Thursday, February 10, 2011. The day that we received our referral call.
I wish that I could tell you all that the whole day was wonderful - but it was not. At all. In fact, it was the worst day that I had since we started our adoption journey. I started crying around 5 am, and did not stop for 7 hours. Yep, you read that right, 7 hours. The tears just kept coming. And coming. I think that Eric thought that I had truly lost it. I talked to my mom, and a dear friend, and then I spent the morning with Emily - who put up with my crying for hours:). And all the while I desperately tried to not think about what time it was in Oregon (where our agency is). I left Emily's about 12, drove home - still sniffling, made Hannah lunch, and then our home study agency called. Good news - our final, notarized home study was in the mail!!! Bad news - I needed to get the address of US CIS from our agency so I could send it. I did not want to call - I could barely see straight at this point from all the crying - you see, I am not a delicate crier. I sob, and my nose looks like a tomato, and my face stays puffy for days. Good look, right? (this is why you will not see a pic of me in this post:)! Okay, back to the story. So I wrote our case worker "B" and simply asked if she could send the address to me, and then I said "please do not call". I could not handle another "in His time", have joy in the waiting talk - not that day. So I sent the email, and sat down on the couch with Hannah for some cuddle time. And the phone rang. I almost did not even get up to see who it was - I just wanted to crawl into a hole. But I got up, and the caller id said "AGC". Now, you might think that I got excited at this point, but I was so tired (from crying), and my spirit was so broken, all I could think was that "B" had received my email and was calling to see if I was alright. So, our conversation went something like this:
Me - hello,
"B" - hi Becca,
Me - did you read my email?,
"B" - yes, I did,
Me - could you just give me the address? I am really not up for talking today,
"B" - are you sure, because I HAVE A LITTLE GIRL TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT!!!! Me - silence.....sitting on the floor in the kitchen.......silence...."are you kidding"?!, "B" - no!!!!!
And then, the tears started flowing, again. (At this point I did not think that I had any more tears!!!). I asked her if I could call Eric, she said yes, and before we hung up I asked her how old our little one was. "She is almost 4 months old", was the answer - so small!!!
I called Eric, and when he answered I said "can you come home now?". To which he replied "yes". I think that he thought that I had lost it, and he needed to come home to make sure that I was okay. and then I said - "We got our call!!" and he said - "WHAT!!!!" Definitely not what he had been thinking I was calling about:)
So he came home, and we called "B" back and we talked for an hour about our little "A". She is precious, and exactly what God had laid on our hearts to pray for over a year ago. "B" told us that she would over night our paperwork, and we hung up - staring at her picture, speechless. It had finally happened. We called our family and friends, and then Eric left to pick up the boys from school (Thursdays are piano lessons). When they got home we got Hannah up from her nap and introduced our kiddos to their new sister!!!! They were so excited - they just kept saying - "we are not a number!!!" and trying to pronounce her name!
So, that is how it happened. We celebrated as a family that night, and the monkeys all slept with her picture on their pillow:).
Okay - you all have to read this part. While all this is happening here, Gini was in Ethiopia with her hubby for their first trip to meet their daughter at the same home that our little one is at. So, Gini and I were talking on Skype while I was waiting for Eric to come home to call our case worker back. I had told her that we got our call but I did not know anything yet because I was waiting for Eric. She told me about her day, and then told me that while she was at Hannah's Hope (the transition home run by our agency), she held a precious tiny girl, whispering to her that her momma loved her and hugging on her. I asked if she had a family, and Gini said that she did not know. I know you all guessed it - it was our little "A"!!!!!! How amazing is our God?!!!! Gini had one more day in Ethiopia, so they took some pictures and video for us!! Love it!
Okay - I will end soon (because this is the longest post ever!), but many of you have been asking "what happens next?". So - I will attempt to explain. First - we cannot post her name or picture on our blog, facebook, etc. If I see you - I would love to share her with you!!!! but we will not be posting any pics until she is home. So, we are calling her "A". Next - we submitted all our paperwork on Friday, and I am waiting for our caseworker to call me and tell me that she has it and that they are submitting it to the courts in Ethiopia. And we wait, again. For a court date. We could hear in 2 weeks, or 6 weeks. We could be traveling in 2 months, or 4 months. We have no idea. After we travel to meet her and go to court, if we pass court (all the paperwork has to be there, etc), then we wait for the US embassy to give us an embassy date (usually 4-8 weeks after passing court). So, we are waiting - with her beautiful face etched in our minds and her sweet coos echoing in our ears. And we pray - for an incredibly fast court date, for her health and that she gains weight - she is only 9 pounds. And we REJOICE!!!
