Adoption Day Part 2 - its done!

Well, today she is officially ours!!! Yesterday we were only "guardians" but as of today we have adopted Wei Fen as "Noelle Wei Fen Howard"! First, we went to the civil affairs office and answered questions for a judge and signed our names. Our guide had us fill out some paper work the night before so it had sped things up today. Then, in the same office we went into another room and counted out $3,000 in crisp $100 U.S. bills as required for the orphanage donation to keep things running. Then, in that same office we counted them out $1755 in U.S. bills for the provincial government's adoption fees. Finally, we counted out $450 Yuan (divide by 8), which is $56 to pay for a newspaper or similar search to give us the abandonment notice for when Noelle was found. If anyone is interested in adoption we will tell you the other fees and expenses involved as well as process information, etc (for example if your income qualifies there can be a tax benefit to adoption and some companies have adoption reimbursement benefits you can check into).

Finally, after correcting some errors in the paperwork that had been done at the civil affairs office they got it right and all of us left for a cross-town trip to the notary public. (right as we were called in Noelle did a "number 2" in her diaper which was so stinky- it was really hilarious, we actually had to go in there like that- you should have seen the uncomfortable look on her face) In about an hour we went into the notary, answered her questions, signed our names, and received our beautiful little red adoption notice and certificate. It was SO exciting that she was officially ours! Prior to all of this you get approval from the U.S. Federal government so we know that we are all set with that side of things.

The government requires that we stay here for 5 days so we have a little ways to go before we go to Guangzhou where the U.S. consulate is so we can get Noelle's U.S. paperwork and entrance requirements completed.

A few comments on Nanchang- for one thing the pollution is much, much less than Beijing- its no worse than Dallas which we can handle. Jamie has noticed the people here in Southern China look a bit different which is interesting (she thinks they look better but hey, we're partial now) - our guide in China had mentioned to us that each region tended to have a different look. Also, although Nanchang is the provincial capital it is much smaller than other major cities with only 3-4 million people and another 3-4 million surrounding rural areas. This is also a poorer city. There is some big business but not as much and there is a lot more poverty. When we flew in we were shocked at the living conditions. Noelle was found and taken care of up to this point in Nanfeng which is much more rural and poor than Nanchang. It is about 3.5 hours away so it is doubtful that any of us will push to make the journey since that would likely turn into a 9-10 hour trip with babies. (having said that its not ruled out yet since there is an obvious desire to know as much as we can, our guide is at a minimum going to try to find out more about Nanfeng)

Notes on the pictures- we went to a Chinese McDonalds today- it was a great break from Chinese food- I took a picture of the menu.

Love you guys, your posts and emails have made us cry with joy and appreciation. Your prayers have lifted us up. Much thanks and love to all of you!