Swimming!

We finally had a more "normal" week now that we have
been home a month. It felt great to have a bit of a
routine. We had friends visit from Racine and had a
great time catching up and having them get to know
Emma.

We took the kids swimming yesterday and we weren't
sure how Emma would respond as we didn't know what her
experience with swimming was. Well, the minute we
walked into the pool room, she started SCREAMING!!
The kind of scream that makes everyone stare and
wonder what you are doing to harm your child. She
settled down and played on the side of the pool for a
while. Then, she slowly warmed up to the water and
splashed around, bounced in the water, and eventually
put her face in the water. She get so proud of
herself when she does something "new". It is fun to
watch her grow and develop.

Emma's words are coming more frequently. She said her
first semi-sentence today. "More juice." Close
enough! She is really good at saying "no", so it is
pretty easy to discern what she doesn't want and we
are working on more words so that we can know what she
does want!

We tried to have Emma stay in her Sunday School room
today so we could go to church together. That didn't
go so well, so I (mom) went back in within moments to
calm her and remind her that I will come back. This
will definitely be a process, but I know that she will
be comfortable one day. She does fine if we leave, as
long as a brother or two is still with her. That is a
step in the right direction. She has only been with
us for 6 weeks. She is doing great.

It's hard to believe it's almost April and the
forecasters are predicting 4-6 inches of snow
tomorrow. The boys have been enjoying playing
outside, which is great for keeping the townhouse more
in order. We are very much looking forward to summer!

Thanks for checking in with us. Write us if you have
a chance!

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Happy Easter!

We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating Jesus!
We wish it were a warm, spring day, without snow, but
it's been a fun day of celebration as a new family.
We are so grateful! Have a great day!

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What a month!

Well, it's been a month since we first met Emma and we
are all adjusting quite well. I (Lisa) ended up
having my appendix out a week after returning home
from China. It was a quick surgery and a short
recovery and we are all thrilled that it happened
here, rather than there. The boys have been on Spring
Break this week, so it has given us a chance to hang
out and get to know each other. Some days this was a
good thing. . . other days it was not!! The kids are
doing well playing together and Emma seems to fit in
quite well. She sleeps great, takes good naps, and is
generally a happy child.

She loves to color, play with play-doh, push the
stroller (rather than ride in it), and play with her
babies. She loves to pick out her clothes, dress
herself (including putting on her own diaper at
bedtime) and put clips in her hair (only to remove and
lose them 2 minutes later). She loves to play in her
nursery room at church and when I went to get
information on preschool for the fall, she practically
joined a class within minutes. She is quite social!

We continue to connect with Emma's foster family on a
regular basis. We are so grateful for this connection
and for their love for our daughter. It is a gift
from God and we are so blessed. They continue to have
sad days as they miss their girls, but it is getting
easier as they get back into the routine of life. I'm
sure your prayers would be appreciated as they
continue to adjust.

Our move back to MN has been pretty easy. Our only
problem is selling the house in Racine. We hope that
spring will bring some buyers, so please pray that it
sells. The townhouse is working out fine, but it is
not ideal and we look forward to finally getting
settled. The boys have adjusted well at their school
and it's great to be back at our church. We have
reconnected with friends and sometimes it feels like
we never left. If only we could move back into our
cul-du-sac which we loved so much! We continue to be
thankful for our time spent in Racine, but are
thrilled to be back "home". We have friends from
Racine coming up this week and we can't wait!

So, that's the quick update of our time at home.
Thanks for continuing to check in. It's always great
to hear from you. Have a very happy Easter.

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Fwd: Fun at home

> Photos back at home.
> 1. The kids watching a little TV together.
> 2. Emma with Auntie Suzy
> 3. The kids playing a lovely game of "shoot
> brother"
> while AJ has an envelope on his head.
>
> Emma fits right into the chaos! The kids all love
> each other. They have spent all afternoon playing
> together and making each other laugh. What fun!
>
>
>
>
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> Be a better friend, newshound, and
> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
>
http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>
>

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All is well!

Well, it's day 3 being home and things are going well. The boys and Emma are having a blast playing together. My parents, brother and sister-in-law have been here this weekend and Emma seems to be adjusting to visitors just fine. We are recovering from jet lag fairly well. Emma is fairly awake in the night from about 1-3 am, but in general doing well. Maybe tonight we'll all sleep through the night.

We went to church today and Emma, Suzie (Sister-in-law) and I spent the hour in Emma's new Sunday School room. She did great and loved all of the toys. There are many sweet kids in that class so Emma will have a great time once she's able to adjust.

Tomorrow will be our first "normal" day at home with the boys at school, Justin at work, and Emma and me at home. We are more than ready to figure out what "normal" looks like. We've been waiting for this for a long time.

Finally Home!

We made it! We didn't get much sleep but had a pretty smooth trip. It's good to be home to see the boys and to watch Emma in her new home. She seems to be doing well. The boys are doing a great job playing with Emma. Matthew has even already had a tea party with her. AJ just likes to make her laugh by doing silly things like running into the wall.

I can't wait to sleep!

Our Last Day

It finally warmed up! We have had a lovely day today with sun and warmth! We started the day with a walk back to "Time Square" and a stop at McDonalds. The food wasn't that great, but the Coca Cola sure was! We got a double cheeseburger value meal and a kids happy meal for only $4. What a steal!



This afternoon, we went to the Consulate to take our oath. It is the final step, this side of the ocean. There are still some things that we need to take care of when we get home, but the worst of the paper trail is finished. The gentleman said that they have over 500 pieces of paper in their files for each child. Wow! I have officially decided that it is easier to be pregnant (and for those of you who know me well, realize what that means!). Thankfully, we are just 20 hours away from the finish line of this part of our adventure. We are looking forward to the next leg!



We talked with the boys today for the last time while we are in China. They were really inquisitive about Emma, so I know that they are getting excited. We miss them so much and can't wait to see them and give them huge hugs! It will be so great to be home.



If any of you are free and near the Mpls airport on Friday, our flight arrives at 2:05 from Portland. We have mixed reviews as to where we will clear customs, so we don't have exact details. We'd love to see you at the airport. If not, then we look forward to our upcoming visits so that you can meet Emma.



This will be our last blog entry until we recover back on US soil. Thank you for your support, thoughts and prayers while we have been here. We are so thankful for each of you! Emma will soon realize how blessed she is to have so many people who care for her. We can't wait to see you!!



P.S. The attached photos are from our photo shoot yesterday on the famous "Red Couch" where all adopted kids get their photos taken at the White Swan Hotel. Emma wasn't exactly cooperating, but some of the pics are cute anyway. The girls are all wearing their traditional clothes. We bought Emma's outfit in Guizhou while we were staying there.