REFERRAL!!!!!

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

WE GOT THE CALL!!! We received our referral yesterday for the most gorgeous 15 month old baby boy!!! He is just adorable, and we are so in love with him already!

We could not have been more shocked or surprised when our phone call came yesterday evening. Just 24 hours earlier, after I had spoken with our family coordinator, I was crying tears of frustration and discouragement. I was overwhelmed in that moment at how emotionally draining the waiting had become. I was telling Charlie how I didn't think I was strong enough to keep going and begging God to equip my heart for the toll this journey was taking on me. In that moment of weakness, there was a precious baby boy halfway around the world getting ready to be introduced to his mama for the very first time!!

We had been invited by some local adoption friends to meet at an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner last night, so around 5:00 the girls and I were upstairs getting ready to leave. Charlie was downstairs in our office finishing up some last minute work. When the phone rang, I thought absolutely nothing of it. In fact, when I heard Charlie say, "Laura, its a 703 call!! (the area code for our adoption agency)" I completely thought he was kidding. I looked up at the clock, saw that it was 5:13 pm, and knew most definitely that my dear husband was playing an awfully mean joke! I continued to get the girls ready like nothing was going on. I even heard him say, "Is this our referral call?" and still I thought he was kidding! I couldn't believe he was taking it that far, but I was still convinced it was a joke. When I did finally come downstairs, I saw that he was crying and he said, "I'm going to hand Laura the phone now and I'll go get another one so we can both listen in." OH. MY. GOODNESS. This was actually it! Our call!!!!

Our family coordinator began telling us about this most beautiful baby boy, but I was crying and laughing so much, I'm not sure much of what she said was even registering! I remember at one point saying, "Are you going to e-mail this information to us because there is no way I'll remember everything you're telling us!" Charlie, although quite emotional, kept such a wonderful presence of mind. He though to ask all kinds of great questions. I, on the other hand, was just an emotional mess and totally in a state of disbelief. Our oldest daughter said later, "Mom, you just kept saying, 'Oh my gosh,' through that whole phone call, and we're not even supposed to say that!"

After we hung up the phone, we were in the greatest state of shock. Did that really just happen?!? We have a son?!? Within just a minute, we received our referral e-mail. We called the girls in with us and all sat down together to see our baby's face for the first time. I don't know that there are even words to describe the emotions of finally seeing the child God has chosen for your family. Twelve months and three days of waiting, praying, dreaming, imaging, hoping... all for this moment! There were lots of tears, lots of laughter, and lots of love. We knew immediately that this was our child. What an amazing moment that we will always cherish!

The most fun part of the evening came when we had the privilege to call our closest family and friends to share the news!! Most of them rushed right over, and within just a few minutes our house was filled with family and friends, all hugging, crying, and marveling over this most amazing gift we had been given. This sweet boy is already so loved and we are so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing support! We love all of you who made this day so incredibly special for us!

I didn't sleep much at all last night. I kept staring at his adorable pictures, memorizing every small detail, and dreaming of our future with him. My head is still spinning this morning, trying to grasp the realities of it all. WE HAVE A SON!!! I am just in awe at this gift God has given us.

I wish so much that we could share his pictures with you. He is just darling! He has the most adorable smile, gorgeous eyes, beautiful lips and the cutest curly brown hair!! We know that you will fall in love with him too when you see him! Unfortunately, we can't post any pictures of him until we pass court in Ethiopia and he becomes legally and officially ours. For now, you'll just have to take our word for it!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers that have gotten us through so far! Please continue to pray for our family as we are now anxiously awaiting a court date in Ethiopia. Please pray specifically for our son that his heart will be open to accepting us as his family, that he is being well loved and cared for in our agency's transition home, and that he will continue to be healthy and happy. Thank you all so much!