FOREVER IN OUR ARMS DAY! June 5

The first picture we saw of Emma!

What were we doing one year ago today? I have copied this from our travel journal of June 5, 2006. You can read the whole account at www.pomafamily.com Click on Emma and then go to travel journals.......

Updated picture we got of Emma just before we left for China.

God has blessed us with three amazing daughters! Today, just like the birth of Kami and Meghan our breath was taken away. Right now a Daddy and a baby are sleeping in our bed. It was the most amazing experience. We boarded the bus at 1:20 to take the twenty minute trip to our daughters. There was excitement but Michael (Zhou's helper) kept our minds busy hearing about the great city of Chongqing, the largest province and population in China. Known for its beautiful women and its abundance of natural resources. We arrived to what appeared to be a little tiny store front. We walked up dark stairs, with a resturant on one floor, laundry hanging in the hallways, and little businesses. When we entered the fourth floor it was like another world. It was a very modern adoption center. Walking up those stairs was the first time I had butterflies and felt almost like I could not breath. We found out that the babies were delayed due to a flat tire. So more waiting, but after 20 months what is 20 more minutes? We all handled it in different ways. Nicole was at the window waiting with T and talking to Anna Grace. Some people sat quietly and some talked nervously. It was very warm in the room. Michael went and got everybody waters. The first baby came in with a male adoption worker. Zhou asked if anyone recognized the baby. Nobody did, but finally with help Connie and Joe realized it was their baby. Joe was so cute. We all watched as they got to know their baby. Then all of the babies came in with the Nanny's. I recognized Emma right away. I remember some people not being able to recognize which baby was theirs. Zhou read each name off, but I knew my Emma and she was crying. It was hard to hold myself back. She was beautiful. And her hair was not as short as it looked in the picture. Finally Zhou calls Mingjing. I was right there. Right away I could tell she was sick. She had a lot of congestion and I could feel it in her back and chest. She just stayed in my arms. Mike video taped and then he held her for the longest time. We had our fingerprints done and our Visa pictures. Emma was so hot. I was worried so we gave her a bottle of water. She did drink it. We also changed her diaper and it was wet, so that was a good sign. Zhou was so great. We were able to get out and get back to our Hotel without doing paperwork because we had done it all earlier. We got to bypass the interview with the officials. I was worried about Emma so as soon as we got her in we gave her cold medicine and tylenol. If it is not better tomorrow I will probably start the antibiotic. We gave her a quick bath and I tried to feed her but she didn't eat. She has been asleep since 4:30 and it is now 8:00 at night. It was a very rough day for the babies. I will post more later. The exciting thing is that I was able to download a clip of video, but not here. It is on http://www.pomafamily.blogspot.com/ Sorry, that was the only way I could do it. If you are looking right now it may not show up yet but you should be able to see it shortly. Emma is everything we hoped for. Thank you God for always knowing the perfect plan for our lives.

I wrote this on one of the most amazing days of our lives. God has truly blessed our family! Happy Forever in Our arms day Emma. We love you! Mommy and Daddy

Our first glimpse of Emma. I knew it was her the minute they walked in the room. I just wanted to go get her and not wait for our name to be called.

Sitting on one of the worker's laps before we had her.

Daddy holding his sick little baby.Mommy giving Emma her first doll.

Emma showing how she feels at the moment.