Baby "G", here we come!
We received a call from one of the Ethiopia case managers on Friday afternoon right around 1:00! Our case manager "B" was out of the office that day so I had just accepted the fact that we wouldn't hear about a court date this week, but my God is a God of surprises and goodness! So "K" called on "B's" behalf to tell us she had some good news---we had a court date! February 9!
That means we need to be in the country by Sunday, February 6th, we will meet baby "G" the following day spending the 7th and 8th with her (changing, feeding, bathing, and bonding with her), and then we go to court on the 9th. We will then leave for home the 10th. I am SO excited. It is really happening! So....8 weeks from today we will be in Ethiopia. And in 8 weeks and 1 day I will be holding my baby girl. (I'm teary eyed typing this because I can't believe I'm actually typing this!)
We've already been on the phone with our travel agent, and we already have some KLM tickets held. Our itinerary needs to be approved by AGCI before we can book them, so I'm anxiously awaiting Monday so we can finalize our travel plans. We actually might leave a few days early so we have just a little extra time to explore our daughter's birth country and make memories for her that she otherwise won't have the chance to do. I want to be able to tell her about where she came from because I experienced it for her, not because I read it in a book somewhere. Does that make sense?
Thank you all so much for your prayers!
*We have a court date: now will you start praying for that court date? That everyone and everything (people and documents) that needs to be there, WILL be there, that the judge will feel he/she has complete information to make a decision immediately and won't need to issue a continuance, and for peace and comfort for "G"s birth mother throughout this process?
*Please continue to pray for baby "G"s health, growth, strength, and protection.
*Please pray for our family as we prepare for a big life change with the addition of a new little one who is going to need a lot of her mommy's time.
*Please pray for safe travel, and for health and joy for our kids who be staying at home with family (I've never been away from them for more than 2 nights).
"The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!" Psalm 126:3
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
WE GOT THE CALL!!
I'm warning you: this post is long, but I don't want to forget God's goodness!
The call came! It really did! I wish I could have posted a little sooner, but it has been a whirlwind since it happened. This is the story....
On Monday morning, November 22, I woke up to the alarm on our cell phone which happens to be the same ring tone as the one I set for our All God's Children case manager, "B." I had changed my ringtone to a specific one for her, so I would stop jumping every time the phone rang. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be a sweet sound to hear that ringtone later today?" Little did I know...
As I got ready for the day, I was thinking from time to time, "This could be the day." I kind of had this feeling--and then I'd think, "but probably not," so I wouldn't set myself up for disappointment. As the day went on, I got busy with our routine.
I picked up Qdoba early because a new store was having a grand opening special of buy one get one. I NEVER get take out for dinner, but thought I would pick it up and warm it up later to treat our family that night--the special was too good to ignore! :)
Then I had to pick my daughter up from preschool at 11:30 a.m. I brought her to the doctor's office for a short visit. I also had my son and my nephew with me because I had planned to meet my sister at home after the doctor. We had planned for her to come to our house over the weekend, but she had to cancel twice and asked if she could come today instead.
On my way home from the doctor's office, I thought, "Wouldn't today be a perfect day to get the call? I already have dinner made and wouldn't have to worry about cooking and my sister is going to be there....(for taking pictures, watching the kids during the call, etc)" And then I thought, "No, it'd be too good to be true."
Well, after being in the door about 20 minutes, at about 1:15, my sister and I were in the middle of making lunch for the kids and all of a sudden, the RING TONE!! I froze, and checked the caller i.d. to make myself believe that it was "B" from AGCI, and then started screaming, "It's the call!" I tentatively said, "Hello?" And "B" said, "Hi Susan. How are you?" I told her I was fine--she asked me how my weekend was and I said fine, my voice trembling by this point. And then she said those words I have been longing for 9 months to hear, "Do you have a few minutes? I have a little girl I'd like to talk to you about." And I said, "YES!" but I wanted to quick check with my husband Aaron to see if he was able to listen in on the call, or if it was okay with him if I took the call and the information. I hung up the phone and started screaming, "They have a little girl they want to talk to us about!" My sister and I started jumping up and down holding onto hands and screaming! The kids were looking at us like we were crazy and started laughing at us!
After trying to call Aaron 2-3 times, he finally called back. It felt like eternity and I'm thinking, "Hurry up, so I don't lose this little girl!" I could barely get out, "They have a little girl they want to talk to us about!" Unfortunately he was with a patient and couldn't listen to the call but gave me permission to take the call as long as I waited to see her pictures with him for the first time.Excitedly I hung up and dialed "B" back right away. Thank goodness she picked up on the first ring. She proceeded to tell me about a precious 6 week old baby girl, born October 5 named, "G". As she went through her history and information me, I felt so many different emotions from joy, to disbelief, to grief (for what she had experienced already as well as the decision her birth mom had to make), to excitement and more. I cried as I listened to the birth mom's wishes for her precious baby girl, and vowed I would fulfill it. I thanked God for His goodness--His unbelievable and ever perfect timing--His providence over our family's life and this precious baby girl, and her birth mother. God's timing IS perfect! Do you believe that God kept changing my sister's schedule so she had to be at our house on Monday? I do!! Do you believe that God put the idea and desire in my head to buy Qdoba (on a Monday morning for goodness sake!) so I wouldn't have to worry about dinner that night? I do!!! Do you know that the call came the day after Aaron's birthday? Do you know that until about a month ago I had no idea that my mom has been praying we would get our referral by Thanksgiving? God answers prayers people! God is listening! God's timing is always perfect! It HAD to be this way so we could have precious "G" in our family. He continues to be more real to us day after day as we travel this adoption journey.
The call came! It really did! I wish I could have posted a little sooner, but it has been a whirlwind since it happened. This is the story....
On Monday morning, November 22, I woke up to the alarm on our cell phone which happens to be the same ring tone as the one I set for our All God's Children case manager, "B." I had changed my ringtone to a specific one for her, so I would stop jumping every time the phone rang. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be a sweet sound to hear that ringtone later today?" Little did I know...
As I got ready for the day, I was thinking from time to time, "This could be the day." I kind of had this feeling--and then I'd think, "but probably not," so I wouldn't set myself up for disappointment. As the day went on, I got busy with our routine.
I picked up Qdoba early because a new store was having a grand opening special of buy one get one. I NEVER get take out for dinner, but thought I would pick it up and warm it up later to treat our family that night--the special was too good to ignore! :)
Then I had to pick my daughter up from preschool at 11:30 a.m. I brought her to the doctor's office for a short visit. I also had my son and my nephew with me because I had planned to meet my sister at home after the doctor. We had planned for her to come to our house over the weekend, but she had to cancel twice and asked if she could come today instead.
On my way home from the doctor's office, I thought, "Wouldn't today be a perfect day to get the call? I already have dinner made and wouldn't have to worry about cooking and my sister is going to be there....(for taking pictures, watching the kids during the call, etc)" And then I thought, "No, it'd be too good to be true."
Well, after being in the door about 20 minutes, at about 1:15, my sister and I were in the middle of making lunch for the kids and all of a sudden, the RING TONE!! I froze, and checked the caller i.d. to make myself believe that it was "B" from AGCI, and then started screaming, "It's the call!" I tentatively said, "Hello?" And "B" said, "Hi Susan. How are you?" I told her I was fine--she asked me how my weekend was and I said fine, my voice trembling by this point. And then she said those words I have been longing for 9 months to hear, "Do you have a few minutes? I have a little girl I'd like to talk to you about." And I said, "YES!" but I wanted to quick check with my husband Aaron to see if he was able to listen in on the call, or if it was okay with him if I took the call and the information. I hung up the phone and started screaming, "They have a little girl they want to talk to us about!" My sister and I started jumping up and down holding onto hands and screaming! The kids were looking at us like we were crazy and started laughing at us!
After trying to call Aaron 2-3 times, he finally called back. It felt like eternity and I'm thinking, "Hurry up, so I don't lose this little girl!" I could barely get out, "They have a little girl they want to talk to us about!" Unfortunately he was with a patient and couldn't listen to the call but gave me permission to take the call as long as I waited to see her pictures with him for the first time.Excitedly I hung up and dialed "B" back right away. Thank goodness she picked up on the first ring. She proceeded to tell me about a precious 6 week old baby girl, born October 5 named, "G". As she went through her history and information me, I felt so many different emotions from joy, to disbelief, to grief (for what she had experienced already as well as the decision her birth mom had to make), to excitement and more. I cried as I listened to the birth mom's wishes for her precious baby girl, and vowed I would fulfill it. I thanked God for His goodness--His unbelievable and ever perfect timing--His providence over our family's life and this precious baby girl, and her birth mother. God's timing IS perfect! Do you believe that God kept changing my sister's schedule so she had to be at our house on Monday? I do!! Do you believe that God put the idea and desire in my head to buy Qdoba (on a Monday morning for goodness sake!) so I wouldn't have to worry about dinner that night? I do!!! Do you know that the call came the day after Aaron's birthday? Do you know that until about a month ago I had no idea that my mom has been praying we would get our referral by Thanksgiving? God answers prayers people! God is listening! God's timing is always perfect! It HAD to be this way so we could have precious "G" in our family. He continues to be more real to us day after day as we travel this adoption journey.
Okay...so again perfect timing: Aaron walks in the door as soon as I hung up the phone with "B". I was so thankful I didn't have to wait another minute to see her face for the first time. We equipped my sister with our video camera and camera, and then....opened the email with her pictures only to see the most precious and perfect baby girl. Her huge brown eyes looked back at us. She was so bright eyed and alert and looked like a fighter despite her rough start! In a couple of her pictures she even had a little smile with dimples! I kept telling my sister and husband, "If I could have drawn the images I was trying to make in my mind of what I thought she'd look like, this is it!" She's the most petite little thing--a tiny nose, dainty mouth, and then big brown eyes to go with it! I would love to share her pictures with you, but in the interest of her safety and well-being still being in custody of the Ethiopian government, we are advised to not post her pictures online anywhere. We would love to share her pictures with you in person anytime though!
The rest of the afternoon and evening was filled with celebration--eating our Qdoba!-- and contacting our international pediatrician so she could do as complete a medical review on little "G" as possible with the information we were given by AGCI. I didn't expect to hear back from the pediatrician until the next day, but was good to us again and she called at about 6:30 p.m.
What she had to tell us was not easy to hear--our little girl has had a hard start. It was hard to come back to reality. I won't tell you that Satan didn't try to put doubts and fear in our heart and mind. He is the master of this. But I will tell you that our God is not a God of fear. And I will tell you that during the middle of the night on Monday when I was battling insomnia laden with this fear, He spoke His truth to me. I struggled with true surrender--knowing that fully saying "yes" and starting to love a little one halfway around the world would put me in such a vulnerable place. Knowing that saying "yes" could mean making sacrifies I've never dreamed of making or asking my family to make. But God said to me, "I rescued "G". Now you rescue her. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God--and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." I knew at that point that this was our little girl. God told my friend who was praying on our behalf, "I matched her with them." And as she asked again if this litte one was meant to be ours, He just said, "But I matched her with them!" Of course He did! He timed everything exactly right so she would be placed in our path, and us in hers. WE got the call for "G" because God chose her for us!
And....so now we wait. Again. We wait for our court date so we can see and hold our daughter for the first time. I long for that day.
I do not know what the future holds for this little one or our family, but I do know that God's plan is good! And I do know that the best place to be is in complete surrender to His plan. And so...we surrender. We surrender everything to you Lord Jesus so that you will be glorified--so that your name will be praised--so that you will receive credit for the amazing work you are doing and will continue to do in our family and in our little "G"s life. You are Holy. You are in control. You deserve honor...and glory....and praise. You have dominion over everything seen and unseen. And so we give our lives to you. We give our family to you. May you be glorified now and forevermore.
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