Last day in China....consulate appt here we come!!!

Hello everyone - we are hoping this is our LAST POST FROM CHINA!!!! We will be leaving this hotel in about 20 hours(9am Friday morning here, and 8pm THursday night at home), arriving in Philadelphia a little after 10pm on Friday night!!!! We had a crazy day yesterday getting a call first thing in the morning from Lucy our guide stating that one of the papers our agency had us notarize was incorrect, so I had to leave Matthew, jump in a cab to the Consulate and get a new one done! Matthew stayed with Daddy, and Daddy did a great job taking him to breakfast and hanging out until I got back. I was gone almost 3 hours and was very frustrated with the second piece of incorrect paperwork given to us by our agency, but what are you going to do at this point? We just want to get our baby home to meet everyone as soon as we can!

The best part of the day was when Matthew saw me come in the door after I was gone all morning. He ran to me, put his arms up, hugged me and kept patting my back! I started to cry but it was the most amazing feeling to me knowing that he knew I was his Mommy and that he missed me so much...priceless!

We then went and had lunch together, and Matthew took a good nap before we played, walked, and had dinner with our friends from Arkansas. Before dinner, we had another call from Lucy telling us to go to the business center to verify our flights from Guangzhou to Beijing because "they often mess them up". We couldn't believe that call after the crazy morning, but we did it and everything seems to be in line for us to fly out tomorrow morning to Beijing, then tomorrow evening to Chicago, then Philadelphia here we come!

We had a nice dessert at the deli, and then it was time for some Skype back home and bedtime which was of course after 10pm again. Little guy just doesn't want to miss anything! We are going to let him keep going today until he gives out because we'd like him to be extra tired and ready to sleep for the 26 hours of travel tomorrow!

This morning, we tried to get some of the famous red couch photos in the White Swan hotel, and Matthew did pretty well! We put his little traditional outfit on, but he was so ready to get his jeans and tee shirt back on when we were all done! Now, we are just packing and getting ready to meet our fellow parents here that have consulate appts this afternoon to do our oath, and get Matthew's visa to come home - YEAH! After 20 days, we can't believe we are actually saying we are packing to come home -Chris and I are extremely punchy and laughing a lot today! Matthew doesn't know what to think with the suitcases coming out again, but we know he will adapt just fine! He has so far, and we can't wait to have the rest of his FAMILY and friends meet him soon!

So, 2:45pm we meet the bus here and go to the consulate, get back and have dinner, and then our shuttle takes us at 9am tomorrow morning to the airport to start our journey. We fly from Guangzhou to Beijing 1145-245p, then leave Beijing at 520p, getting into Chicago at 4:48pm, then into Philly a little after 10pm. Pray for us as we have to get our bags in Beijing, Chicago, AND Philly - they aren't checked all the way this time because of different airlines in Beijing, and customs in Chicago, so I think we will have our hands full with Matthew this time!

Can't wait for the next post from HOME!!!! Thanks for sharing in our journey - and for being a part of the next step with matthew being home. We couldn't have been blessed with a more perfect child for us!