The Fair

Saturday my mom and I took the girls to the fair. They rode all of the kiddie rides, inspected the livestock, watched the weiner dog races, and ate cotton candy and ice cream. The outing ended with the rodeo which Olivia slept through!

Emma Rose's Gotcha Day!

On Septemeber 19th, we celebrated Emma Rose's Gotcha Day! It was 7 years ago that I received a tiny, scared 11 month old baby in the hotel lobby in Xian. We celebrate this day every year. Here are a few pictures from this year's celebration.

School Girls

Well, with all of the commotion of starting school and submitting Celia's LOI, I never got around to posting our first day of school pictures. Emma Rose is now a second grader and Olivia is in Kindergarten. I am very fortunate to teach at the same school that the girls attend.

Waiting for Travel Approval

All of the official documents are signed and delivered to the CCAA. Now I await the last document--the travel approval. Once I receive this, my agency will be able to schedule my consulate appointment. I am hoping to travel the beginning of November. Here's hoping that the timing of the TA and consulate appointment work out!

Celia Grace Qianxue

This was sent to me by a fellow Shandong parent who happened to meet Celia in June while visiting the Qingdao orphanage during her adoption trip.

Celia Grace Qianxue!!

I have waited a long time to make this post...

Here is my beautiful Celia Grace:






Here is some info on Celia Grace:
Birthdate: April 29, 2007
Location: Qingdao City Children's Welfare Center in Shandong Province
Chinese Name: Chen Qianxue (We are told that Qianxue is symbolic of "a life's journey of purity")

Can't wait for travel approval and then finally being able to go get my sweet daughter!

Referral Pictures X 3

It is amazing to me...my girls obviously each have their own distinct look in their referral pictures, yet there is something similar about them that you can't quite put your finger on. When we locked Celia's file to submit our paperwork to adopt her, I had not seen her picture yet. Once we opened the email and saw her sweet face, it was unanimous...somehow she looked like a Focarile Girl! Here are the first glimpses I saw of my daughters. They look like they belong together, don't you think?

Emma Rose:


Olivia:


Celia: