Monday-July 18th

Today was an early morning for us.  We had to leave at 7:10 am to travel to the U.S. Consulate to take an oath and apply for  Anastyn's Visa to travel back to the United States.  Our entire trip was built around this appointment this morning, so it was pretty important.   Thankfully it went really smoothly and tomorrow we should have Anna's visa.  Because we fell under the Hague adoption process, when Anna hits U.S. soil, she will automatically become a U.S. Citizen!  Hague has a lot more upfront requirements and honestly it was a pain in the butt, however now in China, it has been a much easier process for us, versus those who are non-Hague.

The conversations today have all turned homeward.  Everyone is talking about when they are leaving & the flights home.  Four families actually fly out tomorrow night...lucky.  Most of us fly out of Guangzhou Wednesday.  We will fly back into Beijing, spend the night and head for the United States on Thursday.  We will be the only family going back to Beijing and will be on our own after leaving Guangzhou.  After having guides this entire time and other members from our group around, it makes me a little nervous to go it alone, but we will be ok...or will just end up living in China permanently because we couldn't figure out how to get to our airline! 

Anastyn fell asleep, as she always does, when we got on the bus.  It appears to be a coping mechanism for her.  She sleeps when she gets nervous.  When she wakes up we will walk around the island more and then at 5:50 tonight, we are all going on the riverboat tour.  I am so excited!  It has been storming here everyday and gets worse at night, so hopefully the weather will hold out for us so we can experience the boat ride and dinner. 

It is hard to believe that today we have had Anna Grace for one week!  At this time last week, she was screaming, crying, and kicking like nobody's business and today, she is singing, giggling & smiling!  What a transformation!  She is still very reserved around others, but has really come out of her shell around us!  Can't wait to see how she is once we get home.