I know it's shocking, I was shocked too... about three weeks ago. Confused? I was for a little while too. Let me explain...
So, there we were at number 14 on the waiting list and I thought our process was going to go on, and on, and on. Until we got an email on a Wednesday night back on September 4th that changed our lives. (Yes, the email came on a Wednesday! Remember why Wednesday's are so important? If not, click here.)
Here's is a tiny bit of that late night email....
"Dear Families,
We have information on an infant girl who is malnourished... we would like to get a feel for who might be interested in her referral when she is ready."
I wasn't expecting any "news" for quite some time, so it was a lot to digest, but when it came in at 10:30 that night I immediately ran into our bedroom and woke up Mark. He was a little out of it, but listened to me read him the email and he asked that we just sleep on it and talk about it in the morning. Haha, I think he was just tired. But of course I obliged. But even though there were a lot of unknowns still, I just had this feeling. I was cautious of course, but the feeling was there right away... a feeling like, "Oh my Heavens this tiny baby girl is our daughter, I can feel it!" I prayed about it that night and God just gave me this peace during my prayer that she would be ours and that we could care for her, we could handle any challenges that malnourishment may present. (This was a prayer that reminded me very much of that Wednesday prayer during Eli's adoption.) The next morning Mark and I discussed everything, and we wrote our caseworker letting her know that we would in fact be interested in knowing more about her referral. We can handle malnourishment, actually in some ways we kind of expect it when signing up for Ethiopian adoption.
But then days went by and we heard nothing. I started to fear that maybe another family was a better fit for this little girl.
Then, I received this phone call:
Our caseworker called to let me know that this baby girl would be ours when her referral was ready.
I was shocked. Completely shocked. A few moments later it became real though when she sent me the photo of the most beautiful, tiny baby girl I've ever seen. Her eyes are big and round and the first thing I think of when I see her is this common quote: "Though she be but little, she is FIERCE." Because she looks fierce. Her expression in the photo even seems like, "Hey, I might be little, but I got this situation handled."
But then we had to wait for the referral to become a referral. Some documents were still in process of being put together. All I have to say is that it is EXTREMELY difficult to have a referral but not have a referral at the same time. So, after that week, we were told it could be about two more weeks of waiting. Just what I love to do, right?! Not to mention that because of the circumstances, we only told a few people about what was happening, so I felt like I was keeping this huge secret from almost everyone. I am someone that wears my emotions on my sleeve, so this was challenging to say the least.
(In the meantime I worked on some nursery projects, like this one:)
.JPG)
Cute huh? I think so. Hehe.
Then, finally, today, which also happens to be a WEDNESDAY, (It's getting quite funny to me at this point) our caseworker called to let us know that our little girl was officially our referral, and we could start the process of becoming her legal parents.
As you can probably remember from last time, we cannot show her photo on the internet until after our first court date in Ethiopia. So, if you want to see her you will have to see me as I have the prints in my purse! Trust me when I tell you though, she is cuteness on overload, and she is a BEAUTY! :-) Mark should be worried already!
And for those of you wondering how Eli responded when we told him tonight, I'd say he did pretty darn great. He knew I was recording him, so I think he was a little unsure what was happening, but nonetheless, it's cute.
Question: "So, Is she healthy?"
Answer: She's recovering from malnourishment, so she is our little fighter, but she is gaining weight and is doing very well. She has been placed in Jane's House, which is in my opinion, is the BEST place she can be right now considering the circumstances. We are working with a great Pediatrician here that specializes in international adoption, he feels very good about what he is reading in reports and hearing about her progress and feels confident she will recover quickly as most of the kids in her situation do. At 2 months she was just 7 lbs, so she's got some catch up to do!
Question: "When do you get her?"
Answer: I wish I knew, it will be somewhere between 3-6 months from now. Please pray for a swift process so we can get her here soon!
Question: "How can we pray for you?"
Answer: Pray for her to get healthier with each passing day. Also pray for our process, that it moves swiftly so we can get through our two trips and home with her as quickly as we can!
Well, that's it for tonight! I'm pooped and overwhelmed to say the least! I absolutely can't wait to show you all her beautiful face next time I see you! Thank you all so much for your continued support, it means the world to us.
Until next time...
