28 MONTHS LID MAY 26th

Yesterday we hit 28 months that we have been officially waiting to bring Emma home. Our documents were officially logged into China 1/26/06. Next month will be three years since we started the process. At times the wait has been so difficult, other times it has been very exciting and at other times I just stayed of numb and not let the emotions in. Well, we are almost there. I can't wait to see what China gets through this month. I am hoping that we will receive our referral next month in July.

It has been one long journey to Emma. A journey that is about to end and a new journey that is about to start. I know that it will be one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

HAPPY 26 BIRTHDAY KATIE!

Yesterday was my daughter Katie's 26 Birthday. I feel like it was yesterday that she was going to first grade or starting to learn how to ride horses and before you knew it she was playing lacrosse and then off heading to college. She has become a wonderful young woman and a great friend to me.I can't believe that I am old enough to have a 26 year old daughter.

We had a wonderful dinner together, Champagne toast, presents,cake and ice cream. Katie had two of her friends over for dinner, Stacey and Rebecca. Here is a picture of Katie sporting her new Ray-Ban's with her two friends. Katie is on the left followed by Rebecca and Stacey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!

HAPPY GRADUATION EMILY!

Today my niece Emily graduated from Stonehill College. in MA. What a beautiful day for a graduation. The weather was sunny with a light breeze. We all went out for a nice lunch after the graduation. Erik, Katie, myself, my sisters family, my mother and Jim and of course Frankie. We are so proud of you Emily.

We also meet up with some good old friends that moved away to Florida. Their son Anthony also graduated from Stonehill. He was my son Tim's good friend. We don't get to see them too often. It was nice to catch up with them. We miss you guys. Congratulation Anthony.

May Referrals

Well, referrals came out a couple of weeks ago. I am a little late in posting this. The may referrals didn't get as far as I had hoped. They only did three days. I was feeling so disappointed, thinking at this rate we won't even get ours until Fall. I guess come to find out that China did as many referrals in those three days as they did the month before with eight days. That made me feel a little better. There is still some hope for a possible July referral. Lets keep our fingers crossed.
On another note it was also a very exciting month for referrals. We have had quite a few people from our Yahoo group receive their referrals. The babies are all so beautiful. Our friends Susan and Riz finally received their referral and she is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait for the day I get to meet her.
Congratulations to all of our Precious Panda's.
Lets hope that next month is a big batch.

Finally received our third fingerprint approval

Yesterday we received out third fingerprint approval. YEAH! Erik and I went on March 24th to get our prints done. We had to wait to get them approved because Katie and my Mother-in-law were out of town on the 24th. When they got back we all went up to get theirs done. That was on April 11th. We knew that my MIL's would not pass because, they have not passed in the past. They told us that they would call if they did not pass and set up another appt. so that it wouldn't hold things up. Well, they called the following Tues. and said that they didn't pass. We set up another appt. along with a sworn statement. They have to do a sworn statement if they don't pass the second time (which we knew that they wouldn't). They were really nice and set it all up in one day so that we wouldn't have to come back again for the statement. We also have to get another police clearance for her. Can you believe she has to go through all of this at her age?
Anyway we were approved again for the third time and hopefully the last. Next renewal, I600A.
It's pretty funny when you go to the office to get fingerprinted and they remember you. They said has it been another year already?

Springtime in Sweden Saab Gathering

On Saturday the 26th we had Kyle and Tim's Fifth annual Saab gathering. We do this to raise money for their scholarship fund. It was a beautiful day for it. The sun was out and it was a bit windy. People came from all over New England, NY and some other states. We had a great turnout this year with more than 70 Saabs.

It was so nice to see a lot of the boys friends, meet new people and welcome back people who have been coming for years.

We do this event because Kyle loved Saabs and Tim was close behind. They would spend many hours out in the driveway working on them. Friends would come over and they would all just hang out talking cars and who did what to their car. Kyle and Tim always wanted to have a gathering in our backyard. Well, we made their dream come true. You see, we have almost three acres of fields, plenty of room to have a gathering. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Thank you to all of you that came to our rescue and help make this event a very special one.

Happy Birthday Kyle

April 4 was what would have been Kyle's 24th Birthday. We miss you and love you so much. We would love to know what you would be like now. What would you be doing? Would you still be skinny or have gained the freshman fifteen a few years ago. Would you have a girlfriend? What would she be like?
April 4th was also a busy day for some of our Precious Panda families. There have been some new referals and the pictures are just adorable.
China only did five days this past month which was very disapointing. That probably puts up back into the fall for Emma. I only hope that they do more days next month.
Congratulations to all who got their referals and to all of you that just missed it by one day, my heart goes out to you. Next month will be your time to see your precious little daughter's faces. Can't wait!