Important Days

Summer has started with a bang.  Hunter has been out of school less than a week and already he has had surgery leaving him toothless in the top front of his mouth and has had 2 t-ball games.  However amid the busy-ness,  Shelby has had some important things going on too.  Last Friday was our 1 year anniversary of the day we signed all the papers and officially received Shelby as our daughter in Manila.  In the adoption world, it is sometimes called our "Gotcha Day" or our "Family Day".  Whatever it's called, it was a day that really rocked our world and hers forever.  I remember our feelings of excitement, being scared to death, and wondering what in the world we were doing just as any new parent feels.  Now looking back at Shelby's behavior, I recognize so many signs of her being scared to death and wondering what in the world was going on too.  It's amazing how far she has come in a year, and we can't wait to see how much she continues to grow and progress.  We are also looking forward to another important day for us.  This coming Friday will be our court date to finalize Shelby's adoption.  The Philippines processes things a little differently from other countries.  They want time and updates to see how the child is adjusting with their new family.  Then they send the paperwork to the United States so the family can finalize the adoption in a court here.  Shelby's adoption will become permanent (like it wasn't before, ha,ha), and she will be granted her "new" name and her US citizenship.  So really for us, all that changes is some legal documents and how we claim her on taxes, but it is the last big step in the process our family has been working through for almost 3 years, so I'll try to post some pics  this weekend.

Checking out the crazy looking white people that everyone keeps calling my "mama" and "Daddy".  The first day we met was quite scary for us all actually.

Goggles and necklaces are two of her favorite accessories lately. 

In cute pigtails ready to go outside to play.