The Call....

I thought I would document how we received the referral of our precious girl!

It all started the evening of February 23rd. Nate and I had a chance to go out to eat (just the two of us!) which doesn't happen very often. We decided to go to our favorite Indian food restaurant.

During dinner we basically talked about the adoption the entire time. I was feeling exhausted, defeated, and frustrated with how long the process was taking. I feared it would be another year before we brought a child home. Nate always knows exactly how to comfort and motivate me. He encouraged me to turn my fear into faith that night at dinner.

Nate on the other hand, had been feeling positive that we would be receiving a referral soon. Weeks before, Nate had been waking up in the middle of the night restless (and trust me, from the sound of his snoring, he is never restless!) He shared that he felt a "stirring" about the adoption.....and anticipated things would be happening soon.....

Let me back up and explain that overall, we are not "feely" people. Yes, I trust God and His ultimate timing, provision, and guidance. But, God gave me a brain to use too. When Nate shared his middle of the night stirring with me I told him that he was just getting his hopes up and needed to go back to bed :)

He kept talking about it though, and this prompted us to try and sell our car on craigslist. We wanted to make sure we had the finances in place, in case of a referral. I felt it was far fetched to be lucky enough to sell our car online, for the price it was worth. I was surprised when it sold in 2 days, leaving us enough money for our referral fees if we were to be so lucky.

I am so glad Nate had that "stirring", and that we sold our car!

Back to the story.....

We came home from dinner, put Oliver to bed and settled in for the night. I checked my email and there was a beautiful little girl who was considered a "waiting child" because no families on our agency's waiting list matched her parameters.

I full on ran into the living room where Nate was. I think that was the fastest I've moved in years:) Nate lifted one eyebrow at me like I was a little crazy. He usually thinks I'm a little bonkers overall, but after our talk at dinner that night about all my messed up adoption hormones, he gave me the look like I was a crazed cat hoarders kinda crazy lady.

I spurted out something like, "there is a girl, she is precious! We need to inquire about her NOW! She turns 3 tomorrow! This could be our daughter! Ahhhh!"

When Nate saw the email, his heart melted too. We said a quick prayer for that cute little face. We prayed that even if we weren't meant to be the parents of sweet little E, that she would find a family tomorrow no matter what.

Then I sent a heartfelt email to my adoption agency. I knew that E was a little older than what our agency wanted for our family, but this little girl had taken my heart. I tried to sleep that night, yeah right.

Morning came, Nate went to work and I had the day off. I couldn't eat, I was such a ball of nerves! Nate kept calling and texting me all morning asking if I had heard anything. Around 10am, I called and left a message with my case manager to make sure she got my email.

At 11am, I decided I needed to go run some errands to get my mind off of it all. I had convinced myself that little E was NOT going to be our daughter. I was driving when my case manager called and thanked me for my email and phone call. She said that after lunch the staff was going to meet and discuss which family was right for E. There had been a few other inquires on her.....

I told my case manager that I would have my phone in my hand the rest of the afternoon....she laughed.

I still couldn't eat. I stared at the waiting child email. I prayed, I hoped, I cried, I talked myself into being prepared for rejection.

At 3:30pm, my case manager called. She totally faked me out, and had a disappointed tone in her voice. She said things like: E is older than AGCI wanted for our family. How they are concerned that her and Oliver may be in the same grade at school. She talked about "artificial twining."

I uttered, "Oh, okay..."

And then She said in a bubbly voice, "But we were not surprised to see how interested you were in E, and we ultimately knew that you are the family for her!"

My eyes welled with tears. All I could do was thank her, and thank my Jesus.

We conference called Nate in from work and heard all about E. We laughed, we cried, we hurt for this precious girl. We learned just how much she had been through in her short little life. We felt immediate peace about her story, and had no doubt that she was perfect for our family. We accepted her referral on her 3rd birthday.

She no longer was an orphan, she had a family.

Sweet little E muffin cakes,

Mama and Daddy love you so much! We can't wait to be your forever family. We have prayed for you for two years. We have longed, hurt, and ached for you. When we learned your story, we began to see how God was bringing our two lives together even from half a world away. We know you have hurt, grieved, and been through so, so much. We want to help you heal your heart, and find assurance and hope for your future. We can't wait to bring you home sweet girl. We love you.