Friday, May 25, 2007

The highlight of the day was taking a bus ride through the city to get to the United States Consulate where Cora would become a citizen of the United States. Emma and Cora both have dual citizenship. They are citizens of China as well as the United States. When we got to the Consulate we were instructed to leave all belongings on the bus. We were not allowed to bring anything for the baby, not even our wallets or purses. When we got in, we went through security and were taken to a room where about 100 families were waiting. After about 15 minutes, an American woman came out and had us raise our right hands and take an oath that would swear in Cora as a U.S. citizen. At 11:35 a.m., Cora became an American! She wore a red and white striped, cotton jumper with 3 stars that had “All American Girl” embroidered on it. Sean, Emma, Cora and I all gathered together in a family group hug and had our first “family kiss” that we always did with just the three of us. Our hearts burst with joy having Cora-Li complete our family!

(Please click our "we're home" link at the top for photos of our return home.)