China Day 13: Oath Taking Ceremony

It's hard to believe we are leaving Guangzhou tomorrow to begin the journey home.  We'll head to Hong Kong via train tomorrow night and leave early Friday morning on a long flight back to the US.  I have mixed feelings about leaving.  I am so anxious to see the boys and have our family all together!  And I can't wait to show off our little girl to everyone.  I'm also tired of living in a tiny hotel room (although I don't miss grocery shopping or cooking!).  But, going home means leaving our daughter's beautiful country.  We've come to really love China.  The people are so friendly, and you feel safe everywhere you go.  There are things I won't miss, like the people hacking on the street (this is quite common and acceptable here) or the extreme humidity, but overall, we love it here and are so happy we've been able to experience our daughter's culture. 

This afternoon we boarded a bus and took a 45 minute ride to the US Consulate where we had a "swearing in" ceremony.  Unfortunately we couldn't bring cameras in, so we don't have any pictures to document the event.  We joined a roomful of adoptive parents from many different agencies.  We all waited for our child's name to be called, then we went up one at a time and signed a document.  Once everyone did this (there were probably 50+ families), an official shared some statistics on adoption with us, thanked us for our care in adopting a Chinese child, and wished several kids a happy birthday, including our Hannah Liuxia.  Then we all stood up and raised our right hand and promised that all of the paperwork we submitted was true.  Then there were hugs and applause and tears, as this was the final step in our children being granted their visas.  The officer told us that everyone's visa has been processed, so we are good to go home on time!  Praise God!  All of the paperwork went so smoothly, and we are so thankful!  

After the swearing in ceremony, we decided to reattempt the red couch picture since we were at the White Swan.  Thankfully, Liuxia cooperated this time!  She was literally jumping on the couch, but we managed to get a couple sitting pictures as well.  So, now I feel like we can go home because we got our red couch photo! :)

Tonight we decided to eat at Lucy's, which is a restaurant on the island that serves American food.  It is very popular with adoptive families who are wanting some comfort food.  Jason and I really enjoyed having a hamburger and fries after two weeks of Chinese food.  Hannah had her first french fry, which she promptly chewed up and spit back out.  I'm sure she'll learn to love greasy American food soon enough, but we ordered Hannah's favorite at Lucy's-a bowl of noodles.

This will be our last post from China, as we'll have a short hotel stay in Hong Kong tomorrow night (and I don't know if we'll have internet there), and then we'll be heading home. We are so thankful for the way Hannah is attaching to us and are feeling really good about where we're at as we head home.  We are so excited for everyone to meet our spunky, beautiful little girl!  I am teary eyed as I write this, realizing that our long journey is finally coming to a close, and we'll finally be able to introduce her to everyone so soon. 

Photo captions
Jumping on the red couch!
Red couch photos
Not very ladylike on the red couch
Family picture-and Hannah is smiling!
White Swan hotel lobby
Hannah at Lucy's
First french fry
Daddy enjoying his cheeseburger!