the final steps in making him a citizen

This morning we were up bright and early for breakfast as we needed to meet Lee in the lobby at 7:30 for an "oh so important" appointment.  Unfortunately the early morning didn't get our little one off to a good start.  He refused to eat breakfast after he dropped a cracker on the floor when I picked him up to remove him from his seat following my third warning not to put his feet on the table.  Let's just say that a tired boy with low blood sugar is not a fun one to deal with and we'll leave it at that.

i realized this morning during breakfast when i saw the other families with kids dressed in red/white/blue that somehow i'd failed to pack such for the kids for today's visit.
poor nicholas, no US pride pics on consulate day like we've done on each previous tip
sixth child syndrome...

Thankfully by the time we were arriving at the consulate (and eating an apple in the van) he was a little bit happier.  Our guide asked him a few questions in case the consulate workers interviewed him..."Do you know your birth parents?  Do you like your adoptive parents?  Are you happy in this family?  Do you want to go to America to live?"  His answers were "No, yes, yes, and yes."  They didn't ask him any questions in our time up at the window in processing, but it was good to know that he probably would have agreed to go with us...kids over the age of 10 are asked those questions and have the right to choose to stay in China at this point in the game.

We gave the consulate worker our bazillion papers proving we are who we say we are and he is who we say he is and then took an oath with the other parents in the room that the paperwork is all correct and true to the best of our knowledge.  Then we went back up to the window where we were asked if we knew his medical condition and a few other questions and then were told that everything looked good and that his passport, with his immigrant Visa, should be ready by Friday morning.  (Not sure exactly what we'd do if it wasn't...)

When we got back out of the consulate and met our guide she asked how it went.  We told her all was good and she relayed the news to our boy in Mandarin.  This was his response...

We've so enjoyed our time in country, but each of us is doing a little happy dance that we're closing in on going home.

The kids can't wait to see their friends and even miss school, Ian and I are ready for some normal routine, we're looking forward to having Amber, Pickles and Dumplings back at home, and ALL of us can't wait for some raw veggies, salads, fresh fruits (not just at breakfast) and being able to drink water from the tap.