Today was the "official" finalizing of Nicole’s adoption. The group of us went to the same Registers Office where yesterday we were presented with Nicole. The adoption paperwork was completed well before today, so it was basically paying the various fees, going through an interview, getting a family photo taken for later attachment to Nicole’s Adoption Certificate and then returning back to the hotel. While it may sound like an uneventful day, it was far from it. Being told by a Chinese official, "Congratulations, Chen Tong Shu is your legally adopted daughter Nicole Tong Shu Leimbach" was a very significant event.
The adoption is now legal!
During our interview, the first question asked was, "Are you happy with this little girl" to which we replied, "Delighted beyond words" and went through several more questions, all of which was recapping what we had already replied to on the various forms the day before.
The final adoption process consisted of Kelly, Nicole, and me all signing with our names and fingerprints in red ink. Nicole’s "signing" was with her footprint in red ink.
After a long day, you can see what Nicole thought was the best thing to do – NAP!
This has certainly been a great day for us, but the morning did start off rather bad for one of our fellow couples. While the group of us were having breakfast, a very professional thief came by and took one of their backpacks. The backpack just happened to be the one containing their passports and all their cash for this morning’s adoption related fees - close to $4,000. The hotel security cameras did record the thief walking out of the hotel with the backpack, but we doubt he will be caught. Changsha is a city with 7 million residents.
Our adoption agency (CCAI) handled the situation very well. First off, all of us had to provide 3 copies of our passport photo page and Chinese Visa page to the CCAI representatives when we first arrived. CCAI arranged to pay the various adoption fees with later reimbursement by the couple, so their final processing could occur unhindered. CCAI handled the problem extraordinarily well, which should comfort anyone who is concerned about our well being. The Good Lord is watching over us very closely and we are in good hands.
Tomorrow is supposed to be an easy day, no more 6:30 wake-up call, running around town, etc. Well, I'm sure Nicole will have something about the wake-up call, she gets up PROMPTLY at 5 am!