When we got Sunshine, we didn't do any of the adoption paperwork. I am so thankful for that! Having to worry about paperwork at such an emotional time is not the way I'd want to do it, and I'm glad we didn't have to! We headed over to the Civil Affairs office at 2:30pm - it was just a 5 minute walk across the street. Sounds easy enough until you have tried to cross a street in China WITH your brand new baby. Now THAT is an adventure. LOL.
Anywho ... this first picture is our "family picture" - the one that goes on the Adoption Certificate. Thank you Trisha for snapping this one after the officials took theirs! You can see how stinkin H-O-T it is ... INSIDE the building! Apparently it is not common for many buildings to be air-conditioned ... in this nasty hot humidty. Even the grocery store we went to wasn't air-conditioned!
Here's DH finishing up with his signing and thumbprints. LOL. I tried to have him grab a picture of me doing this too, but he had filled out all the paperwork and by the time I could get his attention, my thumbprint/signing part was over! And sadly, they had already taken care of Sunshine's footprint at the orphanage :-( No footprint pictures for us.
That's Director Zhou with us - unfortunately the lighting was terrible but this was a picture of opportunity. He was standing there when we gave him our gifts and he was getting ready to leave ... I didn't want to miss out on a picture with him! He was really wonderful and made sure to explain that they choose not to do surgery here in China because he knew we would do a better job at home. I think he's right :-)
Here's DH again, this time standing by one of the very small AC units to try and cool off! What a sweet moment :-)
There's our fantastic guide, Echo, working hard on all of our paperwork. We were also there with the other family from LH, so she had 2 family's paperworks to take care of!
At the end of a long day filled with paperwork ... she finally passed out in the van. Did you know there are NO carseats in China? Yup - it's the truth. So weird to be carrying my baby inside of a van. I kind of dig it ... until we swerve to miss an oncoming car or slam on the breaks to dodge a bicyclist. LOL.
Aside from the Civil Affairs office, we also visited the police station for passports and a notary for some other paperwork ... don't know what it was because everything is in Chinese! LOL.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! So glad to hear everything is going well for you guys too!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations...I enjoyed riding around China without the bother of a carseat...but I was doing some praying because of the wild traffic. But those drivers do amazingly well...I don't know how you guys managed to cross the street! That's Scary! we had to do it in Guangzhou a few times, but never tried it in the province...lol BLessings on your adoption journey!
ReplyDeleteYes, you will definitely be thankful to have her surgeries done in the US.
ReplyDeleteShe is precious. Enjoy this special time with just the three of you!
Brooklyn is beautiful, Nicole! Hearing you talk about China makes me miss it even more - how I love it there! And the traffic is horrendous, you are right about that! I will continue to pray for you and your family - blessings as you keep getting around in the heat and humidity.
ReplyDeleteI read this early this morning but didn't get a chance until now to comment--so fun seeing these pictures. She fits so nicely into your arms. Just looks like she has always belonged there.
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