Happy Easter!

Rejoicing today!!! We know the Savior and our daughter! And this will be her last Easter without her mommy and daddy! Praise God for sending His Son and Chloe Rae!

Orphanage Donations

I am collecting onesies and jackets size 0-16 months for Chloe's orphanage. Please consider helping...I have included a link to one of my fb friend's blog about her visit last week to her little one's orphanage. I don't know very much about Chloe's orphanage, but this could be her reality. Even if it's not, it is the reality for these children. My heart breaks...please consider helping!


http://chantelleg.blogspot.com/2013/03/orphanage-visit.html

Our DAUGHTER!!!!!

Referral

Last Wednesday night (March 13), God revealed His promise. A precious, precious little girl. She is all the we have hoped and dreamed of!! I can't give many details publicly yet, but wanted to document our referral story so I never forget.

I was picking up my friend Tracy for a Life Group bday dinner (for me) when the phone rang...CCAI Denver, CO. I have wondered for weeks when people say it will happen when I least expect it how that could possible be when it was all I ever thought about. Needless to say, it was 6:15 p.m. our time so I certainly wasn't thinking about CCAI (atleast for that moment). The social worker from waiting child prefaced the phone call that she wouldn't even have called me about this little girl had I not emailed her earlier that day (inquiring about our timeline). For some reason my MCC (medical need checklist) had indicated some specific requests (that I don't think I ever wrote or stated) that this baby did not meet. However, as the social worker began to talk....I just knew. She was EXACTLY what we have been praying for. I told her to send me the file and thank you for calling even though my MCC didn't match up. We went on to our Life Group dinner...yes, I was going insane thinking about my daughter in my inbox!!! The girls at Life Group knew and we quickly ate and they sent me along. When I got home, Nick and I prayed and opened the file and it was an instant yes!! This time there wasn't anything questionable (though there is always risk in adoption). I emailed the files to both our peditrician and our International Adoption Dr. in Cincinatti. Dr. Lacy called the very next morning to give his blessing. That afternoon I had a phone conference with the IA dr. who seemed very optimistic. She was slightly concerned about her measurements and asked us to get an update. We did get an update yesterday from China, but did not wait for the update to submit our Letter of Intent to Adopt. So on Sunday, March 17, 2013, we took all the necessary initial steps to make Baby Girl ours!

I can't begin to adequately express the emotions I am feeling. I have been sick so it is hard to feel too celebratory, but there is peace! There is absolutely no question that this is the little girl God has planned for us! We have a daughter and a sister...our hearts our overflowing with thanks to the One who created her. She is ours and we are hers...coming for you Baby Girl!!

"Waiting Place"

This has been A TOUGH WEEK!!!!!My friend Nat asked me last night why this week was different than the others and I am not sure. I do know for some reason I woke up Monday morning thinking this would be our week. It wasn't! Plus another friend got another file to review and it wasn't the one...we both agree it will be a "freakin" (yes, I know that doesn't sound the nicest) miracle when one of us gets matched. I am sad for her because I guess we both just thought our next files would be our girls (love you, MO). I am reading this book called Waiting on God by Cherie Hill and quickly turned to this page. The highlighted paragraph needs to be my focus...I need to mediate on it...and pray about this "waiting place" like a million times a day. And I have vowed to do that every time I hope the phone will ring (which is like a million times a day).