We Swear!!

It is official! Today we went to the US Consulate to do the required swearing in. Everything went smoothly. We have a green light to head for home! Yaaaay! The China Team did a great job. Everything went so smoothly. For those of you who will travel behind us with USAA, know that you are in good hands.

Before heading over to the US Consulate, Michelle, one of the key China Team members, took us and another couple out to a local shopping area to do some shopping at street level, if you know what I mean. We went from little stall to little stall, each filled with everything from flashlights to Hello Kitty stickers and all kinds of other stuff. It was great to get out and take it all in. We found a number of nice things, all at fabulous prices.

After the US Consulate it was time to celebrate. We had our farewell dinner tonight. We traveled to a local restaurant and had a banquet room to ourselves. After a nice Chinese dinner the China Team went around and presented gifts to each of the children. I am sure these will be cherished keepsakes for the kids. It was a bit emotional as the realization of our soon departure set in. The other families and this team from USAA have shared a very special time with us. It is not easily left behind. We ate, we sang, we drank, we danced. Some did more of some than others but we had a good time. Darren, one of the new fathers with our group, decided to take on Martin in drinking. I don’t know if he bested Martin but he did set an Adoptive Family drinking record of 32+ shots of Chinese rice wine. While impressive I don’t recommend this if, as in Darren’s case, you have a 6 am flight and still need to pack. I think they will be getting a hand from the China Team, I hope. I threw back a few but not enough to feel it or affect our departure tomorrow. By the way, Megan is awesome, tons of loud music and dancing and she loved it. She is so content and has a happy-go-lucky personality. We love this girl!
I better stop blogging and start packing (mama seconds that!)