Official!

Ella and Mommy

Ella and Daddy by the pool

menu item at our Chinese restaurant

Near our hotel in Guangzhou

Today we swore in Ella at the US Consulate here in Guangzhou. She is 99% official. The US government recognizes her as a future citizen. All we do now is receive her US visa in her Chinese passport and then go home. When we pass through US customs in Newark on Saturday she will be an official citizen!!! It was an emotional moment when we raised our right hand and swore her in. It was 4 years work/wait that came down to one moment. I will never forget it.

We are so anxious to come home. We have two more full days left and they are going to be very hard because we have nothing to do and we just want to go home. We will have to find a new way to kill two days. We have shopped and shopped and shopped. We will have to buy a new suitcase for all our bounty. There is no room in our current/future bags nor is there money left for more shopping. Unfortunately,shopping is about all there is to do here. It's almost like they planned it that way.

Our close friends who we spent 4 days with in Wuhan and who are our neighbors here at the White Swan Hotel left this evening. Two days before us. That's a tough pill to swallow. We are very happy for them. They are amazing people. Most leave tomorrow. A few leave on Friday. We are the last to leave on Saturday. Even our guide will leave on Friday. That's the last time I let a travel agency plan our trips (they were HIGHLY recommended by our adoption agency).

Enough complaining. Ella is just amazing. Right now she is a daddy's girl and I am going to enjoy every minute. She is the typical curious 3 year old who likes to test us. She wants to be in control. She wants to decide if her hand is held. She demands to be held or put down. When we take control of the situation she will let us know of her displeasure by pouting, turning her back, or throwing a fit. She loves to rough house. She likes to be thrown up in the air. She loves to be spun around. She has this silly game of hiding items behind her back (we can plainly see them) and the says something in Chinese that means "where did it go?" She will play this game for hours if we let her.

Tonight Amy and I were laughing and playing on the bed with Ella for a good 30 minutes. We were having a great time. We were probably annoying our neighbors with the noise and laughter. Ella then told Amy that she had to use the bathroom. Amy went with her to help her get up on the toilet. When Ella came back she had a complete change of mood. She was very sad. She walked over to me and just stood by me and looked at the floor. Her face showed her pain. I carried her to the bed and we sat next to Amy. Ella had the saddest face. She nearly cried as she sat motionless on the bed. We talked to her, rubbed her and we tried to re-assure her. I think something triggered a memory of her foster parents and her old home. She was a different person from just 5 minutes ago. Amy and I held Ella as I said a prayer and asked for help. A few moments went by and Ella came out of her depression. She started by touching my nose very softly. She would then flip sides and touch Amy's nose. Every minute she became more active and animated until she finally smiled again and even laughed. Ella went from a little girl who was shut down with sadness to a laughing happy girl who gave me multiple kisses (I got my first kiss from her tonight. Not just 1 but 8....not that I'm counting). God answered a prayer within minutes. Thank You God!

Please pray for our next two days. The trip has been great but it is time to come home. Pray for patience and positive distractions. We are looking forward to seeing every one soon.