Update--June 19, 2009

Hi Everyone--

As the pictures that we uploaded last night indicate, we've had a busy week! Chelsea returned from Grandma P's house on Saturday; Emmy had art camp this week, and Ellie-Kate had her first toddler swimming lesson at the city pool.

We also had Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church all week, and it went great. Our theme was "Boomerang Express," and we had fun adventures in the Australian Outback (and learned a lot about Jesus along the way). I played a scientist in pursuit of a rare butterfly--the Graphium Weiske Phylum (otherwise known as the Purple Spotted Swallowtail). Yes, that's me in the pictures with a lab coat, hat, and magnifying glass. Britti was one of our group leaders; Chelsea and her friend, Elena, were helpers, and Emmy got to have fun with her friends, Patricia and Madison. Ellie-Kate and Roger came to Family Night last night as we closed down our time at VBS.

Yesterday was also a big day for our family because we went to court to officially "re-adopt" Ellie-Kate. Because Roger and I both traveled to China, the adoption was legal and final in China, and Ellie-Kate already has her U.S. Certificate of Citizenship. However, we were advised about the many benefits of creating a paper trail in the United States, and we elected to "re-adopt" her here so that she can easily request a certified version of her adoption and birth certificates here in the United States, if she needs them in the future. (It would be impossible for her to request additional certified copies of her adoption and birth certificates from China.) We filed paperwork for the court last month, and yesterday was our court date.

The re-adoption was a very special time for us for a lot of reasons. For one, it was a much more peaceful and structured process than the frenzy of completing papers just after meeting our daughter for the first time in China. It was so great that Ellie-Kate could be so calm and connected to us already as we answered questions and took pictures.

In addition to VBS and the re-adoption, we are excited to share that Ellie-Kate is now officially walking!! She took off on June 16, and she's toddling all over the house (with spotting, of course). She ran all over the church last night, and people kept commenting about how cute that she is. (We really do have to agree!!)

I'd best sign off for now. Enjoy the new pictures, and we'll post another update next week. Happy Father's Day!!

Christie