Consulate re-opens

The rush to the US Consulate was yet another great adventure.  Following a subway excursion to the grocery store (one of our favorite sites that never gets old) we were enjoying a soda and got the calls & emails...the Consulate will open in 1 hour for a special session just for the adoptive families.  Thank you to the efforts of many in our gov't back home!

It was a mad scramble for cabs, buses, and anything that moves as ~ 100 families from multiple hotels tried to make their way across town to the US Consulate during the beginning of rush hour to make the 3:30 appointment.  It was some of the best people watching we have seen in years as the flood of emotions came out through a wide range of personalities.  It was like the Amazing Race.  By the way, we think if there is ever a family version of Amazing Race, we want to challenge you...just think of it, you and nine of your relatives (all ages!) turned loose to navigate your way through a far away land... talk about a unique and amusing adventure. If any of you are wondering...not that we are competitive :)...our group was first to go through security, following a cab battle and sending a runner to bring our official China medical forms to meet us in front of the security entrance.  Great teamwork!

Bath time... not crying anymore with this experience...notice the belly that is new :)

We followed the security process, including no cameras, phones, or backpacks; this means it is you and one diaper for the next 2 hours, good luck.  The Consulate typically processes, at most, 12 Visas at a time and instead they were working 100 in a special closed-door session.  The immigration oath with 100 families in unison was really cool as the kids all quieted down for the first time in 2 hours and the parents, all in unison, verified the accuracy of their paperwork on behalf of their child.  A really fun moment.

It was great to watch as names were called of many of the families we have met over the last couple weeks...we would smile and sometimes cheer loudly...not sure they knew what to do with the St.Clair crew.  It has been amazing to get to know a number of families from around the US, sharing this experience and developing fast friendships in our short time together.



Hanging with a new friend..Cormack...bilingual 5th grader...playing UNO and goofing around is international.

Now that all is done, we have about 36 hours to await our final document packet and our return trip.  If all goes as planned we will land in PHX on Sat 5/18 around 11 pm AZ time.  We will attempt to slow our pace and take in the significance of these last few hours before travel.  Today, it seems so apparent that there are moments in life that we often have to force ourselves to slow down and take in the relationship or the experience that is happening.  Our prayer for you is that you will find those moments daily...we believe they are not only in China, but those moments are often there for all of us if we slow enough to see the Lord working and join in...  

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!