It's good to be 11 AND a US citizen!

Caris Turns 11 !!

We celebrated on January 28th with Caris' first American birthday party. Our special guests were three DeLille girls: Caitlyn, Fedila and Rachel. The pinata filled with candy was the big hit. Caris and Fedila, who are brand new to America, were amazed when the pinata ripped open to reveal a cache of candy! What a great country!

Caris Starts School

Caris is now in the fourth grade at Rural Point Elementary School here in Mechanicsville. She participates in most specials such as music, art and gym, with the class, and then is pulled out for tutoring in English and Math. She says, "school....I REALLY like."

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