Slides from our day at Magic Kingdom

Busy week!!!

This has been a very busy week!! First, we have spent time every day with Angie, a wonderful Godly woman who will bless us by taking care of Emma when I have to go back to work in just over a week. She suggested we leave Emma there some this week so she could see that we come back for her. Well, we did do this, and Emma did better than what we expected. I know it will still be a transition for her, but she will do fine. Everyone is praying for it!!

Then, on Tuesday, we met friends at Chuck E Cheese. We got to spend time with Karina, who is just over a year old, and from Guatemala, her mom, Marcie, and siblings, plus another good friend, Lori, that we have made through other friends who were adopting. We have pictures to post, but I am having trouble with my camera downloading. Hopefully, I can get it figured out, and can get it done soon.

Last, but definitely not least, Wednesday we received Emma's Certificate of Citizenship. It came on White House stationery, and was signed by the President of the United States. It states that Emma is a United States Citizen as of August 22, the date that we returned from China to the United States.

We leave tomorrow afternoon for a week of vacation in Orlando, FL. We hope to get to Disney, MGM, Epcot and the Animal Kingdom, with a water park thrown in there somewhere.

Then on Monday, Oct. 8, Emma goes to Dr. Carson at Johns Hopkins to have her tethered cord evalauation done to determine when we need to have her surgery. Pray that all goes well with the appointment, and that her surgery can be done sometime after the first of the year, when hopefully, it will be less of a trauma because she will have been with us longer.

Oh, I almost forgot...Emma had her first haircut today!! We just had it shaped up a bit, and did her bangs so they don't hang down in her eyes with no hairbow. She looks adorable!!

20 months today!!!

Today, our sweet girl is 20 months old. She is a happy girl most all the time, and is a joy to our family. Today also celebrates 6 weeks that we have been mom and dad to this precious gift from God.

Blessed beyond measure

Each day with Emma is such a blessing. God knew she was our daughter, even though China said otherwise a few times. How on earth could she possibly belong to anyone else? She is the perfect child for our family.

This weekend, she played a lot, and went to Homecoming at Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Peggy's Church on Sunday. Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Past couple of days

Emma had her first Reece's on Thursday, thanks to brother, Josh! She thought it was pretty good! Then, Friday, we spent the day downtown at the Science Museum, shops and lunch. Friday afternoon, we took a couple new pics with Baba (Daddy in Chinese). Enjoy the pictures...

Welcome Home Emma!

Our wonderful friends Russ and Deb had a 'Welcome Home Emma' party for us on Saturday. They worked very hard and everything was absolutely wonderful! They invited several families, including the Landes', the Boitnotts, and the Millers, who all came and shared in the joy of Emma finally being home with us. God has really blessed us with wonderful friends throughout this process, and Emma has so many people who love her and pray for her - she too is blessed and is a blessing to us.

Enjoy the pictures from the party - we had a great time!! Thank you to Russ and Deb!!! We love you guys!

Beautiful girl at church today

Emma went to her Sunday School for a little while today, but did go to nursery during Church service, and did great! Here are a couple of pictures from this morning, and a few from this afternoon too - she is starting to like the cocker spaniels, finally.

Our friends Russ and Deb, with their daughters, Lily and Lucy, have visited our church a few times, and were there today! We are so glad they like, and want to get the girls involved in activities. We are blessed to have them as friends!

Today is the one month anniversary of Gotcha Day

One month ago today, August 13, Emma Grace SiQi was placed in our arms to become a part of our family forever. We don't have a lot of serious pictures of her, since she is usually smiling or cutting up, but we are attaching a slide show of what we do have.

Emma's weekend

Emma loves to play on the couch! She stands up and yells to everybody, at the dogs, or just plays with toys or blocks - she is easy to entertain.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Old Salem Days a while, then to a Sunday School Banquet. Emma stayed home with GuGu and grandma and grandpa.

On Sunday, we went to church. We went to the early service since we had nursery today. Then, Emma went to her own Sunday School class, and didn't fuss at all.

She is such a good girl!!!

Emma's first doctor visit

On Tuesday, Emma had her first visit with the doctor. Everything checked out great, and she is a healthy baby girl! She weighed 19.3 pounds, and was 31.5 inches long. Her weight is a little under the 5th percentile, but her height was in the 30th. She got four shots which made her a little unhappy, but only for a few minutes. It must have made her tired, and she went to sleep. Here's a few pics from her visit. I didn't get any with the doctor, though.

Pics from church Sunday

Here are a few pics from church yesterday...

I love to play!

Emma loves to play in her room now. She has lots of toys, and she and I have been playing all week long! Here are some pics from this afternoon's playtime and, her snack time too...