The day we saw our little one

I use my cell phone as my alarm clock. Ian gets a tad frustrated if I play "Words with Friends" or "Draw Something" in bed, so I try really hard to "just" use my phone as an alarm clock.

Sunday morning, April 1, my alarm went off at 7:30am. I pushed snooze and then started secretly checking my email. I gasped when I saw an email titled "A child for you to consider." It had come through at one in the morning; we were totally not expecting a referral so soon.

"Ian!" I whispered excitedly. "We have a baby!" He thought it was an April Fool's joke and rolled over. I informed him it was not a joke and we huddled together and prayed for guidance (we did not open the email yet--kids were calling for us).

We got the kids up, fed them breakfast, and escaped to the office to open the file. (It gives me butterflies just remembering that moment). I was elated to find that our referral was for a baby girl, younger than Calla. Her little face captivated us and we both wanted her to be ours. She is stunning. You'll have to trust me on that one.

We were having Easter with my family that afternoon, and I had to make a dessert. I am always a messy cook, but I was spilling like crazy while I tried to focus long enough to mix up a pudding mix and cut up brownies (good thing it was simple). I kept thinking about that little girl. Was she "the one?"

Lots of pudding ended up on the counter and floor. Ori thought his mommy was nuts!

The next 48 hours were a whirlwind. I called multiple specialists, consulted with whoever would talk to me, and Ian and I both came to the conclusion that this child was ours.

We scurried around Tuesday afternoon and got the paperwork submitted just in time. We wrote a care plan, filled out a parent information sheet, made pdfs of our health examination forms, and sent these lovely self-portraits to request to be the baby's mom and dad:


We have a daughter. She is amazing and I cannot wait to squeeze her and be her mama. We love you, sweet one. I've dreamed of this day for years . . . God is so good.

"I feel so strongly that when God leads us into something that will be difficult, challenging, beyond what we think we are capable of...we want to run from it. Oh that we would be people that would run to it! Knowing that our Loving and Great God will always be faithful to provide what we need for the task, and trusting in His goodness. It is in that place of trust and surrender that holds the greatest blessings for our lives!" – brad and amy 

I will post her picture as soon as we have official approval from China, which can take up to 100 days (but hopefully much less).