Signing Off from Guangzhou

We leave in the morning!  We've had a lovely time, but we're excited to get home.  Yesterday was our oath ceremony at the consulate.  The culmination of all of the US immigration paperwork we've been working on for nearly a year.  There was a little play area (new since last time we were there) which made the wait easier for the kiddos.  The officer was very nice and assured us that there are adequate consulate appointments and that there is NO backlog.  We took the oath and piled back into the bus to the hotel.  There was such an air of celebration that all of the families had a pizza party in the hallway.  It was just like college with pizza and beer and kids, well, I guess the kids weren't there in college.  The boys watched Air Buddies and the girls played DS.  The parents chatted happily about things they missed from home and made plans to see each other in the future. 

Today we shopped a little on the island.  The Noah napped while Micah swam. We started packing before dinner and at this point have just about everything in suitcases.  We had a fun dinner at Lucy's (local restaurant with  Western food) with two of the families with whom we've become close.  We all have older kids near the same age and adopted boys near the same age.  It was relaxing and fun. 

Two weeks ago a group of random strangers met in Beijing and Zhengzhou.  Today these families are unalterably woven into the fabric of our lives.  This has been an amazing trip, but we're looking forward to getting home.  See you on the flip side!