A day at the park

Well today was my last day at home with Ema. I am crying as I post this because I have gotten kinda use to staying home. I love the mornings with Ema the most. She gets up, usually on all fours rocking back and fourth, whining until I go in and pick her up. Next comes my favorite, her puckered lips give me my first kiss of the day. Man, I hope she still does this at 7:00 am. Today was a BEAUTIFUL day! D.D, Jan Jan, Ema and I went to the park. Ema had the best time. She loves to be outside. Her favorite part was the swings but sliding with Jonah and Bo was right up there. (Nicole you would have been so proud of Jonah, he was so sweet with Ema)Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

What is it?

Ema comes from a country that will never see snow. Yesterday when I woke up I felt as if I was in a snow globe that had been shaken. I couldn't wait for Ema to wake up because I knew she would be amazed. Once she got up I bundled her up and we went outside all to find that Ema hated it. She is always cold so I guess that is why. Because we don't get a lot of snow I made her tough it out long enough for our first snow pictures. As you can see she was not happy!

Thats my Ba!

Every year Kirk plays in a men's basketball league. This year we took Ema and let her see how her Ba hoops! She loved it. I tried telling her that the floor was "hot" thinking she would not want to go out on it,but she is way to smart for trickery. She was so cute, when Kirk would shoot a 3 pointer and make it, her eyes would light up and she would say BA!! She was so proud of him! He was the only one on the court smiling! (I wonder why ?)

Daddy to the rescue!

Last night Ema had a temper tantrum (raise your hand if you are surprised)because I was unloading the dishwasher and she was not getting my full attention. I do not respond to that kind of behavior so she rarely does this. Last night was different. She screamed at me wanting me to hold her for about 5 minutes. Her face would get all red and she was stomping her foot at me. The more I ignored her the louder she screamed. I could have sworn Ms pat next door could hear her. I ended up spatting her bottom and putting her in the chair. (timeout) She screamed and screamed. Kirk came in and saved her. He sat in time out with her and rocked for about 10 seconds and this is what happened! Too cute once it was over! ( notice the bottom lip)

Our First Photo Shoot

Kirk and I had our pictures made Wednesday by Phil Ramsey. I have to admit, I was dreading this. Knowing how Ema naps and how her happiness depends on how long she naps made me nervous. We had a low key day and at 1:00 I put her down. At 1:45 she was awake and ready to go. I washoping for a 2 hour nap at least but that was what I got. We started to get ready and Ema was so happy becasue she thought she was going somewhere. We get to Phil's and she was a little shy at first but soon opened up. I will let Phil's blog tell the rest of the story.

Please go to http://philramsey.wordpress.com/

I am so proud of Ema. She was her normal self.....EVERYWHERE, INTO EVERYTHING!!! Is it just me or is she not the most beautiful little girl you have ever seen. I cannot stop looking at these pictures. I still find myself looking at her in amazement that God blessed us with this awesome child. We are the luckiest parents in the world!

Looking Back

I have been blessed to be able to stay home with Ema and really get to know her and learn so much about her and her curious personality. These last couple of months have been trying but in the same sense have been WONDERFUL. Kirk and I look back at our life before and say "What life before ?" What did we do before Ema. She is the light of our life now. I find myself looking at her everyday and saying, Oh my gosh, I cannot believe I am holding Ema. The child that I waited for over 2 years to get is now here. Then that brings me to how awesome God is. Kirk and I thank God everyday for allowing us to get Ema. All of you know the ups and downs that we went through to get her. Not knowing if it was really going to happen. It come to me getting on my knees before God and giving up. Showing God that I realize that I am NOT in control and that he is and trusting him that it WAS going to happen. My wonderful neighbor gave me scriptures to read and I filled my head and Kirk's head with these and I truely gave the whole adoption process to him. I felt weight lifted from me and we got the call. God is so good. All he wants from us is to TRUST him. Sometimes I find this to be really hard because I am a control freak but I am learning. There is a song on my blog that speaks of this. I have said that it is my song to Ema but really I think of it as God's song to me because it speaks to me so heavily. While I was in Vietnam I prayed that Ema would just trust me. I knew that I could care for her and that we would be fine if she would stop fighting me and just trust me. I think that is what God is saying to us. Stop fighting me and TRUST me. Stop trying to do it on your on, you don't have to solve problems on your own anymore. I am not sure why I felt the need to post this but it has been weighing on me to talk about how greatful Kirk and I are that Ema is now a part of our lives. We feel so blessed to have her and raise her to know our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Pudding Head

Ema had her first taste of chocolate pudding. Let's let the pictures talk.



Ema loved it and it was even better because we let her have fun and feed herself. Once she could not get it with a spoon she ate it with her fingers. She is such a little lady!

The Missing Link

For all of you who know there is another special little girl in mine and Kirk's life. Her name is Camille Grace. We have known Camille since she was born and fell in love with her instantly. Her mom and dad have always been some of our closest friends. They now live in Baltimore but we still feel just as close as if they were next door. We miss seeing them so much and hope that they get to plan a trip to meet our newest addition to our family. Camille is no longer a baby anymore and will be such a big help to Kirk and I when she does get to come. So Camille, if you are reading this, we love you so much and cannot wait to see you. You will ALWAYS hold a very special place in our hearts and no one will ever take your place there. :) We cannot wait to see you! Ema always has a picture of you in her hands (probably because your pictures are everywhere) and we are working on pronouncing your name. : It may take a while but we are trying. We love you!
(Oh Yeah...We know that you will be cheering for the Titan's this weendend! You will always have a little bit of Tennessee redneck in ya! :)





Raygen cannot wait to see you!

Funny Faces

Ema has the funniest expressions! She always acts so silly at the dinner table and I always have my camera beside me just in case it is a blog moment. Kirk and I usually laugh the entire time while eating because she has the funniest personality. It seems like she is learning something new everyday. I thought these pictures were to cute not to post. (I am sure she will hate them when she is older!) Hope these make you smile today!

Our first Memphis Game

Last night we tackled our first Memphis game with Ema. She loved it. Kirk and I have figured out that the more people and noise there is the happier Ema is. We got to the game early because we wanted to take her down to the bottom and let her see pouncer and the cheerleaders. She was more amazed by the team practicing. Her expression says it all.
The cheerleaders came by and talked to her and oooh'ed and ahhh'ed over her.



We were so afraid that the intro of the game may be a little frightening to her because it is so loud! Ema's eyes were the size of dinner plates and she rolled em up, rolled em up and yelled "ooooo Di Di's" (thats Gooooo Tigers!!!) (Ema loves the roll em up roll em up part of patty cake!!)

She had a great time!

After Dinner Snack

What child doesn't want to eat ice cream with her Ba? Ema will not eat ice cream out of a bowl with a spoon. No, she has to eat it out of a cone so that she gets it all over the place. She has not quite figured out how to lick the ice cream, she sucks on it like she is drinking from her sippy cup!

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve is always a little sad for me. I guess taking down the Christmas tree and looking back on all the happy times that you had that year just gets to me. Kirk and I have definitely had an exciting year. Getting the opportunity to run all of our races and being named road warriors was a huge accomplishment for us. Getting to follow the TIGERS to the National Championship game was also a lot of fun. (until we lost) While all of that is GREAT, the biggest event of 2008 for the Richardson's was getting to travel to Vietnam to get our long awaited baby girl, Ema Li Richardson. She has definitely put a little life into our home. We must have been the most boring two people on the face of the earth. Ema is on the go all of the time. She never stops! Not even to sleep. This is our New Years resolution for her - Ema to sleep for at least 5 hours. Oh how I miss my sleep. I think I need to go back to work to get some rest. :) Here are some cute pictures that have not been posted! Enjoy!

Ema and Uncle Sam!




Ema loves to swiffer. I wonder where she learned how to do this? I hope she likes a clean house like I do!