I am copying bits of Matt’s email to our church family. He does a wonderful job of explaining some of how yesterday transpired. I am still in awe that we have a baby girl across the world waiting for us. I can’t take my eyes off her photo. She is perfect for our family! (and Kirsten, she has yours and Tobin’s toes!)
“Melodie and I are up at a family reunion in MN with about 60 relatives. This morning, we received our referral for a 2-month-old baby girl in Ethiopia from our agency. There’s not a lot we can share in terms of details until we pass court. But I wanted to share this praise with you and also ask for continued prayer.
As many of you know, we are now 22 months into the process and it hasn’t always been easy to wait. To have received the referral on the last day of this family reunion was a lesson in God’s perfect timing. We got to share this news with about 50 of her relatives this morning. In retrospect, the timing could not have been better. One of Melodie’s uncles is a medical technologist, and was able to interpret all of the medical documents we received. God’s timing was deliberate, and dramatic.
Now we wait again…for a court date. And we hope to get it through as quickly as possible before the courts close in Ethiopia from Aug 7 – September 27…if not, we may have to update many parts of our dossier and homestudy.”
I feel like my world has collided with another world. I am attempting to have cautiously optimistic expectations about when we will get to hold her in our arms. Until then, I’m busy working on her care package (well, that’s already done but…), preparing for a TINY baby (I had thought she’d be more around a year old) and rejoicing in this wonderful news!
We can’t post any pictures of our daughter before we pass court. I have photos of me showing my family her referral photo while in MN. I have an AMAZING photo of me showing Caroline, our daughter, her little sister for the first time. I will post that on Face Book.
I was born in Jos, Nigeria many years ago. I spent the next nineteen years living in Liberia, Kenya and Ethiopia. This blog began as a way to chronicle the journey to getting our third daughter through adoption. I have found that since I began writing, this blog has become a place for community, support and a safe place to share about my LIFE.
Mel, you look positively radiant in the picture of you looking at the picture of the baby on your computer! We are overjoyed right along with you!
I do love a good referral day story!!
So excited for you guys!