Back in the states...

We are in Los Angeles tonight ....glad and grateful to be back in America, safe and sound...Caris technicaly became a U.S. citizen as our plane touched down........
Getting through customs was a treat at LAX - we had to get into the long (and slow) line for people "entering the United States as citizens for the first time"..we handed over a sealed pouch of information from the U.S. consulate in China , Caris was fingerprinted and then...luggage, customs, and home again......

Looks like we made it!

Representatives from our adoption team went to the US Consulate this morning to represent us and apply for Caris' Visa into the US. They told us if we didn't get a phone call by 11:00 am this morning with a problem, we were approved. It's now 12:10, so it looks like we're official! Now we just need to survive the farewell/disco party tonight :-) and tomorrow we'll begin the journey home.

The things you see on a stroll through the park..:)

Enjoying the Pearl River Cruise

Caris is checked out by Chinese doctors...

The Countdown begins

Our US consulate appointment to get a VISA for Caris to enter the US was supposed to be this morning, but was postponed for a day, which means we will have to apply for approval tomorrow, Thursday, and then travel to the consulate to take an oath of citizenship in her behalf on Friday on the way to the airport to leave the country! Please pray that there are no last minute problems, or we will not be able to leave the country as scheduled. The USAA adoption team has been very careful to help us fill out the reams of forms correctly, so we are hopeful that we won't run into any snags.

Pearl River Dinner Cruise

,,,this was a beautiful event we participated in on Christmas night. We cruised the Pearl River in Guangzhou and took in the vibrant lights of the city while we feasted on delicious Chinese cuisine. The river cruise was another first for Caris, as was the plane ride from Nanning to Guangzhou. The girl loves action! She loved the roller coaster at the park in Nanning and really enjoyed the rough landing at the Guangzhou airport. The cruise may have been a little too mild for her taste. I think Tommy and James will have an enthusiastic playmate in their new sister Caris!