Sorry that I was absent a few days! Things go very busy and there was just no time to sit down and compose a decent entry. But, now I can fill in all the blanks and share some pictures.
On Wednesday we had to go to the PSP (Passport Services) to apply for Matthew's Chinese passport. Both our other children had theirs issued already at the time of adoption, so this was new for us.
In the van over to the PSP, our guide explained that she heard we had a nice chat with the notary yesterday. I said, "oh yes, he was a lot of fun." Then she said that Holt (our adoption agency) got a call from him that morning. Uh Oh. My heart sank. What did we do wrong? Mike thought that he might have wanted us to come to dinner or something. Well, it turns out that in all that conversation the day before, that the notary forgot to have us sign the paperwork. Oooppps. That is kind of important. So, we learned that we would have to go to his office (not the civil affairs office) and sign the paperwork so they could process Matthew's adoption. Too funny.
Our guide had us meeting her "early" as she called it so we could be first in line. The office did not open until 3, and we got there just a bit before that. We certainly were first! We also had to wait about an hour. The other families started arriving, and then they had to wait too. Once it was our turn, it took one minute. Literally, we were at the desk for one minute and then we left and went on to the notary's office.
When we arrived, we were greeted with a big smile and the paperwork we needed to sign. That took all of one minute (plus 3 more minutes of joking and laughing with the notary) and we were done.
For dinner, we decided that we would head to "The Island" (Shaiman Island) and get some of our shopping done as well. We went to Lucy's- not because we liked the food, but for tradition. Matthew needed his picture taken at the table at Lucy's just like we have from the past two Chinese adoptions. He ate so much food that I am still not sure where he managed to put it all.
By the way, the White Swan Hotel is still "open" during construction. So, future adoptive families-- take note. You CAN get to the red couch, and you can get to the bathrooms. Very handy when you do not want to use a squatty potty.
