Day 15 Wednesday, April 25

It was only a matter of time, but now Tami and I are sick. :( Nothing serious, just the cruds: sore throats, headaches, body aches etc. We tried to hold out as long as we could, but with the Gonsoulins sick, and the getting up at all hours of the night with Allie, it was inevitable. But it couldn't have come at a worse time, as we are trying to pack and prepare for the trip home.

We didn't do much today, except stay in the hotel room and sleep between feedings and play time. We met Cordelia at 3 pm to go to the US Consulate office for our swearing in. She was successful in getting Alison's passport this morning, and now it just needed to get to the Consulate for her U.S. visa that will let her into our beloved country.

The ceremony was very short and sweet, just as I had remembered Charice telling me it would be. "Raise your right hand, repeat after me.." Allie is on a IR-3 visa, which means that the minute she passes through US Immigration and Customs in Seattle on Saturday, she will officially be a US citizen. Yea! We wanted to go out and celebrate last night, but managed to just hit the island's western restaurant (Lucy's) before calling it an early day.

Now just the dreaded thought of getting home. Like most long trips, we are getting rather home sick, and would love to be back in Puyallup. But the thought of this marathon Friday/Saturday travel day just gives me the hee-bee jeebies. I know how tough it was to get to Beijing without a baby, I can't imagine going the other way with a baby. God is good, and He will give us the strength we need....I'm just hoping the other passengers don't stick us out on the plane's wing. :)

I personally feel so out of touch not being home for two weeks. What is going on in the world? Do we still have a house to come home to? Will Max recognize me (I miss him so very much)....I read a little about the Virginia Tech shootings, but that was about it. The english version of 'China Daily' doesn't cover any of the baseball box scores. :)