Merry Christmas!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

We are officially done. It is 11:25 and we will be able to go to bed within 30 minutes. This is an early night compared to many Christmas Eves. The kids were ready to go to bed by 9:00 even Kristopher. By looking at the kids piles you would think Kristopher and Nicholas weren't getting much. Kristopher asked for a couple of video games and Nicholas wanted sports tickets. Neither one take up much space. The girls appear to be getting the most because their stuff is so much cheaper.

We went to a very well done Christmas Eve service tonight. It was the Christmas Story done through song, a few characters, lights, and video. After that we rode around and looked at Christmas lights. Once home we enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, spaghetti.

What in the world will Grace think tomorrow morning? She will have no idea what is happening. We know we are probably in for lots of fussing. She always wants what someone else has. By next year she will have outgrown this. We have heard her fussing several times tonight which is unusual for her. I wonder if she is overwhelmed with all we have been doing. The alternative is she may be getting sick. I certainly hope not.

Tomorrow around 11:15 we will head to the airport. We depart at 1:20 to arrive in Jacksonville at 3:05. My sister in law is preparing Christmas dinner this year. We are all looking forward to being together again. It is rare that the whole family is there.

Grace has started crying. Guess I better go check on her.

Merry Christmas to All!

Grace's First Picture with Santa

Yan Fu Ming

Yan Fu Ming will never know the love of a family. Today would have been his second birthday. He passed away a few days ago. We don't know why but we do know if a family had found him sooner this probably wouldn't have happened. He is blind and may have had some other needs. A couple of months ago his file came to our agency. A family had not chosen him yet but I am sure in time his family would have stepped forward. We find peace in the fact that he is in a better place. He now can see and feels no pain.

Our hearts go out to these kids. If they aren't adopted there is no future for them. The orphanages and foster parents do the best they can do. They don't have the money or resources to get them the care they need. There are several organizations that help the children and orphanges but they can't help them all. Some orphanages are too proud to accept help, too.

We mourn the loss of this precious little boy. In honor of his life we(our agency and anyone who wants to help)will be helping another child continue to live. He,too, is an adorable little boy. If he doesn't get the blood tranfusions he needs he may not make it either. Hopefully his family will find him before it is too late.

Grace's Follow Up Appointment

We went to see the plastic surgeon today. Grace's palate still has a gap. He said it was in a very unusual place and he didn't know why it hadn't closed. The bad news is we now have to go back in two months so he can see if it healed. If it hasn't we all know what that means(more surgery). The good news is she can now eat whatever she wants. I think Julia was more excited than her that she can now eat pretzels. All the kids are relieved because they no longer have to hide foods when they are eating something hard.

Must See Movie

Zachary, Zachary, Zachary

The title says it all. Everybody needs to have at least one Zachary in their family. He tests every boundary, questions every answer, and wants everything done his way. He is great at crafts and projects. Hours he will spend completing a school project with no guidance or encouragement to get it done. In Zach's world everything has to be done now. Wait a minute never sits well with him.

So are you wondering what he did now? He was sent to his room to clean it. He admitted earlier in the morning that he hadn't cleaned it in a month(not completely true but his words). Needless to say he was not thrilled to have to go clean his room. He wanted to do it his way, when and how he wanted to do it. That didn't sit well with Dallas and I. He was to do it immediately. Off he went raging to his room. We don't know exactly what happened but the next thing you know he is crying and asking for a bandaid. He has a gash between two of his fingers. A metal Jeff Gordon sign was the culprit. It appeared to need stitches so Dallas and him precede to the medical clinic.

Three stitches later a lesson is learned. The question is will Zachary remember it.


The spots on Zachary's hand are magic marker. Guess that will be there for 3 weeks. That is when he goes back to get the stitches out. He can't wash his hand until then.

Snow

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Dallas took this video when he spent a few days in Connecticutt last week.

Family Day 2007

This is the outfit that Julia wore home 3 years ago. They are supposed to be long pants not capris. She has definitely grown a lot taller but has only gained about 7 pounds. The pants fit perfectly except for the length.

Three Years ago today was one of the best and worst days of my life. Julia and I left Russia after a week and a half by ourselves. To say it was a rough week and a half is putting it mildly. I was so glad the day had finally arrived to take my little girl back to Florida. I had not seen Nicholas and Zachary in 3 weeks. I was extremely homesick. It was snowing that morning in Moscow, Russia. Of course, this time of year there is a good chance it will be snowing there. I was so concerned our flight would be cancelled due to the snow. My 2 checked bags were absolutely stuffed full. In Russia before you check your bags security completely goes through them. Good luck, trying to fit everything back in them. Thank goodness eventually I did. Check in went rather smoothly. Julia and I had a little time to shop before our plane boarded. I was carrying Julia, our winter coats, and a huge carry on but I managed. Julia would not let me put her down. I had never thought of bringing a baby carrier and we decided to leave the stroller at home. Either one would have been a lifesaver.

Finally it was time to board. I couldn't find my boarding pass for NYC to JAX so I asked the lady checking tickets. She found it, yelled at me, and completely humiliated me. I preceded to make my way to the end of the line. I think the people that heard what went on felt sorry for me because they insisted that I get in front of them. We found our seats. We were in the middle row of 3 seats. The person on the other side seemed quite nice until the flight began.

Our flight took off pretty much on schedule. It wasn't long before Julia began her screaming. If she couldn't do exactly what she wanted she screamed. She pretty much screamed the whole flight. I stood at the back of the plane by the restrooms rocking her most of the 8 hour flight. I would go sit on the potty for a few minutes when my back couldn't take it anymore. It was the longest flight(and day) of my life. How could she not be tired?

We finally landed on U.S. soil. Julia was officially a U.S. citizen. We waited for our 2 bags and I had no idea how I was going to get them through customs. I had no change so I couldn't get a cart. Thank goodness an airline employee felt sorry for me and helped me get them through and recheck them.

We had about an hour to spare in NYC. Of course Julia wanted to roam everyone. By this point I was exhausted so I just followed her around. Once we boarded our flight to JAX I was so relieved. Julia fell asleep and I knew the journey was almost over. I was really going to make it back home and see my kids again.

Dallas and the boys were waiting for me in JAX. A balloon and animal for Julia and flowers for me. They were also holding a welcome home banner. I was so happy to see them all.

When we arrived at home my good friends Susan and Alexa were there. They had a meal and gifts from my coworkers at the preschool. The kitchen was decorated and what a wonderful surprise. It was great to be home!

Julia has truly blessed all our lives. God choose the perfect daughter for us. This little girl from Kurgan, Russia has changed us all.

Lots of people that have adopted celebrate Family Day or Gotcha Day. We celebrate Family Day. December 12, 2007 was the day we became a family. It was the day Zachary and Nicholas met their sister for the first time. We usually give Julia a small gift and let her pick her favorite place to eat. Tonight she chose McDonalds.

Birthday Slideshow

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Zachary's Birthday

For Zachary's birthday we went to Mrytle Beach for a couple of days. There is a place there similiar to Build a Bear but you build a car. Zachary loves anything to do with cars. Building a car was our birthday present to him.

All was well until after we had went to bed the night of his birthday. After a couple of hours he starting vomiting. It went on all through the night. I don't think Zachary has ever been that sick. Sunday he was feeling alittle better but still did not want to eat anything. By Monday he was almost back to normal.

We had a great time except for Zachary's stomach bug. The hotel had a waterpark in it so the kids had a blast. Sunday we had the waterpark to ourselves for a couple of hours. The weather was great so we were able to spend some time on the beach,too.

Happy Birthday, Zachary!

This is Zachary graduating from preschool. He was 5 years old.
He turns 9, tomorrow. He was my only baby born in Florida. I still remember that day clearly. He was induced one week early. Mom, Dad, and Dallas' Dad and Step Mom were all there. We stayed in the hospital one night and headed for home. I was ready. By the third child we saw no need to stay in the hospital any longer than necessary.

Have a wonderful day, baby boy!

A Great Video

This video was made by an adoptive mom. All these children have found their families. It truly depicts the miracle of adoption. Both my girls are in the video twice.

ADOPT

These are pictures of a little boy that just arrived home from China on Saturday. Once his new mom was there they expediated the process because he was so sick. He has a heart condition. This morning Joseph was admitted to John Hopkins and is expected to have surgery in the next couple of days. Can you imagine what would happened to him if his family wouldn't have found him. Please keep him in your prayers.

There are so many other kids that need their families. Our agency gets a new list from China every few months. It is becoming harder and harder to place these children. On May 1 China changed the rules from adopting from China. This has prevented a lot of people from adopting. Singles can no longer adopt from China, your BMI has to be below 40, your income and net worth has increased, and you can't have any health issues unless very minor. If your paperwork was in China by May 1, you are able to proceed. Otherwise you are out of luck. It is so sad that there are so many children waiting for their families and they may never find them. The latest list has so many adorable little boys on it. There is one little girl that is alittle older than Zachary. The name given to her by our agency is Monroe Grace. She has lazy eye. Due to this and her age she may never know the love of a family. It breaks my heart.

Here is the link to our agencies photolist of the kids available for adoption. Our agency was wonderful and I would reccommend them to anyone. The program director of the waiting children's program has adopted many children herself. She has been there and knows what adopting parents are going through. Take a minute and look at these beautiful children. Pray for them to find a family of their own.

www.public.fotki.com/CHIWaitingkids/

The latest list is List 20. If it asks for a password it is CHIWC.

What Were We Thinking?

Why did we think it was a good idea last year to buy a 12 foot tree when we needed a new one? It is worth it once it is done but the process can be a bit aggravating.

Dallas got the tree up this weekend. Tonight we finally finished seperating the branches and decorating it. Grace and Julia were so excited they couldn't stand still. It was so fun watching them.

Picture to follow.

My Little Wiseman

Zachary had his class musical on Tuesday night. Up on the Housetop was a musical depicting all the different ways people celebrate Christmas. It was very cute and well done. Zachary was the Wiseman that carried Gold. Don't tell anyone but the gold coins he carried were Hanukkah coins. It was all I could find and I knew noone would be able to tell from a distance. Zachary did an excellent job of presenting the gold to baby Jesus.

Christmas in Florida

This year we will be flying to Florida on Christmas afternoon. We decided it would be nice if we were at our house Christmas morning. Not to mention the fact that Christmas at the condo would be very tight with 5 kids plus getting the stuff there.
We did do Christmas there last year and it was fun but crazy. We figure this way we can be home Christmas morning and in Florida for Christmas dinner. The Best of both worlds.

When we were in Florida we wanted to go ahead and put up our Christmas tree so it would be there when we arrive on Christmas. Dallas got the tree up and guess what? I must have brought all the ornaments home last year. So there the tree sat with no ornaments. Julia kept saying she wanted to decorate it, so I told her to go ahead. Next thing you know she had all her toys, pocketbook, and flip flops on it. It was still pretty bare. Fortunately I remembered some beanie babies a friend of my sister's had given us. Now we have a Christmas tree decorated with toys,flip flops, and beanie babies. It looked great to me. We don't have to worry about the kids breaking any of the ornaments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristopher took this picture. We said a prayer for anyone that may have been involved.

Kristopher also took this picture of the sunset on our journey to Florida

Maribeth and Grace

Working on the Gingerbread House

The Finished Product

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We had a great Thanksgiving with our family in Florida. My sister prepared a delicious turkey and ham. We both fixed lots of other dishes to go with it. We have so much to be thankful for this year!

On our way to St. Augustine the kids and I were able to meet my friend, Alexa for dinner. It was great seeing her even if it was only for a few hours. She was leaving the next day to drive to NC to see family.

Black Friday, Maribeth and I left the condo at 4:00. We arrived at our first stop, ToysRUs at 4:30. The line was already to the back of the building. We took our place in line and waited for the doors to open. We were able to get 3 out of the 4 items I wanted there. I spent a total of 25.00. Next stop Belk. A couple of items were purchased there. We refueled at Chick-fil-a and then off to Office Max. We stood in line about 30 minutes there before they opened. Maribeth scored her camera and printer she was dreaming about. We could have stopped here but it was still early so we went to Target to buy some medicine. Needless to say we found a few more items there. Then we just had to go by Kohls. Great sales going on there, too. We couldn't leave without buying a few more things. Stopped by the Disny Character Warehouse. No deals there so no purchases. Our last stop was Bealls. We did find a few deals there. We finished our excursion with my favorite Diet Coke prepared by Sonic(they really do have the best drinks)and a strawberry banana shake for Maribeth. We were home by 11:00 a.m.

Dallas' sister Libbie came to visit Friday. She built a Gingerbread house with the kids. They had so much fun!

We arrived home today after 9 1/2 hours of travel. It should have only taken us 8 hours. Traffic was heavy and our lunch took longer than usual. We started the day at a warm 70 degrees and ended the day at a chilly 44 degrees. The house was quite cold when we arrived. The gas fire has warmed the house up nicely.

Good to be home but we all wish that home was still Florida.

Fall Festival Pictures and Happy Birthday, Alexa!

Today is my friend, Alexa's birthday. We have been friends for about 7 years. Her adorable son Nijel was in my preschool class. The next year she became my assistant. As the years went by we became closer and closer. We are seperated by many years but that doesn't stop us from having a great friendship. I like to think she keeps me young. I hope she has a wonderful day and I am very thankful she is my friend.

Happy Birthday, Alexa!


I know it is almost Thanksgiving but I never got around to posting these pictures. These were taken at a Fall Festival we went to a few days before Halloween. I was planning to get more pictures on Halloween but with Grace's surprise surgery that didn't happen. I will be posting some pumpkin patch pictures,too.

Baseball Belle

Mickey and Minnie Mouse

Nicholas and Belle

Cutest Minnie Mouse

Correction to Tip of the Day

Correction- You can wash your cell phone in the washing machine and then dry it in the dryer. It just takes two days to dry out. It appears to be as good as new and sparkly clean.

Disclaimer:I take no responsibility if you try this at home and your cell phone doesn't fare as well.

Tip of the Day

Never wash your cell phone in the washing machine and then put it in the dryer. It will most likely not work when you retrieve it from the dryer.

Thank goodness, Dallas does lots of business with AT&T and can get me a free phone, again. The phone that was used in this experiment was only 3 or 4 months old.

Grace's Post Op Appointment

Thursday was Grace's post op appointment with Dr. Van Aalst, the plastic surgeon, and Dr. Drake, the ENT. Dr. Van Aalst said her mouth looks good, the openings in the side that occured when he closed the cleft have not healed yet but he said it takes longer in an older child. Thank goodness she no longer has to wear the No Nos(arm restraints). He asked us to donate them. He will be going to the Middle East to do cleft surgeries and takes them with him. Of course, we said yes. She can now eat soft foods such as noodles, rice, etc. No hard foods until we go back in January. Dr. Drake said her ears looked good. She does have some high frequency hearing lost but doesn't know at this time if it will cause any problems. She will be retested in 5-6 months. Now that Grace doesn't have to wear the arm restraints and can eat real food she is getting back to her old self.

We happened to be at the hospital on the day of the NC Promise telethon. It happens once a year and the money goes to the Children's Hospital. When we saw Bucky Covington(on a past American Idol)was going to perform we decided to avoid traffic and hang around the hospital a little longer. We first listened to Jason Micheal Carroll and then Bucky. Each one performed about 30 minutes. It was worth the wait.

Last picture of Grace with her No Nos

Jason Micheal Carroll

Bucky Covington and his brother

Bucky Covington

New Peditrician

The leave me alone look. Grace is doing this often lately.

We went to the new peditrician today. I really liked him. He was very friendly and concerned about Grace's health. We are going to go ahead and switch the other kids to this practice, too. He obviously has experience with adopted kids, cleft palate and the team we are using for Grace's surgeries. They did a finger blood test today and Grace is anemic. Dr. Artman checked Grace's records from the hospital and let us know this evening that it is better than she was in the hospital. They are expecting it to improve and since she is now playing and not listless, they aren't concerned. She is on iron that is helping her body increase red blood cells.

Grace is Better

I am happy to say Grace is finally feeling better. Yesterday(Saturday)she finally started acting more like herself. Thank goodness, I was starting to get really worried. She is still very moody but much better. I was really starting to wonder if our sweet little girl would ever be the same.

Tomorrow we go to a new peditrician that was recommended to us by her surgeon. It will be nice to get his opinion on a few things. Hopefully, this peditrician will be a good match with our family. He has 5 kids himself, with another on the way. He, also, attends a local United Methodist Church.

I Didn't Expect It To Be This Hard

We knew Grace would have to surgery as soon as she could once we got home. We were told it is a rather easy surgery. One night stay at the hospital, limited diet per doctors instructions, and No Nos for as long as the doctor deemed necessary. No big deal, right? Wrong! First Grace had the additional trip to the OR and the night in the Pediatric ICU. Now she is refusing to eat and drink. We finally called the Plastic Surgery Doctor on call. He said she shouldn't be in much pain. We thought when she was crying and fussing she was in pain. He said that she is dehydrated. We need to force fluids in her. If it isn't better by tomorrow we have to take her to the hospital and let them hook her to an IV. So you better believe I will be forcing her to take the liquids today. I wonder if we will ever get our happy little girl back. Her main activities are sleeping and crying. I know it will get better and it could be much worse but right now it is hard. It is heartbreaking to see Grace so unhappy all the time. Would this stop us from adopting another little girl with the same need? Probably not. Would we be better prepared? Definitely. We are so thankful to have Grace here and to get her the surgeries and services she needs. She is our daughter and we will do everything it takes to get her what she needs.

Julia's Last PPR

Kristopher and Julia at our hotel in Russia, November 2004.

Leaving the orphanage for the last time,November 27, 2004.

Julia a few weeks ago in a dress my Grandmother made for my niece many years ago.

When you adopt a child part of the agreement is that you will complete Post Placement Reports once you have the child home. For Russia you have to do 4 of them at specific intervals. The last one is done the month that the child has been home 3 years. Your social worker comes to your home and does a report about your child and how she is adapting in her new life. Julia's last one was done last night. Once our social worker has completed it we send it to our agency and they send it to Russia. It goes to the MOE(Ministry of Education) of the region where Julia was adopted. We,also, have to include 12 pictures that we took since the last PPR. The last one was done a year ago so that will be no problem. It is hard to believe it has only been 3 years. It seems Julia has been with us forever. She has changed so much!

We are Home

We have been home since Friday. Grace has been improving everyday. Tonight she is the best she has been. She is almost her old self.

Paige came for the weekend. It was great having her help. We didn't get to go anywhere but it was so nice having her here to talk to and she kept Julia entertained. She, also, made Nicholas a great baseball cake. It almost made up for me not being here for his birthday. The kids all love when she visits. Of course, I do too.

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Happy Birthday, Nicholas! Twelve years ago, today, our second son was born. Nicholas is such a great kid. He is truly the All American Kid. He gets along well with everyone and has no problems making friends. Everybody is his friend. He loves being outdoors. Baseball and Golf are his sports of choice.

Poor Nicholas, it will be the birthday he always remembers. He had a birthday dinner Tuesday night at Red Robin just in case we didn't get out of the hospital. Good thing because we didn't. His dinner on the night of his birthday was at Wendys in the hospital. Dallas brought the boys to visit Grace and I took them and Julia to the Wendys for dinner. Dee bought a cake. The kids ate dinner and then we sang Happy Birthday to Nicholas at Wendys. We didn't want to take the cake into Grace's room because she didn't feel good plus she couldn't eat it. Nicholas only had one present to open on his birthday, too. I gave him the choice of me going and buying him some surprises or him going to Target and picking them out himself. I only did this because I didn't have much time when we found out Grace's surgery would be the next day. Nicholas was alittle sad about the situation but he handled it well.

I will post pictures tomorrow.

Grace's Surgery

Grace came out of surgery about 5:30 on Wednesday. Dr. Van Aalst reported to us that all had gone well. He even gave me the rotten tooth that he took out of her cleft. I think she deserves something good for the tooth. Around 6:00 they came and got me to go to recover. When I arrived Grace was very upset and the blood coming from her nose and mouth started increasing. They kept suctioning and it kept flowing. The nurses decided it was time to call the doctor on call. Once he arrived he quickly called Dr. Van Aalst and it was decided Grace needed to go back in the Operating Room. The doctors arrived and surgery began again. They believe an artery was clipped causing all the blood and they fixed the problem. An hour later Dr.
Van Aalst was back in the waiting room telling us they had stopped the bleeding and they were going to keep Grace in the PICU for a night to make sure she was O.K.

She did well last night. They are keeping a close watch on her blood due to the blood loss. Her vitals have remained good. Today we were able to move to a regular room. Before she can go home she must be eating and drinking. So far she has only drank 6 ounces. We are praying tomorrow will be the day that she decides to eat and drink more. We are ready to go home.

Grace's Palate Surgery

I am so far behind in posts but wanted to share this. We had Grace evaluated by the Cleft Team yesterday. They had a cancellation for today and wanted to go ahead and do her surgery. If we didn't take it March was the next available appointment.

So at 2:45 today, Grace will have 2 teeth pulled, tubes put in her ears, and her palate repaired. If all goes well she will get to go home tomorrow. She will be at UNC Hospital. Dallas had no choice because they have the best cleft team in our area.

Please keep her in you prayers.

Check out my Slide Show!

Yesterday, we headed to Greenville,NC for the day. Dallas and I both graduated from East Carolina University. We couldn't miss the homecoming parade plus Dallas and 3 of the kids were going to the football game.

I was very pleased that we were able to get together with my college roommate, Vickie. I haven't seen her in at least 7 years. It was great talking with her again. We were roommates for 2 years and had a lot in common. Without her and her sister, Ginger I don't know if I would have survived 4 years away from home. Ginger was my roommate before Vickie. Vickie hooked me up with Ginger. We both needed new roommates so it worked out great for us both. When Ginger graduated Vickie became my roommate. Ginger and Vickie kept me from being so homesick. They led me to the Baptist Student Union. I met lots of new friends there and Dallas.

Vickie and I spent the day shopping and talking. I would love to get together with her more often. Our lives have taken different paths but I really enjoy being with her. We had so many good times together and I am hoping for many more. I am secretly hoping she will adopt a child one day. She is great with children and has been in the schools for 14 years. She is now a media specialist for a high school. Is she brave or what? Did I mention she has lost 75 lbs? She looks fantastic. I think she is going to be my inspiration to start my diet.

Ginger and their Mom met us for lunch at Chicos. Chicos was the mexican restaurant Vickie and I would go to if we came into a little money. It was usually too expensive for our college budget. I had not seen Ginger in 17 years. She has not changed a bit. It was just like we were back in college. It was wonderful catching up with her. She is assistant editor for the Greenville paper. Way to go, Ginger!

Julia really wanted to go to the football game with Dallas. She is always begging to go but we didn't think she could make it through the game. Saturday we decided to let her go. She loved it and was extremely good. Her favorite part of the game was yelling at Pee Dee the Pirate. She wanted Pee Dee to wave at her so she would yell Hey,Pirate! The Pirates won big. Go Pirates!

Two Funny China Pictures

I wasn't going to post this picture. It is not very flattering but I have to admit it is funny. Since only about 2 people read my blog, why not.

Look closely at this picture. You wouldn't see this in the U.S. The boys thought it was gross.

Grace

Happy Birthday, Ansley!

Better late than never, right? We were fortunate enough to be in Florida a couple of days before Ansley's birthday. She is my brother's youngest daughter. On October 16 she turned 13 years old.

Thanks!

Thanks for visiting Paige! We all had a great time. We pulled up in the driveway today and Julia asked "Where's Paige?" Don't know what she was thinking, Paige has been gone for 2 days. I guess she was just missing her as we all do.

Check out my Slide Show!

Steven Curtis Chapman and the North Carolina State Fair

www.stevencurtischapman.com
Last Friday night we were able to go to see Steven Curtis Chapman at the North Carolina State Fair. What I can I say? It was an excellent concert and he has a powerful message. Steven Curtis Chapman has 3 biological children(21,18,16) and 3 daughters adopted from China. His 18 and 16 year old sons are touring with him. One is the drummer and the other plays the electric guitar. Can you imagine? The echo in the arena was a bit annoying and he did have to abbreviate his concert but it was well worth it. His music is beautiful and touches the soul.

We were able to go to the fair twice. Wednesday night we went and let the kids ride the rides. Friday night we ate dinner there and went to the concert. Both times we had a great time and were so glad my friend, Paige joined us Friday night.

Certificate of Citizenship

Today, when I went to the mailbox Grace's Certificate of Citizenship was in there. Even though she has been a citizen since we landed in Newark,NJ on August 22, it was great to get the offical certificate. We can now apply for a social security number and get her U.S. passport. Included in the envelope was also a letter from President Bush congratulating her on her citizenship.