Family Day 2009

Sunday was FAMILY DAY! January 11th 2008 was the day that Emma arrived in Ohio! Adoption families usually celebrate the day their child was made a permanent part of their family and sometimes call this "Gotcha Day". I thought about having a Gotcha day but then I struggled with what day to make. Emma was placed in my arms forever on Dec 17th (my 7 year anniversary). That was the day that I knew I would I never have to leave her behind again--it was real---it was over---Emma was ours forever. My entire family was together and we were a family on Dec 24th when Rob, Jay and Dad arrived in Guatemala City to celebrate the holidays with Drew, Mom and I---so that could be our Gotcha day too. But I decided I wanted our celebration day to not just about Emma but about our entire family. I wanted the boys to have a fun special day too....not just another "Emma focused" day. Being a counselor, I know how important it is to make them each feel a part of special days. So we decided to use the day we arrived in the airport. Our family was waiting to meet Emma and we were a family home--safe and sound and so very thankful!

Another thing lots of Guatemalan adoption families do is make authentic Guatemalan food for special days---like "Gotcha day", "referral day", birthdays. I wish I was a cook....I am so not. I am usually so very busy and it we can get hamburger helper, or something off the grill, we are doing so well! (Don't panic my Mom and Dad cook a lot for us!)I decided Toro Loco was the best option for our family day dinner. Emma LOVES cookies--look at our Christmas morning post--and the boys do too. So we bought a HUGE cookie from the mall to start our new family day tradition. One day when Emma is older and wants to help me, I will try Guatemalan cooking! Who knows one day you might click on here to see something authentic!

My favorite pictures from Emma's first family day: