More tidbits

It has been a quiet day today. We went to our Consulate appointment this morning and that went very smoothly. Evie will receive her U.S. visa tomorrow, so we need to get her on U.S. soil before the end of July so she can become a citizen before that visa expires. We are moving to Maryland in July, so that should not be a problem. Again, God orchestrates the perfect timing for everything. If we had traveled to China for Evie any sooner, we would have had to find a way to the States before our move, which would have been a huge hassle, expense, and inconvenience. He takes care of all the details and I still sit around, wring my hands, and doubt. This is probably why I love Mercy Me's song "You are I AM". I could've written that song.

After our appointment we spent about four hours doing nothing in the room. It has been so great to have a comfortable room where we don't mind just hanging out. Although Evie LOVES to be out and about, especially if the stroller is involved, our times in the room are really very nice. She tends to be a little show-offy when we are out, and I see more of her true personality when we're just having downtime.

We went back to Banana Leaf with travel friends (gosh, we are going to miss all these families SO much) and had another great lunner. We also explored the fish pond and garden behind the hotel. I can't believe we've been here all week and I just went out there! The kids fed the fish and Evie got over her initial fear of them (remember, she hates animals). She did not care for the fake deer in the back of the garden, though. She is lucky we are not going to our old house in TN, where the deer would literally walk up to the front porch.

I was going to buy ice cream in the hotel, and a bar of Haagen-Dazs was 80 yuan, which is about $13. Hhmmm, no thank you. Walked back out to 7 Eleven and bought $1 ice cream cones instead. Then we met our friend Sydney and her little guy Rune in the lobby to say good-bye. They were headed back to the States today. Well, Evie was very sweet and gave everyone hugs and kisses. When we started to walk away she started sobbing - a big, really sad cry. It is the second time in the last couple of days that she does this after saying good-bye to someone. She is having a really hard time with the whole good-bye thing. We have to say bye to more good friends tomorrow, and I 'm going to have to not make it obvious that it's a good-bye. These are the two families we have spent the most time with this week, and I think her little heart is going to break!!!! Luckily, she won't understand our words, so I think we can pull it off!!!

I am extremely excited to be on my way home tomorrow night. I miss everyone more than I imagined I could. Yet I am also sad to be saying farewell to people that have become so dear. We've been cheering each other on for months, sending each other presents, celebrating milestones together, and then were blessed enough to be here together and share our first days as new families. We got to hold each other babies and watch them learning to like and trust their new parents. All I can say is thank God for Facebook, that I will get my fill of keeping up with these sweet babies and see them grow up with their new families, and get the joy pf watching them (from afar) get to know about their Savior!!! My joy in adopting Evie and getting to be a part of her life is multiplied times each of these dear families. And, it will be fun to watch some of them come back in the coming years to add to their families again ( yeah, you know who you are. I'm telling you, you'll be back).

As for tomorrow, topping the agenda is sleeping in. We have an overnight flight to Tokyo tomorrow night, so I want us both well rested. We just need to make sure we make it to breakfast before it ends. I might go down in my jammies!

A few random pictures I hadn't posted: