Today was pretty much the culmination of 5 or so years of waiting for our daughter. First, we had to wait in the room this morning to receive a call from our guide verifying that all of the documentation we supplied to the American consulate were all correct and accounted for. Later in the morning, the families gathered in the lobby for the "red couch photo", a well known tradition among all of the adoptive families staying at the White Swan. After all, what could be simpler than getting a dozen or so babies to sit still on a couch without their parents and simultaneously smile for a photo? I think that the term chaos would be an understatement for what followed. A bunch of parents trying to get their kids onto the couch and then get out of the way so that the other parents could jockey for position with their cameras. The entire actual photo shoot took place in the span of about 8 seconds, but the photos will last a lifetime. As you can tell, Juni basked in the moment and had a blast. Of course as soon as the cameras went away, she became the happiest child on earth.
We did a group shot of all of the families and this included more than the five families whose children came from Fuzhou Social Welfare Institute. We look like a herd.
Juni and Mommy in front of a tree covered in New Year's red envelopes.
Juni in her traditional dress and cracking us up.
After a well earned nap, all of us loaded onto another bus and we headed to the American Consulate to take our oath and sign the paperwork that would essentially finalize the process that has taken so long. All of the families were relaxed and relieved and everyone clapped as the names of each family were announced to go up the window and sign on the dotted line. It was kind of like being at the DMV except that everyone was polite and happy and instead of getting a new registration sticker or license plates, you got a baby. Joking aside though, it was one of those moments when it really hits you how amazing this journey has been and why it was completely worth waiting for. Unfortunately, no photo or video equipment was allowed in the building, but I don't think that any photos could have adequately captured how we were all feeling anyway.
We'll leave you with this peaceful view of our little potato.
Love to you all!
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