and I were
watching a show on T.V. while we were waiting to go to dinner
with the other families in our group. I had given Sophie a
little bowl full of different snacks to have. A few minutes
later, I noticed that she had sorted all the snacks and had put
all the red fruit snacks in the red stacking cup! Smarty pants!
She loves to sort things and loves to take things out and put
things away. A busy body in a quiet sort of way. She has a
little drawstring bag full of little finger puppets. She takes
them out and puts them back in over and over again. Now, she has
begun putting each little puppet in its own stacking cup…like
they are riding in a boat : ) She’ll pack everything up in the
bag and then sling it over her shoulder like a knapsack and
squeak around the room in her squeaky shoes! She has begun high
stepping it around the room to see if she can make them squeak
louder! Somehow, the squeakers have disappeared in a couple of
the pairs ; ) She loves to flash the biggest grins our way and
celebrates each accomplishment with the most contagious belly
laugh! Just a fair warning to Jessie, Nathan, Christian and
Michael…you are going to fall in love : ) She’s a lot of sweet
with just the right touch of spice! Absolutely perfect!
“Sometimes the
smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
~Winnie the Pooh |
Squid on a
stick, anyone? : )
 |
