We are officially a family today..

Hi all. Today we went back to the Civil Affairs office and met with the Notary and one official. They ask you if you want to keep her, promise not to abandon or abuse her, and why you chose to come to China to adopt. As those of you who know me already know, I chose China because they honor and respect their elders and honor their heritage. This was instilled upon me by my grandparents and now I can pass this along to Madison. After we met with the last official, I said good bye to the lady and Madison said her first English words, she told the official "bye- bye". Pretty good after only one day of practice. She is very smart and picks things up quickly, such as "up" and "bus" and "more". She loves to eat and is very social. She will love playing with all of her new friends back home. She is a very happy baby and very content. I am truly blessed to have been given such an easy-going and good natured child.

After the Civil Affairs office, Jophy took us to a merchandise mart similar to the one Shelia and I go to in Miami where everything is available at wholesale, only here it is open to the public as well as to retailers. We picked up several things. However, it was difficult maneuvering with the stroller since the store fronts are very small and the aisles narrow. Tomorrow we have more paperwork and then are going to a museum. Later we will meet up with some other families. That is all for now, after 45 minutes she finally fell asleep. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!