Last few days in China

March 10, 11 and 12, 2009

Our last few days in China were busy with official adoption business, making sure we got in every last hour with newly-made friends and preparing for the long trek home. Which is why I didn't get to write until now.

Thursday afternoon, March 12, was quite emotional, as we finalized the adoption of Abby Lin with an official ceremony with the consulate at the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou. About 35 families from the U.S. joined together with our babies for a swearing in ceremony. As we held our right hands high, promising to take care of our new children, tears filled the room. There was a bond as adopted parents and as Americans. It was very touching. Interestingly, on the walls in the room were framed pictures of Rosa Parks, touching for all Americans but especially poignant for Alabamians.

Since March 2, much of our focus has been on Abby, understandably so. So Wednesday afternoon, Ana and I had a "big girls outing." We went to a tea house and Ana chugged down three cups of tea. Mind you, the cups in China are very small, unlike the mugs we use here in the U.S. We also shopped, something close to Ana's heart, I hate to admit. And we played hacky sack in the park. A hacky sack (if I'm spelling it correctly) looks similar to a badmitton birdie, however it is larger and has feathers on its top. You kick it with your heel from one person to another. It's a very popular game played in parks by children and adults alike.

Ana also spent much of her last few days in China having playdates with her new friends, including Charlotte, Thatcher and Grace. Charlotte and Thatcher were part of our adotion group. Grace is the daughter of our new friends from Milwaukee, the Guyers, who we met on the plane when we flew from Chicago to Beijing on February 23. We were excited to see them again in Guangzhou and even share in Grace's sixth birthday party. We look forward to seeing them again sometime, maybe at a beach vacation in Destin, Florida, since that's a favorite spot of both our families.

We don't know what Ana (or we) would have done without her new friends on this trip. They were a godsend to us, and it's not easy being five or six and away from your home and friends for almost three weeks. In addition, each is going from being an only child to now having to share the attention. Their play helped smooth the transition for each of them and their parents. What a gift we all had in having the children there for one another. Ana looks forward to keeping in touch by email and, hopefully, seeing them again if we have a group reunion.

One afternoon, we got to visit a school house just as the children were getting ready for their naps. They were excited to see Ana and her friend Grace, and the teacher invited us in for a photo. It was one of those special moments you hope to catch on such a trip, and it left a real impression on Ana.

On Tuesday night, we dressed Ana and Abby in their Chinese dresses for a group photo of our adoption group. Check out the photo below and see the wonderful families we traveled with these past few weeks. They were from Alabama, Virgina, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Louisiana. On Wednesday night, the group joined for our final dinner together, a traditional Chinese meal. Ana ran from table to table, talking to the adults and children like she's known them forever. As we were preparing to leave China on Friday, Ana said "I'm really going to miss everyone. They were like our China family." Well said, Ana.

As for Abby, with each passing day, she became more bonded to each of us and got more comfortable in her new environment, which happended to be a hotel room the first two weeks of her life as a Sewell.