Sunday, June 19, 2011

Walk through the world with me...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY!! I love you SOOOO much! Emmaxia/Sweets

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Happy Easter!

Peek-a-boo!
WOOooaaaaahhhhh! Thank you for spending Easter with us, Grandma Theresa. I love playing with you!!!
Counting our blessings...

Mother Nature must have overslept...

because these images are not from December--they're from APRIL!

Minnesota Visit

Thank you for a wonderful visit, everyone! I'm sorry my mommy isn't very good about taking pictures, so we don't have any to share of Uncle John, Tyler, and London. (We do have fun memories, though!) Here are a few moments Mommy did capture.... Isn't Grandma "Honey" beautiful?! (Yea, AND she knows "Patty Cake" and "Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Peek-a-Boo" and how to give really great hugs and snuggles!)
Uncle Chad, Mommy says she's sorry your face isn't visible in this picture, but she couldn't resist sharing this one because it shows how much you make me laugh!
Uncle Kevin, Auntie R.J., Rylee, and Delaney, thank you for letting us stay with you! We had so much fun!! (Sorry we couldn't use the sidewalk chalk--I'll save it for when you come to visit!)
Love you all and miss you already!
Emmaxia

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Oh, What a Difference a Year Makes!

One year ago, today, we saw our beautiful daughter's face for the first time...and discovered a new sun's shine!
Not only have we enjoyed revisiting the memory of our first glimpse at Emmaxia, but we've also appreciated the chance to reflect on our journey to becoming a family. Naturally, we're reminded of the unwavering support from our family and friends and their immediate, complete love for this wonderful little person. Thank you, all, for listening patiently when we needed to mourn another year of waiting and for knowing none of that mattered anymore as soon as you saw her photograph.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Words Optional

Hey, what is that you're eating? Looks pretty good...may I have a taste?
If you're not sharing your "yum-yum" (aka chocolate), I shouldn't have to share my blocks.
Stop everything! My daddy just walked in the room!

February Adventures

Ah, the wonderful world of messy foods...I LOVE pasta and sauce!
Auntie R.J., Rylee, and Delaney visited the weekend of our Chinese New Year celebration. Don't we look festive in our beautiful outfits?!
Happy New Year!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Check out my super cool gift from Uncle Kevin, Auntie R.J., Rylee, and Delaney!
I'm off to spread the love!
Whew--that was exhausting work, but I hope I reached all of you!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Christmas offered a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the last five years and the many family and friends who supported us in our journey to Emmaxia and continue to support us as we learn to walk with her.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

We struggle to express the depth of the joy we felt as we watched Emmaxia interact with many of these amazing people during the holidays, so we thought we'd let the pictures express for us! (Family, We're sorry that we don't have pictures of all of you. We need to be much better at capturing those moments! Please know that, even if you're not pictured in this section, we have images in our minds of the holidays and your time with Emmaxia.) "Raspberries" with Kyle and giggles with Grandma Theresa
Cheering on the Badgers with Aunt Colleen during the Rose Bowl...too bad the game didn't turn out as well as Em's pigtails!
Uncle Don helps Emmaxia drive her new car. (This will not be the last time Uncle Don is called for his automotive expertise!)
Dear Honey and Uncle Chad, Thank you for that super cool sled and path around the yard!
And thank you, Tyler, for hauling us all around...again and again...
and again!
Honey gave snowshoes a try--not quite the way they were supposed to work, unfortunately, but Honey showed me that I should always be willing to have fun and be able to laugh at myself! : )
Auntie R.J. gave my cousin Delaney and me a turn around the yard too!
Hmm...I know I look like I can't move in the snowsuit (actually, I really couldn't move in that snowsuit), but I really had a fun day. I am going to like this snow thing!
Honey and me sledding... I felt snug as a bug in a rug!
Snuggles with Uncle Chad
and Uncle John!
Cousin Tyler, will you teach me to be a Twins fan? And a Vikings fan?!
Thank you for holding onto me, Delaney!
My cousins, Rylee and Delaney. Don't you love their hats?! Me too...I think I might have a chance to wear them someday! : )
Thank you for a wonderful first Christmas, everyone! I love you all!
Kisses and snuggles,
Emmaxia

Greetings, Guests!

We will use this blog to share news as we move one step closer to Baby Rock each day.

For those who need a bit of background...
We decided to adopt a baby from China in September/October of 2005. After completing mountains of paperwork, background checks, fingerprinting, etc. (collectively called the dossier), we were officially on China's waiting list on April 14th, 2006. This moment of acceptance is called the log-in date (LID). This date is quite significant because families are matched with children according to LID. If you follow referral dates (the date a waiting child is matched with a waiting family), you will be able to see how close we are to being matched--at least in theory. When we started the process three and a half years ago, China was matching month for month, meaning one month of LIDs were taking one month to match. Now, unfortunately, one month of LIDs is taking about four months or more. So...we wait...we vent...we cry...we breathe...we hope...we believe.

*To our family and friends-
A huge hug and thank you for sharing our frustration and our joy as we practice patience and faith, knowing Baby Rock is just over the horizon.

Please consider joining our blog as a follower. To do so, select "Follow" on the right side of the blog, and follow the simple directions from there. Don't be shy; include a picture if you're able to download an image of yourself/your family.

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