C.A. and Play

this morning we had our US Consulate appointment. we all went to a big government building and into a waiting room reminiscent of a DMV. they called the five families adopting, each by last name, and had us stand as a group. we raised our right hands and had to swear that the information we had given in all our documents was true. then each family was called one by one to the window and had to sign one piece of paper. then it was over. the children were officially a part of our family.

tomorrow we get their passports with visa for entry into the USA. their social security cards will still have their Chinese names on them. we will apparently have to re-adopt them in the states to get a US birth certificate. not sure why we were forced into choosing English names if their documents all have their Chinese names. bureaucracy.

after that we hung out by the pool until lunch. we ate lunch with our adoption family at a Lebanese restaurant. oh what an experience. the children again ordered carte blanche without our knowledge. we sent food back and were given the stink eye from a nasty waitress. after figuring out the order...we ate...it was good, but after the way we were treated, we won't be going back tomorrow.

we can't wait until we are on American soil and the parents have the upper hand. these older children had the upper hand the entire trip. they spoke the native language and we didn't. they also ran in packs, lol...four 10-12 year olds in one travel group. chaos and control(over the parents that is).

then we went back to the hotel to try to get "red couch" photos. traditional group photos of the adopted children all together. we had just missed one of our families-they had already headed out to Hong Kong. we were so sad we didn't get a proper goodbye. i really wanted a last hug from my sweet Roxy girl(12 yo old sister traveling with mom to adopt a 10 yo).

we did get our red couch photos. i thought our guide was supposed to organize them, but she was useless to us the entire trip. my advice...if you adopt from China and get a guide named Kelly...switch!

two one the left and one on the right previously adopted siblings

then we went with our friends to the park. they had bonsai on display, flower gardens, gorgeous banyan trees, and many structures and walkways. throngs of people were playing a form of hacky sack in groups of four with birdie like toys, ping-pong, badminton, running, and exercising.

 bonsai

 ping pong and hacky sack

 banyan trees

 flowers and flowering trees

1000 year old bridge

we played on a playground for a while. there were also amusement park rides. no lines. they looked closed, but one guy opened them up for us. they cost a pretty penny... perhaps he was making up how much they actually cost, but it was worth the smiles. plus it tired them out...they were in bed by 9 PM...go mommy!! woohoo.

 mom and dad get in on the action

 daddy spinning the girls

tomorrow we head to Hong Kong for a couple of days. we aren't sure about blog capabilities there. we head home and are expected to arrive in Connecticut at about 11 PM EST. we sure appreciate any and all prayers for a speedy and safe trp home. our trip here was a nightmare...did y'all forget to pray? so pray my brothers and sisters in Christ. we need you! we love you all and are thankful you took this journey with us. may God shine His face on you all.