Our File is in Kansas City!! (Week 23).

I have a positive "Sophie Update" to share. I found out this week that the Chicago USCIS office did indeed transfer our file to Kansas City. If they would have put an ounce of the effort that they have used to avoid working on our file into actually processing it we would have had I171H approval weeks and weeks ago! Remember, the approximate wait time for Illinois is 8-12 weeks and we just finished week 23 of the wait! Anyway, while we are disappointed that Chicago did not do their job and take ONE HOUR out of their day to process our file, we are at the same time relieved that it is out of their hands. According to the senators office Kansas City is reviewing it now! I am praying that there are no more delays so that we can get our dossier to China already!

We think of Sophie every day and our arms ache to hold her. If I close my eyes I swear that I can smell her scent and feel her soft skin. Please keep Sophie and our family in your prayers so that I can hold her for real one day. And, feel free to send "bad thoughts" to the Chicago office... ;P

A Day in the Life of Emma

It has been awhile since I have posted on the girls blog, Emma has been keeping me BUSY! All of the random pictures below were taken over the past week. Enjoy!!! :)

Emma hanging out in her room "listening to mucik"-(Music)!
Showing off her tattoos!
Emma looks like she is 10 to me in this picture--she is growing up so quickly! : (
Enjoying her nightly ice cream cone habit, she is obsessed with napkins!

Exercising with Daddy!

Eggs -N- Emma's Shiner!

Yesterday morning Emma decided that we wanted to "help" me make her breakfast. She enjoyed sitting on the counter and beating her egg, she even used her fingers a bit to stir. : P

As you can see Emma had a bandaid on her cheek. The night before she had fallen asleep in our room and tumbled out of bed catching the corner of the night stand with her cheek. Yesterday afternoon I took the bandaid off and the cut is healing well. But, her black eye continues to get darker...and DARKER...now she has a "U" under her eye! This picture does not do justice, trust me! I do have to say though for as much as this little girl runs and jumps around I am surprised that this is the first injury that she has gotten; she lives up to her zodiac sign-The Monkey! ; )

Emma's First Pony Ride!!

Yesterday afternoon we took Emma to Watson Park in Wichita. We researched the Park online and found that they offered Pony Rides, Paddle Boat Rides, and Train Rides...all three sounded right up Emma's alley!

As far back as we can remember Emma has always been hiking up her leg and trying to ride something; Daddy, other kids, animals at the petting zoo and our dogs, her toy rocking horse, you get the idea! From these pictures it is pretty apparent that horse riding lessons will be in Emma's future! : ) She was not frightened AT ALL of the ponies, she ran right into the pen with the employee (we were not allowed in) and chose a pony to ride. We were the two nervous and stupid looking parents standing by the fence telling Emma to sit straight and hold on with two hands! : ) She barely held onto the saddle and was as relaxed as could be! We actually had to take her back later in the day for a second ride!

Ride the Cow!

WalMart is getting quite expensive these days, and it is not only the price of groceries! I can not get in the enterance with out paying 50 cents for Emma to ride the Boar. She insists that it is called a COW and tells me "Emma Needs to ride the COW at WulMart"! It is always the best 45 seconds of her day. :)

Emma is really into Barney these days-and if I knew who introduced him to her I would *kill* that person...Greg and I are not fans of Barney. ;) Anyway, when Auntie Bertha in Michigan heard that Emma wanted a stuffed Barney she went through Cousin Katie's old toys and found one. Lao Lao promptly mailed it & as you can see by the look on Emma's face Barney has found a good home! :) (Thank You Bertha and Katie)!

Pool Fun!

Walking to the pool (Emma no longer wants to ride in her stroller)!
Emma just loves her pink tube! (It's too big for her but she can fit in it with her life jacket on perfectly....).
Playing with Daddy-her preferred playmate these days!
Emma loves her Daddy so much!!
"Emma's Swimming"! (This is what she told us).

When we first brought Emma to visit the neighborhood pool after Memorial Day she was very frightened and refused to leave the steps! It is amazing to see her at the pool now just 5 weeks later! :) She LOVES it! While she is still cautious she will float around with her life jacket on and likes to use her tube too.

Note: I am still having issues rotating pictures, I press the rotate button but nothing happens-ARGH-frustrating!! ; )

Happy Birthday.....AMERICA?!

Over the weekend Emma kept informing us that she "NEEDED" a piece of birthday cake. We have no idea how she came up with this, but she had cake on the brain. So, being the pushover that I am-I baked her a cake. She wanted candles in it and she insisted that all three of us sing Happy Birthday! When I asked her who we should sing to she responded "EMMA"!! :) I explained that since it was not her birthday we could not do that, instead I suggested that we sing to America since it was the holiday weekend. She agreed (although she will sing to anything...). So we had quite an impromptu party for America on Sunday! : )