Today was a good day! Caleb ate well and took a morning and afternoon nap. We had to wake him up from the afternoon nap to get ready to go to the Embassy. We were worried this would tick him off and possibly send him into a tailspin, but luckily he did just fine. We drove to the Embassy with Zorya and Caleb was great in the car and while we waited in the Embassy office.
There were so many other families there to get their visas! We got to meet some other Kyrg families and also several families adopting from Kazakhstan. It was so special to see all these children - ranging in age from 6 months to 3 years old - be given the right to come to America and be US Citizens.
The Consul finally called our name and we walked up to "Window #4". We were prepared to answer questions about our finances, our home, Caleb's room, our first trip - you name it, we were ready to talk about it. Thankfully the Consul had no questions for us! He asked us to sign a few papers and it was one of the best feelings in my entire life. You could tell he had taken the time to know Caleb's name - and he would say, "Sign here, stating that Caleb will receive this" etc. He always used his name, rather than just using a generic term like 'your child' or 'the baby'.
Then the Consul began to explain what had just happened. He said, "When you get home, go to the US Citizens line in Customs as Caleb will now be a US Citizen and your legally adopted son". Bryan and I both got teary eyed as he was saying this. I could barely answer back when he was handing the papers to us.
It was the last step. We are done- he is ours, he will be given the right to be a citizen of our great country, and he will be our son. All we have to do is get home, and after all we've been through that flight seems do-able at this point.
The Consul gave us Caleb's Kyrgyz passport back which contains one of the funniest visa photos I've ever seen. The picture is below - you really need to click on it and enlarge it because he looks like a baby deer in headlights. Bryan and I laugh every time we see it! We can't wait to carry him through the US Citizens line, have them stamp his passport and put his tiny little baby feet on US soil. We've loved him and claimed him as our son in our hearts for so long and now we can make it official. I know I've said it a million times, but I just can't believe that God has done this for us, that we made it, that it's finally done. It's a relief and a pure adrenaline rush all at the same time.
There were so many other families there to get their visas! We got to meet some other Kyrg families and also several families adopting from Kazakhstan. It was so special to see all these children - ranging in age from 6 months to 3 years old - be given the right to come to America and be US Citizens.
The Consul finally called our name and we walked up to "Window #4". We were prepared to answer questions about our finances, our home, Caleb's room, our first trip - you name it, we were ready to talk about it. Thankfully the Consul had no questions for us! He asked us to sign a few papers and it was one of the best feelings in my entire life. You could tell he had taken the time to know Caleb's name - and he would say, "Sign here, stating that Caleb will receive this" etc. He always used his name, rather than just using a generic term like 'your child' or 'the baby'.
Then the Consul began to explain what had just happened. He said, "When you get home, go to the US Citizens line in Customs as Caleb will now be a US Citizen and your legally adopted son". Bryan and I both got teary eyed as he was saying this. I could barely answer back when he was handing the papers to us.
It was the last step. We are done- he is ours, he will be given the right to be a citizen of our great country, and he will be our son. All we have to do is get home, and after all we've been through that flight seems do-able at this point.
The Consul gave us Caleb's Kyrgyz passport back which contains one of the funniest visa photos I've ever seen. The picture is below - you really need to click on it and enlarge it because he looks like a baby deer in headlights. Bryan and I laugh every time we see it! We can't wait to carry him through the US Citizens line, have them stamp his passport and put his tiny little baby feet on US soil. We've loved him and claimed him as our son in our hearts for so long and now we can make it official. I know I've said it a million times, but I just can't believe that God has done this for us, that we made it, that it's finally done. It's a relief and a pure adrenaline rush all at the same time.
With our Kazakhstan coordinator, Zorya after we got Caleb's Visa:
I guess that is why I can't sleep right now! Caleb went to sleep at 6:30pm after gobbling 2 bottles and Bryan and I went to sleep too. I woke up thinking about the enormity of what has happened and couldn't go back to sleep. We are so excited to have made it this far and prayerful that the flight home will go well. Our plan is to keep our flights the same and leave at 3am on Friday morning. We'll arrive in Houston at 1:30pm on Friday after probably being awake for close to 48 hours. We'll probably look tired and ugly but I can guarantee you we'll have huge smiles on our faces!
Here are a few more pictures from today...
With Caleb before we went downstairs for breakfast, where he fell asleep again
Caleb showing off his naptime Houdini moves- rolling from
stomach to side and kicking off all the covers on his skinny little legs
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