Would you like some nuts with that photo?

Why is it so hard to get a passport photo? If anyone needs to get one, go to a REAL portrait studio like MotoPhoto or something, NOT Walgreen's or Kinkos. Sometimes I feel like nobody cares anymore. After arriving at Walgreen's to take our photos, the man behind the counter (which happened to be the manager) grabbed a digital camera and proceeded to have us stand in front of a "make-shift" background amidst the snacks and film for sale! At that point, Daniel said, his expectations were lowered. So when our photos came out pathetic, orange and hazy, Daniel wasn't surprised. But it made me mad. We paid good money for this. Don't advertise you make passport photos if you can't produce a decent photo!

So I kindly asked the man to retake Daniel's (his was fuzzier than mine) and explained to him the reason why we came here was to get a professional photo for a government document and this wasn't going to do. I didn't want a retake, I had already decided the peach polo I chose for the photo shoot was a poor choice and made my auburn hair look orange. There was no hope for mine. But Daniel is always such a perfect subject, we had to get re-takes.

Daniel was so nice that he told me I could get a retake somewhere else. I later went to Kinko's to get a "better" photo. At least the lighting was better. It HAD to be better. So after I looked at my new photo, I inquired about the "heavenly glow" upon my forehead. "Oh, that's just the lighting," the worker said. Exactly! I thought! The lighting! Shouldn't that be the MAIN THING when getting photos made! She said, "It'll do." She rudely snapped, "I can take it again, if you want." Yes please. But then we realized it was the lighting and we were at its mercy.

Daniel says it's just passport photos. My theory is, we paid good money for a professional, or at least adequate photo, and none were either of those! It brings back bad memories when Chantel and I hired a DJ for a Karaoke party years ago and totally got taken advantage of by the guy (because we are girls)! It's hard to find decent help, right? I just wanted a passport photo. One that didn't make me look like a orange or washed out!

Besides, our dossier guidelines said to send extra passport photos to China which "they will look at while they are placing a child with you." So I wanted them to be perfect, NOT PERFECTLY PERFECT IN APPEARANCE, just perfectly representing us....happy, healthy US! Daniel's photo looked like someone MADE him take the picture and that he's not a cooperative person. His second one is better, but still not representative of HAPPY, DISNEY LOVIN Daniel. Maybe we need to watch the Disney videos before we go take the photos!

So when we get them scanned in, I will post them for all to see and you can judge for yourself. Lesson learned, go to a REAL photo studio with REAL lights when you want a photo. And don't take bad pictures home. Last night, between Walgreen's and Kinkos we spent about $55! And we have nothing good to show for it.

Oh, well, at least we are sending in our passport applications today. Of course, they are EXTREMELY backed up and say they are being hit with an unprecedented number of passport applications, so we are paying the expedite fee. We are still waiting for my birth certificates from LA. Daniel's from Texas got back in about a week!! Daniel says I should've been born in Texas!

Even so, I am so happy that we are where we are. Things are moving along VERY quickly in the paperwork process. And at Kinkos the two men there waiting for help had both been to China and one of them had adopted 2 girls from there and showed me photos! Thank you God for the encouragement. Hope is worth it all!