Wednesday,
June 23, 2010
Today we officially swore an oath to the US Consulate! It was
basically just to say that the information we gave them is true.
It really had nothing to do with protecting or caring for Leah.
But of course, that goes without saying!
But before we went to the Consulate, we went to a tea shop after
breakfast. I had missed going to the tea shop in Beijing… the
dreaded nap day! If I don’t learn from that, and stay awake in
the daytime when we get home, someone smack me! Anyway, I was
excited to see how they make tea, and it was really neat. They
wash the tea leaves first, and then they literally pour very hot
water in the cup of tea leaves, and about 5 seconds later, pour
the water into another pot, while holding the tea leaves back
with a lid. It barely steeps… which is so interesting to me. I
keep my tea bags in my hot water for at least 5 minutes at home.
Although I do realize that their leaves are fresh and stronger
than my tea bags. But it does make a somewhat weak tea. And then
you just drink it, no sugar added. I happen to like my tea
sweet… I like everything sweet for that matter! But it was good.
I liked the jasmine tea the best I think. The ginseng tea was
good too; silky was our word to describe it. It’s great for a
sore throat, so that makes sense. Then they ended with a tight
ball that they placed in a clear pot of hot water, and it
started to open up into a flower. It was really neat, and the
girls liked it. Well, Kyra and Ryann did. Leah had found a
couple of bikes lying around and was riding them up and down the
sidewalk beside the shop. Aron kept track of her since he had
seen a tea sampling before.
We had time for lunch, a potty break, and a quick trip to pick
up our laundry before heading over to the White Swan to meet up
with Parker and his parents, Tricia and Erik, (and a lot of
other families from other agencies) to head to the Consulate.
Ling Ling’s and Emma’s families went to the Consulate for their
oath yesterday because they didn’t have a TB test to get read,
they are younger than 2. After we got back, we had a little time
to relax in our room before meeting Sarah, Chad, and Ling Ling
for dinner. We had gone to the Thai restaurant with them the day
of the scorpions, and really enjoyed the food, so we wanted to
go back one more time before heading home. It was delicious
again! We then got the girls to bed, and began packing for
home!!! We still have one more night in Beijing tomorrow, so we
needed to plan how to pack so that we had what we needed for
that readily available. I think we did pretty well. Because of
that though, I got a late start on my update for today, so I’m
getting sleepy! I had been in a great routine of starting the
posts at naptime, and then just finishing them after the girls
went to bed, but we didn’t have naptime today because of the
Consulate. We had to leave at about 2:15.
*A side note… We had chosen to stay in the Victory hotel, and
the only thing that I was going to miss was the Going Home
Barbie, given only to White Swan guests who are adopting. But I
am happy to report that Tricia, Erik, and Parker shared theirs
with us since Parker is a boy and doesn’t need a Barbie. I was
so excited! It was the one thing that I had been bummed about,
so it was truly a priceless gift to me and my girls!!!
Tomorrow will be our last post from China! And as much as I
can’t wait to get home, it is a little sad. And looking back, I
can’t even believe that we are at the end of our trip! At the
beginning, we thought we would be here forever… but it seriously
flew by! We are just so excited to get Leah home… and I mean
HOME! The place where she will live, grow, blossom, belong, and
be loved more than she could ever know… that’s home! |
Leah loved
pushing Ling Ling
After we took the oath at the Consulate
Our own Going Home Barbie…
thank you Tricia, Erik, and Parker!
Some of our favorite Pringles flavors
Like father, like son (from Beijing) |
