Wednesday, March 15, 2006

We toured another museum this morning. It had a combination of every kind of art: embroidery, pottery, paintings, sculpture, carvings, etched glass, etc. Afterward we went to a 6 level shopping mall. Hannah got yet another toy.

Afterward we went back to the motel and met up with the son of some former adoptive parents who are now missionaries to China. He took us to their apartment via taxi. They made us lunch and we swapped stories. The food was American style and it was a treat.

We then took a taxi to the U.S. Consulate where Hannah was sworn in as a citizen. It was funny because the whole room was Chinese adoptions with mostly babies and small children. When they said, “raise your right hand please …” we took Hannah’s right arm and raised it. They explained that this ceremony didn’t make her a U.S. citizen. Only when her feet hit U.S. soil does she become a citizen. It was a quick process. Hannah has a Chinese passport under her Chinese name. When she gets in the U.S. we can get her a Social Security number and a U.S. passport. Hannah slept through the whole process.

After coming back to the hotel, Pam and I went out for some last minute shopping while Donna and Kristin entertained Hannah. We got back and it was Kristin and two of the other daughters in the group.

All the parents in our group are anxious to get home. It has been a wonderful, tiring, and trying experience, but by God’s grace we made it. Hannah fought sleep in a big way tonight. She wanted only Pam. She got woke up once. And then one and a half bottles and a lot of singing later, she was still wiggling…..but finally she surrendered to sleep.

Our little angel is sleeping and we are all packing to leave at 5:00 AM tomorrow for the airport to come home. We have a short layover in Hong Kong. We’ll have just enough time to grab a bite and maybe a magazine. We’ll spend a whole day flying. There won’t be any updates for a few days and then about 3 more.

It seems we have had Hannah all her life, but only a week and a few days. She can say her name, da-da, ma-ma, no-no, and I think the hissing sound she makes is Kristin. She still does baby talk in Chinese. Thanks for following our story and for signing the guest book. It will eventually become a keepsake in written form for Hannah to have as she gets older. Thanks for all your prayers and support. We are anxious to get home and see our family and our church family.

Jeff