Thursday, December 10, 2015

Tuesday -- She is officially OURS!

  This morning was back to the civil affairs office.  Each family is given 24 hours with their child, and then we have to come back and sign the official documents stating that we want to proceed with the adoption.  They make an adoption certificate and give it to you as well as notarize all of the papers that have come through their office.  So, there were more signatures to sign and red ink stamped thumb prints.  When it was all said and done, Bethany became a Jacobsen!!

We left that office and went to the place where we got her passport picture taken and then went next door to the final office of the day where we applied for her passport.  Now all the paperwork is done in this province, and basically all we have to do is wait for her passport to be issued.  I think we pick it up on Friday morning. 
Back at the hotel, we decided to eat in the room and try to get Bethany to take a nap.  She wasn't too happy about being in bed, so after a few minutes of fussing, I got her up and she let me cuddle her while she went to sleep.  I thought she'd wake right back up, but she stayed asleep even when I put her in bed, and then slept for over 2 hours when I finally woke her up.  I'd gotten concerned that if I let her sleep too long, she'd stay awake during the night.
We went for a walk in a nearby park, which was interesting.  There were tons of seagulls at the lake and people feeding them and taking pictures.  David (our translator) told us that the seagulls migrate here to Kunming for the winter from Siberia.  It's pretty strange to see so many hundreds of seagulls when there is no ocean nearby.  


The other fun thing to see in the park was the dancers.  In one area, there were groups of 6 - 20 people (mostly older, retired people) doing various kinds of dances.  One lady wore a traditional dress and headdress, but most of them were just in everyday clothes enjoying the afternoon.  They weren't doing it for show, although they didn't mind people walking by watching.  David says that they dance for exercise.  Each group had their own sound system with their chosen music playing loudly.  They had particular dance moves and faced each other in a circle.  I guess if you wanted to do a different dance, you just go join a different group.  The last group we saw were pairs doing a couples-type dance, but it wasn't just men-women pairs....  you apparently just found someone to dance with and joined in.
We liked the park, but our arms are WAY out of shape when it comes to carrying a 19 lb. baby!!  We finally had to go back because we were so tired!  ha! 
After a short break in the room, we headed out again for supper.  I was so sleepy by that time that I literally started into the crazy-dream sleep mode sitting in the restaurant waiting for our meal!!  Dan said he saw my eyes closing and knew I was about gone!

We let Bethany play in the bathtub again, and got her ready for bed.  Just like last night, she took half her bottle, fell asleep, stayed asleep when I put her in the crib, and slept all night!!  I keep thinking that somehow this is just TOO easy!!  But, I'll take it while we get it!  I had already gotten ready for bed, too, since I was so tired I could hardly hold her to give her the bottle.  I went to sleep just minutes after she did, and actually slept for almost 8 hours without waking up in jet lag!!  -- Praising God for things continuing to go so very well!!!!

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